In the U.S. Navy compound off Terminal Road, Vice Admiral Bill Andrea—Commander, Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR)—was reviewing the latest proposals on his desk when there was a knock on his door. Andrea acknowledged and Captain Rick Current, his chief of staff, entered, holding a folder with a Top Secret coversheet.
“This just in from Fleet Forces Command,” Current announced as he entered, handing the folder to Andrea.
Andrea read the message, noting the two items classified Top Secret: the assessment that USS Pittsburgh was sunk by Kazan, and that the Russian submarine’s crew was likely following counterfeit orders drafted by its commanding officer. The directive section of the message was fairly straightforward and was summed up in Andrea’s mind in two words.
Find Kazan.
COMSUBFOR had been assigned the lead, responsible for coordinating all Atlantic Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare assets: submarine, surface ship, and air.
Andrea looked up at his chief of staff. “We need to put someone in charge of this effort. What are our options?”
Current ran down the list of senior Atlantic Fleet submarine officers, then recommended someone not on it. “All of these men are capable, but I recommend we assign Captain Murray Wilson. He’s attached to a PAC Fleet submarine, but it’s currently in the shipyard for repairs, so he’s available. If you recall, he led a similar effort to locate Kentucky when she received the unauthorized launch order.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Andrea replied, recalling Wilson’s effort.
Wilson was the most senior captain in the Submarine Force, having commanded the fast attack submarine USS Buffalo, and was now in command of the guided missile submarine USS Michigan, BLUE crew. In between the two command tours, he’d been the senior Submarine Command Course instructor, spending three years training every officer assigned to serve as a submarine commanding or executive officer. A few years ago, when COMSUBPAC had been tagged with coordinating a Fleet-wide effort to locate USS Kentucky, Wilson had led the successful effort.
“Coordinate with PAC to get Wilson over here as soon as possible.”