tc.redstormrising-第17节

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full　watertight　integrity。　Damage…control　parties　donned　emergency　equipment。　It　took　just　over　four　minutes。　Getting　better；　Morris　noted　as　the　〃manned　and　ready〃　calls　were　relayed　to　him　by　the　CIC　talker。　Since　leaving　Norfolk　four　days　before；　PHARRIS　was　averaging　three　GQ　calls　per　day；　as　ordered　by　mander；　Naval　Surface　Forces；　Atlantic。　No　one　had　confirmed　it；　but　Morris　figured　that　his　friend's　information　had　kicked　over　an　anthill。　His　training　routines　had　been　doubled；　and　the　orders　for　the　increase　of　activity　were　classified　as　high　as　anything　he　had　ever　seen。　More　remarkably；　the　increased　training　tempos　would　interfere　with　maintenance　scheduling；　something　not　lightly　set　aside。
〃All　stations　report　manned　and　ready！〃　the　talker　finally　announced。　〃Condition　Zebra　set　throughout　the　ship。〃
〃Very　well；〃　the　tactical　action　officer　acknowledged。
〃Report；　mister；〃　Morris　ordered。
〃Sir；　the　navigation　and　air…search　radars　are　in　stand…by　and　the　sonar　is　in　passive　mode；〃　replied　the　TAO。　〃Contact　looks　like　a　schnorkeling　submarine。　Came　in　clear　all　at　once。　We've　got　a　target…motion…analysis　track　going。　His　bearing　is　changing　fore…to…aft；　and　pretty　fast；　too。　A　little　soon　to　be　sure；　but　it's　shaping　up　like　he's　on　a　reciprocal　heading；　probably　no　more　than　ten　miles　out。〃
〃Contact　report　off　to　Norfolk　yet？〃
〃Waiting　for　your　say…so。〃
〃Very　well。　Let's　see　how　well　we　can　run　a　hold…down　exercise；　mister。〃
Within　fifteen　minutes；　Pharris's　helicopter　was　dropping　sonobuoys　on　the　submarine；　and　the　frigate　was　lashing　it　with　her　powerful　active　sonar。　They　wouldn't　stop　until　the　Soviet　submarine　admitted　defeat　by　ing　back　to　schnorkeling　depth…or　until　he　evaded　the　frigate；　which　would　put　a　large　black　mark　in　Morris's　copybook。　The　objective　of　this　non…lethal　exercise　was　nasty　enough：　to　break　the　submarine　captain's　confidence　in　his　vessel；　his　crew；　and　himself。

USS　CHICAGO
They　were　a　thousand　miles　offshore；　heading　northeast　at　twenty…five　knots。　The　crew　was　decidedly　unhappy；　though　they'd　all　been　through　this　before。　What　should　have　been　a　three…week　layover　at　Norfolk　had　been　cut　short　at　eight　days；　a　bitter　pill　after　a　long　first　cruise。　Trips　and　vacations　had　been　interrupted；　and　some　minor　maintenance　work　supposed　to　have　been　done　by　shoreside　technicians　was　now　being　done　round　the　clock　by　her　own　crew。　McCafferty　had　announced　his　sealed　orders　to　the　crew　two　hours　after　diving：　conduct　two　weeks　of　intensive　tracking　and　torpedo　drills；　then　proceed　to　the　Barents　Sea　for　further　intelligence　gathering。　It　was　important；　he　told　them。　They'd　heard　that　one　before；　too。

7　…　Initial　Observations

NORFOLK；　VIRGINIA
Toland　hoped　his　uniform　was　properly　arranged。　It　was　0630　on　a　Wednesday　morning；　and　he'd　been　up　since　four　rehearsing　his　presentation；　and　cursing　CINCLANT　for　an　early…riser　who　probably　wanted　to　get　in　a　round　of　golf　that　afternoon。　He　would　spend　the　afternoon　as　he　had　for　several　weeks；　sifting　through　endless　intel　documents　and　copies　of　Soviet　publications　in　the　Intentions　cubbyhole　half　a　building　away。
The　Flag　Officers　Briefing　Room　seemed　a　different　world　from　the　rest　of　the　tawdry　building；　but　that　was　hardly　a　surprise。　Admirals　liked　their　forts。　Bob　made　a　quick　trip　to　the　nearby　head　to　eliminate　a　distraction　caused　by　too　much　wake…up　coffee。　By　the　time　he　came　back；　the　flag　officers　were　filing　in。　They　exchanged　greetings；　but　there　were　no　jokes；　none　of　the　banter　one　would　expect　this　early　in　the　morning。　The　officers　selected　their　leather　seats　by　order　of　rank。　Those　few　who　smoked　had　ashtrays。　Each　had　a　note　pad。　Stewards　brought　in　several　pots　of　coffee；　cream；　and　sugar　on　silver　trays；　then　withdrew。　The　cups　were　already　in　place。　Each　officer　poured　himself　a　cup　as　part　of　the　morning　ritual。　CINCLANT　nodded　to　Toland。
　〃Good　morning；　gentlemen。　Approximately　a　month　ago；　four　colonels　in　the　Soviet　Army；　all　regimental　manders　in　mechanized　divisions；　were　court…martialed　and　executed　for　falsifying　data　on　their　unit　training　and　readiness　reports；〃　Toland　began；　explaining　the　significance　of　this。
〃Earlier　this　week　Kraznaya　Zvesda；　'Red　Star；'　the　daily　newspaper　of　the　entire　Soviet　military；　publicized　the　execution　of　a　number　of　privates　in　the　Soviet　Army。　All　but　two　were　in　the　final　six　months　of　their　enlistment　period；　and　all　were　charged　with　disobeying　the　orders　of　their　sergeants。　Why　is　this　significant？
〃The　Russian　Army　has　long　been　known　for　its　tough　discipline；　but　as　with　many　aspects　of　the　Soviet　Union；　not　everything　is　as　it　seems。　A　sergeant　in　the　Soviet　Army　is　not　a　professional　soldier　as　is　the　case　in　most　armies。　He　is　a　conscript；　just　like　the　privates；　selected　early　in　his　enlistment　term　for　special　training　due　to　his　intelligence；　political　reliability；　or　perceived　leadership　ability。　He　is　sent　to　a　tough　six…month　course　to　make　him　an　instant　sergeant；　then　returned　to　his　operational　unit。　In　fact　he　has　about　as　little　practical　experience　as　his　subordinates；　and　his　superior　knowledge　of　tactics　and　weapons…use　is　a　matter　of　increments　rather　than　the　more　dramatic　differences　between　sergeants　and　new　recruits　in　Western　forces。
〃Because　of　this；　the　real　pecking　order　in　Soviet　ground　formations　does　not　necessarily　derive　from　rank；　but　from　time　in　service。　The　Soviets　induct　their　troops　twice　a　year；　in　December　and　June。　With　the　usual　two…year　term　of　service；　we　see　that　there　are　four　'classes'　in　any　formation：　the　lowest　class　is　in　its　first　six…month　period　and　the　highest　is　in　its　fourth。　The　young　men　who　have　the　actual　status　in　a　Soviet　rifle　pany　are　those　in　their　final　six…month　term。　They　typically　demand　and　get　the　best…or　at　least　the　most…food；　uniforms；　and　work　details。　And　they　typically　obviate　the　authority　of　the　pany　NCOs。　In　fact；　orders　e　directly　from　the　officers；　not　the　platoon　and　squad　sergeants；　and　are　usually　carried　out　with　little　regard　to　what　we　consider　conventional　military　discipline　at　the　subofficer　level。　As　you　can　imagine；　this　places　an　enormous　strain　on　the　junior　officers；　and　in　many　ways　forces　the　officers　to　live　with　some　things　that　they　clearly　do　not　and　cannot　like。〃
〃You're　saying　that　their　military　formations　operate　under　the　principle　of　organized　anarchy；〃　observed　the　mander　of　Strike　Fleet　Atlantic。　〃Their　Navy　sure　as　hell　doesn't。〃
〃That　is　true；　sir。　As　we　know；　their　seamen　are　in　for　three　years　instead　of　two；　and　their　situation；　while　similar；　has　many　differences　from　that　of　the　Soviet　Army。　And　it　would　seem　that　this　situation　is　ending　in　the　Soviet　Army　as　well；　that　sub…unit　discipline　is　being　quickly　and　vigorously　reestablished。〃
〃Just　how　many　privates　got　themselves　popped？〃　asked　the　general　manding　2nd　Marine　Division。
〃Eleven；　sir；　listed　by　name　and　unit。　That　information　is　in　your　handout。　Most　were　in　their　'fourth　class；'　meaning　the　last　six　months　of　their　enlistment　period。〃
〃Did　the　article　you　read　make　general　conclusions？〃　CINCLANT　asked。
〃No；　Admiral。　There　is　an　unwritten　rule　in　Soviet　publications；　both　military　and　civilian；　that　you　can　criticize；　but　not　generalize。　What　that　means　is　that　individual　screwups　can　be　identified　and　castigated　at　length；　but　for　political　reasons　it　is　unacceptable　to　make　general　criticisms　applying　to　a　whole　institution。　You　see；　a　critique　that　pointed　to　an　all…pervasive　condition　would　ipso　facto　critique　Soviet　society　as　a　whole；　and　thereby　the　munist　Party；　which　oversees　every　aspect　of　Soviet　life。　It　is　a　thin；　but　to　them　a　philosophically　important；　distinction。　In　fact；　when　individual　malefactors　are　named；　the　system　as　a　whole　is　being　criticized；　but　in　a　politically　acceptable　way。　This　article　is　a　signal　to　every　officer；　NCO；　and　private　soldier　in　the　Soviet　military：　the　times；　they　are　a　changin'。　The　question　we've　been　asking　over　in　Intentions　is；　Why？
〃It　would　appear　that　this　is　not　an　isolated　case　of　changing　times。〃　Toland　flipped　on　an　overhead　projector　and　set　a　view　graph　in　place。　〃Within　the　Soviet　Navy；　surface…to…surface　missile　live…fires　are　up　seventy　percent　from　last　year；　not　quite　an　all…time　high；　but　as　you　can　see　from　this　graph；　pretty　close　to　it。　Submarine　deployments；　mainly　those　for　diesel　subs；　are　down；　and　intelligence　reports　tell　us　that　an　unusually　high　number　of　submarines　are　in　the　yards　for　what　appears　to　be　routine　but　unscheduled　maintenance。　We　have　reason　to　believe　that　this　situation　is　connected　with　a　nationwide　shortage　of　lead…acid　batteries。　It　appears　likely　that　all　Soviet　submarines　are　undergoing　battery　replacement；　and　that　regular　battery　production　is　being　redirected　to　militarily　important　segments　of　the　Soviet　economy。
〃We　have　also　noted　higher　levels　of　activity　by　Soviet　naval　surface　forces；　naval　aviation　units　and　other　long…range　aircraft　formations；　again　with　increased　weapons　exercises。　Finally；　there　has　been　an　increase　in　the　time…away…from…port　days　of　Soviet　surface　batants。　Although　this　number　represents　a　small　increase；　operational　patterns　are　different　from　w