Episode 10

MV Cape Hudson (T-AKR 5066)

Port of Oakland, California

Captain Loweston had never seen the Oakland waterfront so quiet.  The entire container terminal was silent.  No ships were tied up, no container cranes were running.  The Hudson wasn’t a big ship by modern commercial standards, he had room to park three ships the Hudson’s size but he was still taking it by the numbers, no need to take any chances.  The current fashion in commercial shipping were monstrous container ships which could swallow thousands of containers at a time.   Efficiency was the name of the game.  Efficiency was also the MV Cape Hudson’s game.  However, her job was not about moving clothing or electronics across the Pacific at the lowest cost.  Her job was to allow fully mechanized units to roll directly on and then directly off her massive cargo decks.  Also known as an “RO/RO” for Roll On / Roll Off capability, the otherwise unremarkable cargo ship had a large ramp on the back which was canted at 45 degrees and allowed her to dock at almost any pier, drop her ramp and allow her cargo to simply drive away.

Today, that cargo was neatly lined up on the Oakland waterfront.  Rank after rank of Abrams M1A2 tanks.  The Abrams Main Battle Tank was the primary tank of the US Army and had a proven track record in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.  Today, they were getting painted jungle green and about to be loaded onto Hudson and her sister ship the Cape Horn which was already tied up about a hundred yards down the massive dock.

While the huge Abrams tanks could be airlifted via C-5 or even the smaller C-17, moving tanks by air was expensive and cumbersome.  The much-preferred method was to move them by ship or rail.  This is why these tanks had been shipped here from Texas via special rail cars and were now being loaded onto the two RO/RO’s.  Along the west coast, several other sites were doing the same thing.  Over the next few days, an entire Corps worth of armor would be loading up.  While the lighter units like Strykers would be flown over, the heavier units like the AbramsTanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles were all being sent by sealift.  While a pale shadow of the US’ wartime sealift capability that was developed during WW2, the US still has far more military sealift capability than Russia and China COMBINED.  The ability to move an entire Army Corps across an ocean is not something that any other country on earth can claim.

As the tugs helped the Hudson ease onto the dock, the crew got the gangplank ready.  As soon as she was fully secured, the back ramp went down and the gangplank went up.  The first person up the gangplank was a Naval officer in full dress whites.  Loweston went down to meet him at the main companionway.  The commander saluted the flag at the top of the gangplank and then extended his hand.  “Captain Loweston?  I’m Commander James.  Do you have a moment to speak to me?”

“Certainly Commander, it looks like your news may be urgent.”  The men shook hands as Jackson shifted the briefcase he held awkwardly.  Loweston noticed that it was shackled to his wrist.  Something he thought only happened in movies.

“Yes, sir I think it is that.”

Loweston spoke into the radio he was carrying.  “Bill, find the loadmaster and make sure the Chief is happy with the load plan and get this show on the road.”

A muffled “aye aye, sir” came from the radio.

“We can speak in my cabin if you like.”

“That would be perfect, thank you sir.”

When the two men reached the modest captain’s quarters, Loweston gestured to one of the seats at the small conference table.  “Have a seat.  Coffee?”

“Thank you sir, I’ve been on the go since 5 am.”

Getting coffee was never a problem on any Navy ship or in this case, on a ready reserve ship which was technically a Merchant Marine vessel.  The basics taken care of, it was time to get down to business.  “So, tell me what is so urgent to get us fired up with two days notice and to get all these damn tanks deployed.  This is the most rushed operation I’ve ever seen and I’ve been doing this for almost thirty years now, including Desert Storm.”

James unlocked the black briefcase he was holding and pulled out a manila folder.  The folder was bordered in yellow and orange which meant the orders were classified top secret.  Not normal for a Merchant Marine skipper.  James then pulled out another set of what looked to be very official orders and handed them over.  “Commander Loweston.  You are being activated.  Please sign here to acknowledge your callup.”

Loweston was floored.  As a retired Navy Commander, he knew that he was theoretically eligible for call up as an “Inactive Reserve” status but he didn’t think it would ever happen.  Even during the Gulf War, he had remained inactive and a member of the Merchant Marine even as he hauled tanks into Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.  “What?  Why am I being activated now?”

“Because of these orders I am about to give you.  They are classified as top secret.”  He tapped the red bordered folder meaningfully.

“Top Secret?  Do you really think anyone who cares to know doesn’t ALREADY know that we’re loading tanks right now?  Did you not see the four news helicopters circling?  How could this operation be any LESS secret?”  Loweston let his voice rise a bit as he talked.  He was getting annoyed by this top secret mumbo jumbo already.

“I am sorry sir, but you misunderstand me.  It is not your current mission that is secret.  Not at all.  It is your next mission that is classified.”

“My next mission?”

“Yes sir.”