Pacific Command HQ
Joint Base Hickam Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
“The Shiloh is a total loss. She sank in ten minutes.” General Braverman was a combat veteran. A leader of men. He was afraid of no man.
Except, perhaps, the Admiral when delivering news like this.
The Admiral was silent. Tom could see the anger inside. The guilt in sending men into harm’s way and losing them. The desire to be OUT THERE with his men. The knowledge that his place was here. All those things passed across the Admiral’s face. But he did not speak.
“Sir, perhaps we should re-consider Operation Clean Sweep.”
“No.” It was the first word the Admiral had uttered in twenty minutes. “We are losing this goddamned war. We will not lose this war.”
“Sir, I think that the red intel is correct. The Chinese have been pulling their punches. There is no way the Vinson survives that attack but the Shiloh doesn’t. No way.”
The Admiral shook himself like a prizefighter shaking off a right hook to the face. “As much as it pains me to admit it, I think you are right.”
“If that’s the case, they have the ability to attack us at will. We must pull back.”
“No.” Again a shake of the head. “No, we do not pull back. We get smarter. Think about it, Tom. What do all of these strikes have in common?”
Tom had to think. All the engagements had been different. Shore-based, ship to ship, air to ship. “I’m sorry sir, I don’t get where you are going.”
“It’s about kill chain. They strike when they have a good kill chain. They have hard target data from a ship, or from land or from an aircraft. But never from space. Never.”
“So, we go after the last mile?”
“Exactly. Fuck up their kill chain. Those missiles are deadly, no doubt. But if you disrupt the kill chain, they can’t get to us.”
“And when we are a stationary target?”
“That’s what operation longsword is for.”
“Yes sir.”
“We need a new anti-missile doctrine and we need it now. Pull in whoever you need. Get it written up, pull in the type commanders. No more ships die on my watch.”
“Yes, sir.”