Home Goes The Warrior

by Jeff Noonan

  Lee noticed it at the same time and held out his hand. “Here, give it to me and I’ll stash it back here.”

  Connors moved to hand him the coat and then stopped cold. “Holy shit, man! Three Good Conduct Medals, a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and a bunch of Vietnamese medals! A former enlisted man with real hero credentials! What the hell are you doing in this place?” His expression was one of amazement. Suddenly Eckert was also attentive, staring at the rows of ribbons on the jacket that Connors was holding.

  “C’mon, Tim. Give me the coat. It’s no big thing. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all.” Lee reached across the desk and took the coat, casually laying it across a bookcase behind his desk. But Connors wasn’t about to let the subject die. “Seriously, Lieutenant. What’s the deal. Usually if an officer is transferred to a Navy yard, they’re either EDO’s or technical people like me. My background is in Navy electronic systems. But EDO’s and technical people don’t end up with Silver Stars. So what’s your story?”

  Lee smiled at the redheaded man and leaned back in his chair. “Hate to break your bubble, Tim. I’m a former missile fire-control technician who somehow got picked to ride a river boat in Viet Nam. At heart, I’m just another technical geek. Since I left ‘Nam, I’ve done a tour at the shipyard in Bath, Maine, and another tour as a fire-control officer on a guided missile cruiser. According to BUPERS, I’m here because I’m familiar with shipyards and missile guidance systems. Does that answer your questions?”

  Connors seemed to relax in his chair, nodding in response to Lee’s question. Surprisingly, it was Eckert, with a big grin on his face, who spoke next. “Great! Our biggest problem in this shipyard is with those Terrier missile systems. Our shops are screwing them up right and left, and we’re running our butts off trying to find the problems and fix them. It will really help if you understand those things and can articulate our problems to the rest of the shipyard. Whenever we try to get anything done there, the shops just lie and the command doesn’t know who to believe. Welcome aboard, sir!” Lee was amazed at the change that had taken place in this man. The apprehension was gone and pure enthusiasm seemed to radiate from him. The missile system problem was obviously very important to him.

  “I’ll do my best, Roy.”

  That was enough for Eckert. He was totally helpful from that moment on. The three men spent the better part of the next hour discussing the problems that the combat systems office was encountering on ships in overhaul. Lee was relieved to find there weren’t any problems that were particularly unusual. He felt comfortable dealing with all of them and both Connors and Eckert seemed to be exceptionally competent individuals. All told, he reflected, the situation could have been a lot worse.

  It was early afternoon when Eckert suggested that he take Lee around the office to meet the various division managers and other key people. The next couple of hours were spent doing this. By four o’clock, Lee had met so many people that his head was reeling and he called a halt for the day.

  He went back to his front office and looked up Connors. “Tim, the captain asked me to come to his staff meeting tomorrow morning along with you. But I’d like to see the ships before I go to the meeting, particularly USS King (DDG-41). All afternoon I’ve been hearing that the King may be behind schedule. I’d like to see it for myself. Would you mind coming in a bit early so you can give me a guided tour?”

  “No problem, boss. Why don’t we meet here at about 6:30 in the morning? I’ll have the coffee on.”

  Lee had to smile at that. “You’re a good man Tim. Don’t worry - I’m not going to do anything this gung-ho very often. I just want to get a feel for things before the meeting. But now I have to go check in at the BOQ and get unpacked. It’s been a long day already, believe it or not. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Lee stopped and thanked Eckert for his help. Then he threw a stack of his briefing paperwork in a cardboard box, put on his jacket, and turned to leave the building.

  Jane stopped him with, “Mr. Raines, will you be in tomorrow morning?” Lee realized that he had completely forgotten to let her know his plans. She obviously needed to know in case anyone was looking for him, so he spent a few minutes letting her know about his schedule and making sure that his oversight didn’t generate any discord. He had a feeling that she could be either a real asset or a real obstacle, and he was going to make sure that she stayed on his team.

  Lee checked into the BOQ, getting a small three-room suite that had a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom with a lounge/study area. It was older and a bit rundown, but it would do for a while. He unpacked his gear and changed clothes before walking over to the officer’s club for a quick burger. He spent the rest of the evening studying the documents from the cardboard box.

  Lee walked into the office at exactly 6:30 the next morning. He was dressed in his working khaki uniform with a light khaki jacket protecting him from the morning chill. Tim Connors was there, waiting. True to his word, he had the coffee ready and the two took a few minutes to have a cup and discuss some questions Lee had about things he had studied the previous evening. He found that Connors was very knowledgeable about the shipyard and the ships, but a bit weak on the overhaul planning and supply support end of the business. That was normal, he thought. Connors’ job was on the waterfront, not in the support staff areas.

  The walk out to the waterfront was uneventful. Lee was concentrating on learning the shipyard layout. He had studied a map the night before, but there were a thousand subtle differences between the old map and the present shipyard layout. He committed them to memory. He had a job to do that might end up bringing him into life-or-death situations, and he wanted to be as prepared as possible.

  They visited USS King first, since both Connors and Eckert thought it was the shipyard’s biggest problem area. Once aboard the ship, Lee needed no directions from Connors. This ship was physically identical to one he had served on a few years before. They were on the mess decks, heading for the missile radar and computer rooms, when Connors stopped Lee to introduce him to a shipyard worker walking past them.

  The man was a heavyset individual who was wearing both a tie and a white hard hat. A stencil on the front of the hard hat proclaimed him to be “Vincent Askew, Shop Head, 67 Shop.” Lee knew that 67 Shop was responsible for the overhaul and upgrade of shipboard electronic systems. So this was the man responsible for the physical work on most of the systems that the combat systems office had to test and certify.

  Connors performed the introductions, with both Lee and Askew voicing polite greetings.

  Lee decided that it would be smart to talk to this man about his thoughts on the ship’s progress. So he opened the conversation with a pleasant, “Hello. I’m really glad that we ran into you. I was wondering how the overhaul is going, and I’m sure you know more about it than most people. I’ve heard that we’re a little behind on the missile and radar systems. How do you feel about them?”

  In fact, Lee had been told that all of the ship’s electronics, including its missile, radar, communications, electronic countermeasures, and tactical data systems, were in horrible shape. But he preferred to look gullible to this guy. After all, he was just another fresh-caught Navy lieutenant as far as Askew knew.

  His bait caught the fish on the first try. Askew’s countenance took on a look of false sincerity, and his voice dropped to reflect the confidential nature of what he was about to say. “No, I don’t think there’s any problems here. The ship’s crew is bitching about things, but that’s the way they all act in this stage of an overhaul. We feel that the ship is right on schedule. Of course there’s some minor problems, but nothing we can’t handle. There isn’t a thing that you, as the combat systems officer, would ever have to worry about.”

  Connors’ face reddened at that and he opened his mouth to say something, but Lee beat him to it. “Gosh, Mr. Askew, I’m really glad to hear that. I’ve been hearing so much gloom and doom that I was starting to worry. Now I can
relax. Thank God. I was starting to think that my golf game was gonna suffer while I worked here. But now I’m good.”

  Askew looked at him quizzically, but Lee’s face wore the bland smiling appearance of a truly gullible person, so he relaxed.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Raines. The shop will take care of you. You will be able to be a golf pro before you leave here if that’s what you want to do.”

  Lee thanked him effusively and shook his hand, preparing to leave. But Askew was not ready to give up yet.

  “As far as the missile systems go, we’re running the daily systems operability tests now. Those missile guys call the test a DSOT. They’ve been running for a week already, so we know everything is okay there.”

  Again Lee thanked him and then he turned to leave. Connors was, by now, thoroughly red in the face and started again to say something. But Lee, with his back to Askew, winked at the warrant officer, stopping him cold. The two left Askew on the mess decks and headed for the missile systems in the aft part of the ship.

  As soon as they were out of sight, Connors exploded. “That son of a bitch. Did you hear him? Everything is fine? They’re running DSOTs? What a crock of crap! They may be trying to run the tests, because that’s how they find the problems. But they haven’t passed a single test yet. In fact, I don’t think they’ve even gotten a good start on one yet without big system problems stopping them cold!” Connors was so mad he was spluttering.

  “Don’t let it bother you, Tim. I deliberately asked those questions because I wondered if he would tell me the truth or try to snow me. Now I know. Let’s go see the systems for ourselves.”

  Walking aft from the mess decks, the two were soon in the missile radar room. This was a room about 20 feet by 30 feet that was absolutely packed with electronics. Little lights flashed everywhere, illuminating the technicians who seemed to be working in every nook and cranny in the room. In the center of the room two men were seated, wearing headsets, at what were obviously control consoles. They were talking over their headsets to other people at different places in the ship. These two appeared to be in control of the chaos around them, so Lee walked directly to one of them. He watched and listened as the man worked for a short while. Then Lee turned to the second man at the other control console. Again he watched and listened.

  After a while, Connors began talking to the first man, who had taken off his headset. Lee turned back to them and Connors introduced him. “Mr. Raines, this is Nick Nixon. He works for Vince Askew in 67 Shop. The other guy you were watching is Joe Knuckles, one of our combat systems people.”

  Lee said his hellos and shook both their hands. Then Connors took the lead, saying, “Joe, would you brief the lieutenant on where we are with these systems?”

  Lee held up his hand, stopping them there. “Guys, I still work for a living, so my name is Lee, not lieutenant or mister. Now let me tell you where I think you are with the systems and you can correct me. Okay?”

  The two men were grinning at him now, both looking a bit mischievous. Lee recognized the look. They were planning to let him do his thing, then have a chunk of him for being so overconfident. They were going to show this upstart the facts of life. Lee almost chuckled, but he held his face straight as he turned to the first man.

  “Nick, you’re trying to do a system-level DSOT on the port system. Designations aren’t coming through from the weapon direction system, and the radars aren’t moving. The Mk. 119 computers aren’t responding either. This sounds like a wiring problem in the fire-control switchboard. But this is one of the first steps in a DSOT, so if it isn’t working, I’d say that the system still has a long way to go.” He turned to the man called Joe Knuckles. “You’re trying to do one of the daily RF tests on the starboard system, and nothing is working. I’d say that this system is in even worse shape than Nick’s system. Am I right?”

  The two men sat there stunned. Then Nick recovered enough to say, “I dunno who you are, but if you want a job, you’ve got it! I could sure as hell use the help!”

  Connors was laughing aloud by now, and Lee had to restrain himself. The look on Joe’s face was a sight to behold. His mouth was still open, and he was shocked silent. Finally he snapped out of it, closed his mouth and, through a rueful grin said, “Welcome aboard, sir!” Then he added, “And I do mean that.”

  Connors was the first to speak, talking to the two men at the consoles. “Would you believe that we ran into Vince Askew on the mess decks, and he told us all about how good these systems were doing?” At that both men looked at Lee and started laughing.

  “You didn’t tell him that you knew anything, did you?” It was Joe, looking at Lee.

  But Connors answered him before Lee could. “Hell no! Lee just stood there looking gullible. Vince is convinced that he has just snowed the most fresh-caught combat systems officer ever to graduate from knife and fork school.” The two men went into hysterical laughter. Finally they calmed enough to continue the conversation.

  Joe had a word of caution for Lee. “Sir, if you need to know anything about the work we’re doing or if there’s anything we can help with, just ask me or Nick. But keep it quiet about Nick. He still works under Vince, and he’s been warned about telling the truth to blue-suiters. Vince would have him fired if he thought he was telling you anything.” Lee nodded his understanding.

  The two men then gave Lee a quick rundown on all of the King’s electronic systems and their status, after which Lee and Connors went on to visit other ships. The rest of the waterfront tour was uneventful. By the time they had to leave for the captains staff meeting, they had completed short tours of every ship on the waterfront.

  After a quick stop in the office so Connors could pick up notes he needed for the meeting, the two walked the few feet to the entrance of the building where the captain’s office was located. As they crossed the short distance, they noticed Vince Askew and another man walking toward them, obviously heading for the same meeting.

  Lee decided to wait for them. “Hold it a minute, Tim. I want to have a word with Vince before we go into the meeting.” He and Connors waited beside the door as several other men filed past them.

  “Lee, the man with Vince is his boss, the group superintendent over the electrical and electronic shops. His name is Ed Carvell. He’s a pretty good guy.”

  As they approached, Lee walked toward the two men.

  “Vince, could I have a word with you before we go into the meeting?”

  Vince looked surprised, but recovered quickly. “Certainly, Lieutenant. By the way, this is my boss, Mr. Carvell. Ed, this is the new combat systems officer that I mentioned earlier.” He gestured toward the other man. Obviously Vince had already forgotten the name of the new Navy guy in front of him.

  Lee stepped forward and shook hands with Ed. “I’m glad to meet you, Mr. Carvell. I’m Lee Raines.”

  Then Lee turned his attention to Vince Askew. “Vince, I just wanted you to know that after we met this morning, we went to look at the missile systems on the King. I don’t know if you know it, but I’ve spent a lot of years working on Terrier missile systems and I know them well. I’ve also been involved in the DLG modernization program as the QA officer in Bath Maine. So I do know what I’m talking about where these ships are concerned.”

  He stopped and took a moment to gather his thoughts. He wanted to laugh at the look of astonishment on Vince’s face, but refrained. Lee continued, “I wanted you to know before we go into the meeting that I am aware that the King is at least three months behind schedule right now. You cannot possibly have those missile systems ready for sea trials on time. In fact, if you don’t bring in outside help, you won’t finish them this year. Now, I’m going to give you a choice. You can say this yourself and save face in front of the captain or I’ll say it. It’s your call.”

  Lee turned back to Ed Carvell, who was suddenly glaring at his subordinate. “Mr. Carvell, I’m sincerely sorry to meet you this way. Maybe we can get together for coffee sometime soon?”
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  Ed looked at him with a grim smile on his face and said, “Yes, sir. I think that I’d like that.” Lee returned the smile and turned to enter the building, leaving Vince and Ed in a heated conversation.

  Lee followed Connors’ lead as they entered the captain’s office for the meeting. There were about ten men already seated when they arrived. Connors led Lee to a pair of seats in the rear of the crowd, close to an outer wall. Lee was startled to see that, in addition to Captain Jones, there were three other Navy captains seated in the room. Several more shipyard managers filed in. Ed and Vince came in at 9 a.m. sharp, just as Captain Jones called the meeting to order.

  Captain Jones’ first act during the meeting was to introduce Lee. Then he asked the group to introduce themselves. The three captains turned out to be the shipyard’s production officer, planning officer, and supply officer. The civilians were all shop heads and group superintendents. Then the captain started the meeting by asking each group superintendent to describe any problems in their areas of work. Most of the comments were routine matters that were well under control or were being resolved.

  But when it was Ed Carvell’s turn, he announced that the electronic work on USS King was so far behind schedule that it would be impossible for his group to complete the ship on time to meet the ship’s overhaul completion date. The room erupted. Everyone was trying to talk at once. Finally, Captain Jones slammed his hand down on his desk and shouted, “Quiet!” The din subsided, and he skewered Ed Carvell with a look that did not bode well. “Why am I just hearing this? Last week you told me that everything was fine on that ship!”

  Ed was obviously embarrassed. His face was red, and his words stumbled over on another as he replied. “Captain, you have my sincere apologies. Apparently I didn’t have accurate information until today. I’m planning to initiate an investigation of this. I’ll also be asking the combat systems office to bring in some missile system contractors to help us. But the facts are that the systems are not nearly where they should be.” He turned to where Lee and Tim were sitting and said, “If you can get some contractors in here, the shop will pay for it. We actually have a lot of extra money on this ship.”