For Honor We Stand (Man of War Book 2)
Page 48
Watch The period of time that a member of the crew who is designated as a “watch stander” mans his assigned “watch station.” Also, the designation of the section of the crew to which the watch stander belongs. On Union warships, there are three watches, usually known as Blue, Gold, and White. They stand watch on the following three day schedule:
First Watch: 2000–0000 (1 Blue) (2 Gold) (3 White)
Middle Watch: 0000–0400 (1 Gold) (2 White) (3 Blue)
Morning Watch: 0400–0800 (1 White) (2 Blue (3 Gold)
Forenoon Watch: 0800–1200 (1 Blue) (2 Gold) (3 White)
Afternoon Watch: 1200–1600 (1 Gold) (2 White) (3 Blue)
First Dog Watch: 1600–1800 (1 White) (2 Blue) (3 Gold)
Second Dog Watch: 1800–2000 (1 Blue) (2 Gold) (3 White).
The Captain and the XO do not stand a watch. Rather, so that there is a designated officer with control of the ship at all times, all officers other than the CO, XO, and the CMO serve as Officer of the Deck, serving as the officer in charge of minute-to-minute operations in CIC when neither the CO nor the XO is in CIC. Officers of the Deck stand watch for eight-hour shifts on a rotating basis.
waving the flashlight Manually directing active sensor scans in a particular direction or directions, either from a fixed orientation or from a programmed scan pattern, usually as a means of obtaining more information to develop a passive sensor contact. Waving the flashlight is to be avoided in certain circumstances because doing so alerts the source of the passive contact that you are aware of his presence.
Will Robinson The traditional naval nickname given to the youngest and/or the smallest of the squeakers or new junior midshipmen in service at any given time on board a warship. The name is taken from the name of a character in the 1960s television series Lost in Space.
XO Executive Officer. The second in command of any warship.
Yankee search Active sensor sweep, that is, a sweep in which the ship broadcasts sensor beams and detects the reflections from objects in the vicinity, as opposed to the normal sensor mode, which is passive detection of emissions from contacts. A Yankee search omni is a sweep in all directions around the ship, as opposed to a Yankee search down a particular bearing or bearings or of a given zone. The term dates back to saltwater navy submarines but is otherwise of obscure origin.
Z (when appended to a time notation) Zulu Time. Standard Union Coordinated Time. So that all USN vessels can conduct coordinated operations, they all operate on Zulu Time, which is, for all intents and purposes, the same as Greenwich Mean Time—mean solar time as measured from the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England, on Earth in the Sol system. When any other time system is used in any naval communication (such as the standard time of a planet on which operations are taking place or local time at some place on a planet), that fact is specifically noted.
* * *
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
* * *
I owe all the same debts in this book as in the first. To the acknowledgments printed there, I add the following.
I am thankful to my wife, Kathleen Honsinger, for her skillful editing of the manuscripts, perceptive suggestions, and for her beautiful cover design for the original self published editions of the first two volumes of this series. I am especially thankful for her insistence in September 2012, notwithstanding my protestations that I lacked the talent to do so, that I sit down and start writing a series of military science fiction books “right now.”
For his able and even inspired editing of the manuscripts of the first two (and presumably the third) books of this series, the author is very grateful to Michael Shohl, whose contribution to these books went far beyond “copy editing” to include ideas that helped these books become more focused and exciting. Thanks are also due to the highly skilled copy editing of Jill Pellarin and the people at 47North, whose detailed attention to the nuances of language, the rules of usage, and bewildering rules of English punctuation made these books more precise, more entertaining, and stylistically correct.
I am also grateful to the literally hundreds (more than three hundred as of this writing) of people who took the time to write favorable reviews of the original, self-published, versions of these books on Amazon.com. It was largely on the strength of these wonderful compliments that thousands of people were willing to take a chance on independently published military science fiction novels from an unknown author. The success that these books have enjoyed and are enjoying is largely due to these reviews.
The expression, “Stealth is life,” though probably of wide currency in the Submarine Service, first came to my attention in a customer review of my first novel on Amazon.com, written by John William Hayes. I liked it so much that I made it “The First Law of Destroyer and Frigate Combat.” For the expression and the kind review, I offer my thanks.
To the extent that I am able to write precise, coherent, logical prose, I owe much of that ability to two superlative teachers I encountered in Louisiana’s Calcasieu Parish School system: Mrs. Mildred Hobbs, who taught ninth-grade English at Oak Park Junior High School, and Ms. Jacqueline S. Finnegan, who taught eleventh- and twelfth-grade English at Lake Charles High School. The Hobbs and Finnegan in the Cumberland’s CIC are a respectful nod to these two outstanding educators, who held their students to the highest standards of excellence and who accepted from me nothing less than my best work. My understanding is that Ms. Finnegan is now deceased. Mrs. Hobbs, however, at last report is still healthy, vigorous, and enjoying her retirement. Accordingly, I convey to her my respectful greetings and heartfelt thanks.
My father, Harvey G. Honsinger, passed away in March 2012 and did not live to see the publication and success of these books. He was a novelist and spent many hours talking with me about how he wrote his novels. Much of what I learned in those talks can be found in these pages. The late Mr. Honsinger had a very colorful way of expressing himself. Every now and then, one of the “Southern” characters in these books says something that he used to say or in a rhythm and a voice that echoes his. Harvey said some of those things on his citizens band radio, which he started using back in the 1960s, before they became the rage. In addition to his call letters, KMR-7239, he was widely known by his handle: “The Swamp Fox.” It is in his honor and cherished memory that Max Robichaux will carry that nickname through the remainder of his adventures.
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
4 July 2013
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
* * *
Kathleen Honsinger 2013
H. Paul Honsinger is a retired attorney with lifelong interests in space exploration, military history, firearms, and international relations. Born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he is a graduate of Lake Charles High School, The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Louisiana State University Law School in Baton Rouge. Honsinger has practiced law with major firms on the Gulf Coast and in Phoenix, Arizona, and most recently had his own law office in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He has also taught debate, worked as a car salesman, and counseled teenagers. He is a cancer survivor, having been in remission from advanced stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma since January 1997. Paul currently lives in Lake Havasu City with his beloved wife, Kathleen, and his daughter and stepson as well as a 185-pound English Mastiff and two highly eccentric cats.
This is his second novel.
Stay up to date on future “Robichaux/Sahin novels” as well as other developments in the Honsinger Publications universe by visiting Paul Honsinger’s blog at: http://paulhonsinger.blogspot.com/. Follow him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/honsingerscifi) and Twitter (@HPaulHonsinger).
Contact the author at: honsingermilitaryscifi@gmail.com.
er>