The Price Of Power
Page 27
Chapter Twenty-One
Dan Hughes was the last SEAL to step over the gunwale of the boat. It was a spectacular crisp day in the Southern California ocean. The other SEALs were getting strapped into their seats in the Mark V, the special forces high-speed Cigarette boat designed for insertion of SEALs into hostile territory.
Hughes crossed to the officer in charge of the boat. “You ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you get the brief?”
“Yes, sir. Two practice insertions, four Zodiacs, one platoon. That’s it.”
“They give you the beach coordinates?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want you to drop us at the wrong spot.”
The lieutenant looked at Hughes. “You sure?”
“Not too far off. Maybe a thousand yards, maybe two. Just misread your GPS by a few minutes.”
“Wilco.”
The officer in charge of the Mark V issued the command to his coxswain, who was waiting for instructions. “Let’s go.”
“Aye aye, sir.” The coxswain pushed the throttles forward and the Mark V jerked away from the pier. As they cleared the small bay, the Mark V picked up speed. As it passed through twenty knots, then thirty, it climbed up out of the water, planing across the ocean as it raced toward the designated beach. Hughes stood next to the lieutenant. He yelled to be heard over the roar of the boat. “Did you get the message about the nighttime insertion?”
“Yes, sir. We’ll pick you up at the same place. We’ll have the Zodiacs, and we’ll be armed with .50-cals and grenade launchers. Your men manning them?”
“Right.”
“And I got”—the lieutenant reached inside his shirt pocket and pulled out a piece of paper—“that you want FLIR,” Forward Looking Infrared, “and a thermal site unit. Live ammo shoot and boat launching.” He folded the piece of paper and put it back into his pocket. “Sounds like fun.”
“Any problems?” Hughes quizzed.
“No, sir. No problems.”
The Mark V increased speed to forty-five knots as it headed south around the island, running along the shoreline parallel to the beach. The boat went right by the predesignated drop point and continued for two thousand yards. The lieutenant glanced at Hughes out of the corner of his eye and gave him a conspiratorial nod. The coxswain retarded his throttles and the lieutenant turned to the SEALs. “Prepare for drop!”
As the boat slowed and its hull settled into the water, the SEALs freed themselves from the straps on the hydraulic seats and moved effortlessly and silently toward the Zodiacs, each knowing which boat he was assigned to and what his role was in the launching process. Within five minutes, the four Zodiacs were in the water headed toward the beach. Chief Smith studied his GPS again. He checked Hughes in the next boat and shook his head, turning north. The other three Zodiacs followed him back the way they had come until he reached the initial predesignated drop point. Hughes confirmed their position on his GPS and smiled to himself. Chief Smith signaled his satisfaction with their new position and turned toward the shore. The two lead boats spread out and the other two followed behind. They made their way to the beach quickly, attention focused on finding any signs of resistance, which they knew would not be there. Each held his weapon pointed outward from the Zodiac ready to hit the beach as the boat came through the surf. Chief Smith and the petty officer handling the other Zodiac gauged the speed of the surf perfectly and brought the boats down onto the beach. As soon as the bows of the Zodiacs touched, the SEALs jumped out and began dragging them up the sand while the men who were driving pulled the motors up. They signaled the other two Zodiacs that came into the beach directly behind them and spread out in the prearranged pattern to establish a defensive perimeter.
Lieutenant Hughes watched the evolution with a critical eye. He scanned the ocean and yelled, “Emergency evacuation!” The eight men in the two following Zodiacs turned them around and pointed the boats out into the surf while the first eight ashore maintained their defensive position for the two boats heading back out to the ocean. Then they climbed aboard, started the engines, and pounded through the surf without any problems. The two lead boats were turned around by the first SEALs ashore, while two of them acted as sentries and guarded the operation. As the Zodiacs headed out to the Mark V, the two sentries climbed aboard.
Hughes was pleased. The exercise had gone as perfectly as one could have hoped, although it was broad daylight and there was no resistance. Half the problems in an evolution such as this were technical—boat launching, getting aboard, motors not working, navigation errors, the ordinary things that caused so many problems if not anticipated.
They would load the Zodiacs onto the Mark V, dash out into deeper water, and then come back and do it again. One more time. Then they’d head back to the pier, offload the men, and do some twilight PT. Hughes had a ten-mile hike in mind for tonight, with weapons. That oughta build up a nice appetite for the below-average chow on San Clemente. Hughes grinned as the Mark V cut through the water in the direction of the island for the second launch.
* * *
“Any further questions of Admiral Hart, Commander?”
“Yes, sir,” Pettit said from the podium. “Admiral Hart, I want to address one area that was opened by Mr. Dillon. I want to make sure you leave the court with a very clear understanding of your position on this.
“Mr. Dillon seems to want to imply that hostile acts by a terrorist entitle you to commence an amphibious assault and kill a hundred and fifty of them. Is that understanding correct?”
“No, the rules are really very clear. The rules of engagement under which Admiral Billings and all of our battle groups operate on a day-to-day basis are peacetime rules of engagement.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, it means a lot of things.”
“In this setting, when a Navy F-14 has been shot down by a privately owned SAM from Indonesia, was Admiral Billings entitled to launch an all-out amphibious assault to retaliate?”
“Objection, argumentative,” Dillon said.
“Sustained.”
“Let me rephrase the question,” Pettit said. “When the F-14 was shot down, did that authorize an amphibious assault?”
“No.”
“Move to strike, this calls for a legal opinion on the part of this witness.”
“Sustained.”
“In your understanding and to establish your state of mind at the time the order was issued to Admiral Billings, was he entitled to conduct an attack on these pirates by way of self-defense?”
“No.”
“When the boats went out to pick up the downed airmen, was Admiral Billings entitled to attack the island?”
Hart hesitated. “It could be argued that he was entitled to attack the boats that were heading toward the aircrew, if one assumes that they were hostile.”
“There’s no indication they were hostile, is there?” Pettit asked.
“Not really.”
“In fact, those boats could have been going out there to assist the downed aircrew, correct?”
“Objection. Calls for speculation.”
“Sustained.”
“But assuming they were hostile, was Admiral Billings entitled to attack those boats?”
“I would say probably so.”
“You don’t hold that against him?”
“No.”
“But does the hostile act of shooting down the F-14, and the possible hostile acts of the boats coming toward the downed aircrew, justify an amphibious assault under the rules of engagement as you understood them?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Thank you. Nothing further,” Pettit said.
“Mr. Dillon?” Captain Diamond asked.
“I have nothing further,” Dillon said. “This witness may be excused.”
“Call your next witness,” the judge said.
Pettit stood. “The United States calls Captain Gary Black.”
Bi
llings swiveled quickly to see his former chief of staff walk through the door. Billings turned to Dillon and said softly, “I never thought they’d call him.”
“He was on the list,” Dillon replied.
Billings’s expression showed his concern.
Captain Black reached the witness stand, took the oath, and sat stiffly in the chair. His dark hair was short and perfectly combed. His dark complexion appeared blotchy and odd, his small thin body seeming even smaller surrounded as it was by the judges’ bench and the witness box. Dillon studied him. Black carefully avoided looking at Admiral Billings.
Pettit waited at the podium. It was only after everyone realized he would not speak until there was complete silence that the spectators quieted down. Pettit addressed Captain Black. “Captain, in order to cut out some of the preliminary questions, it’s fair to say that you were Admiral Billings’s chief of staff when the events at issue occurred. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
Pettit continued, “You were there, Captain, when Admiral Billings received the order not to follow the Letter of Reprisal, but rather to return to Pearl Harbor—”
“Objection. Misstates the evidence. The document speaks for itself,” Dillon said.
“Why don’t you read him the language if you want him to be aware of it,” the judge said.
“That’s not necessary,” the prosecutor said. “Captain Black, you have in mind an order that was sent to the battle group by the President and the Joint Chiefs, am I right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you were there when that order was received by the battle group commanded by Admiral Billings and his staff, isn’t that true?”
“Yes, I received it and I think I delivered it to him.” Black was clearly settling into his role, feeling more comfortable with each answer.
“Did Admiral Billings receive the order?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did he say anything to you about whether or not he was going to comply with it?”
“Yes, we discussed it at length.”
“Did you discuss it as soon as you received it?”
“A little. Since we were receiving news broadcasts and were aware that Congress had just recently adopted the letter, we were discussing to whom it was going to be sent. It was quite a shock to learn that it was going to be sent to a Navy battle group.”
“Why is that?”
“Objection, Your Honor, his shock or lack thereof is irrelevant to this case.”
“What’s the relevance, Commander Pettit?”
“The relevance is that they knew the Letter of Reprisal, as Congress has chosen to call it, was destined for them when they received the order we’re here about.”
“Overruled.”
“You were shocked?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes, we were surprised that Congress had decided to send this letter to an American Navy battle group. Historically, Letters of Marque and Reprisal were sent only to armed merchant ships.”
“At some point though, you understood that it was destined for the USS Constitution battle group.”
“Yes.”
“And was that before or after you actually received the Letter of Reprisal delivered by, as I understand it,” the prosecutor said, indicating Dillon, “Mr. Dillon here.”
“Yes,” answered Black. “As I said earlier, we knew it was coming before it got there.”
“You said that you discussed it with the admiral. What did he say?”
Black stole a glance at Billings, who was glaring at him. “He was surprised. He’d never heard of it being sent to a Navy battle group before. He wondered whether they could do that, and if Congress was just putting on a show.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I had no idea. I was only slightly familiar with the concept. I knew Admiral Billings was probably more familiar with it—he has always studied Naval history—”
“Without going into his previous studies, did he tell you whether or not he would comply with it if it was sent?”
“No, we didn’t discuss that at all at that time.”
Pettit, the trial counsel, always cool, seemed to have lost his place.
“Let me ask this another way, Captain,” Pettit said, scratching his head. “Do you remember discussing the order from the Joint Chiefs and the President when it arrived?”
“Yes.”
“What did Admiral Billings say?”
“He showed it to us and didn’t say much of anything, he just gave us a knowing look.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Captain Black shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. He just gave it to us as if to say, ‘How about that?’ ”
“Did he say he was going to disobey it?”
“No.”
The crowd murmured. “At some point Mr. Dillon brought the actual Letter of Reprisal down to the battle group, isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“And at that point, was there a discussion on whether Admiral Billings would follow the Letter of Reprisal or the order that had previously been received from the President and the Joint Chiefs?”
“Yes, there was. The whole staff was there, the legal officer, even Mr. Dillon. Several people.”
“And what did Admiral Billings say?”
“He asked whether we thought we were bound by the order or whether we should follow the Letter of Reprisal.”
“Did he tell you that he was going to disobey the order?”
“He didn’t use those words, but it was clear that he was going to follow the Letter of Reprisal and not the order.”
“How did he make that clear to you?” the prosecutor said, fighting a smile.
“Well, I told him that I thought we should comply with the order. A direct order is just that.”
Dillon stood up. “Move to strike. His opinion of what the order was is not relevant.”
“I disagree, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said. “What he believed at the time is relevant to what he conveyed to the admiral. Goes to his state of mind.”
“His state of mind isn’t relevant.”
“Admiral Billings’s state of mind is very relevant, Your Honor—”
“I didn’t know his state of mind was even at issue—”
Captain Diamond interrupted. “Overruled, continue please.”
“Well,” Black went on, “I told him I thought we should comply with the order. That this Letter of Reprisal was extraordinary, and even if it was legitimate, and would authorize us to act, it would fly in the face of a direct order to the contrary from the Commander in Chief.”
“And you told him that?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And what did he say?”
Black was gaining confidence again. “Well, he got up and made something of a speech to the staff. He was walking around the wardroom gesturing, standing in front of the large replica of the Constitution—the document and the ship, they’re both on the wall—and discussing the officer’s oath—”
Pettit interrupted. “So he told you at that point that he was not planning on complying with the order, is that right?”
“Essentially, yes.”
“And after he had made that announcement to the staff and to you, did he take steps that were in fact contrary to the order?”
“Well, we didn’t return directly to Pearl Harbor, and we did comply with the Letter of Reprisal. Both of those things were covered in the order and so I would have to say yes.”
Pettit lowered his voice. “You were there, Captain Black, when this attack occurred against the island of Bunaya?”
“Yes.”
“And why was the attack conducted?”
“Well, it was to attack the people who were thought to be responsible for the Pacific Flyer, in accordance with the Letter of Reprisal.”
“And by doing so, was it your belief at the time it was occurring that Admiral Billings was disobeying the direct order of the President?”
The gallery erupted.
Pettit remained at the podium, looking through some notes. Then he said to the judge, “I have no further questions of this witness, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Dillon.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Dillon said.
He fixed his eyes directly on Black and let his gaze linger. “I noticed, Captain Black, that you said that you had the order in mind. Did I hear that correctly?”
“Yes.”
“When the prosecutor was asking you about the order that you say Admiral Billings violated, you didn’t even need to look at it?”
“No, not really.”
“And the reason for that is that you’ve seen it very recently. Correct?”
Captain Black hesitated. “Well, what do you mean by ‘very recently?’ ”
“You tell me. When was the last time you personally saw either the original or a copy of the order that is at issue here?”
Captain Black turned slightly red. “I saw it this morning.
“You saw it this morning because the trial counsel showed it to you when he met with you, correct?”
“Yes,” Black said, making eye contact with Pettit.
“But that wasn’t the first time you’ve met with Commander Pettit, was it?”
“No.”
“In fact, you’ve met with him several times, haven’t you?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by ‘several,’ but more than once, yes,” he said defensively.
“Well,” Dillon said, slowing down his questioning, having hit on a vein worth exploring and an area without danger to Admiral Billings, “let’s say that several means more than three, would that be fair?”
“Yes.”
“Captain Black, how many times did you meet with the prosecutor prior to coming in here and testifying against the admiral in charge of the staff on which you faithfully served?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps four.”
“You’ve met with the prosecution four times?”
“About,” Black said.
“And that was to ensure that your testimony was fair and objective. Correct?”