“And that’s it?” asked the Admiral, who appeared to be in a rush.
“Almost,” Spence finished. “The ship also has a 76mm gun and four 30mm close-in weapon systems. That’s it.”
“OK, so the LHD is a pretty capable platform. What about the destroyers?”
Spence switched to the next slide. “One destroyer, the PLAN Kunming, will be pier-side at Naval Station Everett and the PLAN Changsha will tie up in Tacoma. Apparently, the Changsha has some spare parts for the Chinese SAIC Automobile factory in Tacoma. I guess whoever owns SAIC must have some serious horsepower with the Communist Party to get them to deliver it for them, but I’m told the assembly line is down until it gets here.”
“Why not send it by aircraft if it’s so important?” asked the Logistics Officer.
“I’m not sure. It had something to do with the pressurization of an aircraft messing up the calibration of the whatever-it-is, as well as the thing being heavy and awkwardly sized. Once they tie up to the pier, the Chinese are going to deliver it to the plant with the destroyer’s helo.”
“What do we know about the weapons systems on the destroyers?” asked the Operations Officer.
“Like the flagship,” Spence briefed, “the destroyers are the first two ships of a new class, so we don’t know as much as we’d like. We do know that it has a really good 130mm gun, a remote-controlled 30mm gun, 6 torpedo tubes and a close-in weapons system. The Type 052D also has a brand new vertical launching system for surface-to-air missiles, cruise missiles, anti-submarine missiles, and anti-ship missiles. We don’t know much about it yet, but it appears to be more advanced than anything we’ve seen the Chinese with previously. What is more worrisome, though, is that the Chinese military talks about the Type 052D as ‘Aegis.’ Similar to our Aegis-radar equipped ships, it appears that this system is a distinct, brand-name phased-array system which may allow multiple warships to share tracking and targeting data over their datalink systems. We don’t know if this is true or not, but if so, you might never see the ship that is shooting at you until missile launch, as a second ship could be providing it the tracking and targeting info.”
Although he didn’t comment on the not-so-subtle, “OK, that sucks” that could be heard from one of the junior officers sitting in a group in the back of the room, the Admiral replied, “Well, happily we’re not at war with them, then,” while frowning back toward the source of the interruption. Looking back at the Operations Officer, he asked, “What have the geniuses at the State Department signed us up for during their visit?”
“So far, not too much,” said Captain Galloway. “We have been invited to a formal dinner onboard the Long, and we are supposed to provide a couple of softball teams to play the crew of the Kunming. Apparently, they have two teams that have been trying to learn the game. The Chinese think their teams are pretty good and have challenged the crews of any of the ships in port there to a game. As it happens, there are a couple of fields that sit next to each other on Fletcher Way at Naval Station Everett and two ships that are currently in port there.”
The voice from the back of the room said in a stage whisper, “It’s almost like they planned it that way…”
Now it was Commander Galloway’s turn to frown at the back of the room. “Yes, they probably did. Can you imagine anything better than coming to the U.S. and beating us at our own game? First they ‘turn over a new leaf’ and say they want to be ‘good people’ and improve diplomatic relations. Then they show up and beat us in softball. Lots of great PR for them, eh? They’re in a no-lose situation—if they lose the game, they weren’t expected to win and we’re bad hosts for beating them; if they win, then everyone makes fun of us.”
“Well, we can’t very well say “no,” either,” said the Admiral. “The ships at Everett, they’re the Shoup and the Ford, right?” He referred to the USS Shoup (DDG-86) and the USS Ford (FFG-54). “They each need to come up with a team to play the Chinese. John, please let them know.”
“I will, sir,” said Captain Galloway, sounding about as unenthused as he expected the commanding officers of the two ‘lucky’ vessels would be.
“OK, anything else that we need to do for the visit?” asked the Admiral, who had a job interview lined up for a senior position with one of the local defense contractors. “I’ve got another meeting in 15 minutes that I need to go to.”
“Well, sir, if they’re hosting us on their ship, we probably need to put together some sort of shindig for them,” volunteered Lieutenant Bill Weathersby, the Admiral’s Protocol Officer.
“Great idea, Bill,” said the Admiral as he headed toward the door, “You’re in charge of setting it up for me. Please make it happen and keep me updated on your progress.”
“Yes, sir,” said Bill, mentally vowing that he was never, EVER, going to open his mouth again.
Mt. Garfield, WA, June 3
“Thanks again for coming,” said Sara. “I know that we should probably be studying for final exams, but I had cabin fever and needed to get outdoors. Besides, it’s the first day that the temperature has climbed to 75 degrees, and it is just too nice a day to study.”
“That it is,” said Erika. “With all of the warm weather that we’ve been having, all the snow is finally gone from the mountains, too, so it’s a lot easier to hike.”
Sara was happy that Erika had agreed to come up to the mountain with her. She had wanted to explore Mt. Garfield for a long time and was excited to get to finally get to do it, as well as to share it with her friend. Sara had done an internet search one time and was amazed at the amount of “Garfield” summits that there were in the United States. For a man that had held the Presidential office for just 200 days before being assassinated, there were five Garfield Mountains, seven Garfield Peaks and four Mt. Garfields. She didn’t know about the rest of them, but this one, located about 35 miles east of Seattle, was good enough for her.
At only 5,519 feet of elevation, it was not the tallest peak around, but its exposed volcanic rock facings were impressive as they jutted out from its heavily timbered foothills. With five separate peaks and several lesser crags, it was visually and spiritually appealing to her. Although all the peaks had been climbed, very little of the mountain’s lower areas had ever been explored. To Sara, not explored meant not destroyed by human beings; she knew she could hike around there and not have to be disgusted with beer and soda cans, candy bar wrappers and the rest of the normal refuse that many people left behind when they camped out. The base of the trailhead was a case in point; when they parked the car there, they saw that someone had used it as a target range: old CDs that were used as skeet shooting targets littered the area, as well as milk jugs on sticks and bullet casings on the ground.
As quickly as they could, they left the trail, intending to go to the west of the peaks to a place known to the locals as Infinite Bliss. A saddleback of volcanic rock in the midst of the wooded area, it gave a great view of the local area. She wasn’t sure that it was infinite bliss, but the view was still pretty nice. Several hours into the hike/climb, they arrived at their destination and were enjoying the view when they noticed that they weren’t alone.
“Hi ladies,” said the stranger who suddenly appeared at the overlook alongside them. “It’s a beautiful day for a climb, eh? This is one of my favorite views.” He didn’t approach them or do anything that might intimidate them, which would have been easy since he was a big man. Sara saw that he was tall, tanned, and very well muscled. Not the kind of muscles that weightlifters get, but the kind you get from a lot of physical activity. He was also kind of cute, with big blue eyes, although in an “older” sort of way; he was probably almost her dad’s age. He was also armed, she noted, with a rifle slung on his back next to his pack. While it wasn’t unheard of to climb or hike armed, as there were poisonous snakes and other dangers, it was certainly uncommon. Still, he didn’t give the impression of danger, just of quiet competence.
“I love the view from here,” said Sara. “Do
you come up here often?”
“I live close by,” said the man. “My name’s Ryan.”
“Hi, Ryan,” said Erika. “My name is Erika and this is Sara. You live here in the forest? I thought this was national forest?”
“I have an apartment in Seattle, but I used to be a SEAL for the Navy,” he said, looking uncomfortable. “When budget cutbacks sent me home a couple of years ago, I needed some time to readjust to civilian life. Being out here gives me peace of mind and lets me focus on some of the finer things of life.”
Ryan smiled, “Well, I didn’t want to scare you, but I was going by and heard you up here, so I thought I’d swing by and say ‘hi.’ I like to know who’s around.” He tipped his cap. “However, I do have to be going, so have a good day and be safe.” He turned and started off in the opposite direction from which they had come.
“Well, that was interesting,” Erika said once he had left. “He sure was cute, but kind of intimidating. I don’t think I’d want him to be mad at me.”
“I get the feeling he can take care of himself,” said Sara, “even without the rifle he was carrying.”
Naval Base Kitsap, WA, August 10
“Welcome to Naval Base Kitsap,” said LT Bill Weathersby to the advance team from the Chinese Navy. Their fleet was currently in Vancouver, but three of its officers had flown down to Seattle to liaise with the staff of Naval Region Northwest and see the bases that would be hosting the ships. LT Weathersby had sent the Admiral’s driver to pick up the Chinese officers and bring them to the base at Bremerton, saving him a trip and having to supply 30 minutes worth of conversation with them. They were meeting in the Admiral’s conference room so Weathersby could spread out all of the information that he had for them.
“Thank you very much for hosting us,” replied Commander Gao Qiang, the Executive Officer of the PLAN destroyer Kunming. Short and slight of build, Commander Gao was able to project an air of confidence many sizes larger than he was. “We are very excited about being here.”
“Your English is very good,” said LT Weathersby. “You’ve obviously been to the United States before, correct?”
“Indeed,” said Commander Gao. If he was at all put out at being asked that by a junior officer, it didn’t show. “I attended college here in Seattle at the University of Washington, so I am somewhat familiar with the area, although I never made it onto any of the military bases.”
“Well, we’re very happy to have you here,” reiterated LT Weathersby, “and it’ll be my pleasure to show you around. If you have any place you want to go or see, please let me know. We’ll also make sure you have all of the services at the individual piers that you need for your ships. If you need anything special, please let me know so we can be sure to get it for you.”
“Well, certainly, we’d like to see where you’re going to have us tie up our ships,” said Commander Gao, “I understand my ship is going to be at Naval Station Everett up the coast, so we can play softball against the teams from the ships there. We will be pulling into port on the 18th. Is that still correct?”
LT Weathersby nodded. “Yes, that is still correct. As I understand it, your teams will be playing teams from the destroyer USS Shoup and the frigate USS Ford. I heard they have played a couple of practice games, and you probably want your better team to play the Shoup’s team. As their crew is a little bigger, they had more people to draw from and put together a better team. I think they won pretty handily over the Ford’s crew.”
The Operations Officer from the PLAN Changsha, Lieutenant He Fang asked, “Will the Changsha still be in Tacoma so that we can make our delivery?”
“Yes, it has all been arranged for you to go to the Navy Pier on the Hylebos River on the 18th,” confirmed LT Weathersby. “We have also talked with the Air Traffic Control facilities at McChord Air Force Base to coordinate your flight to the SAIC facility. By the way, McChord Air Force Base was consolidated with the Army’s base at Fort Lewis in 2010; they are now known as ‘Joint Base Lewis-McChord,’ so you may hear it called that, too. Here are the radio frequencies that McChord is using and the procedures they would like you to follow.” LT Weathersby handed him the paperwork.
“Thank you very much for arranging everything. Do you have a phone number so that I can call them if there are any questions?” asked the Changsha Operations Officer.
“That’s in there, too,” said LT Weathersby and the operations officer bowed his thanks.
“And the Long and Qinghaihu will still be pulling into Bremerton on the 18th?” asked Lieutenant Commander Lin Gang, the Air Operations Officer from the Long.
“Yes,” answered LT Weathersby, “both ships will be at Pier D at the Bremerton Naval Station. I have a set of charts that show how to get there and what the water depths are enroute.”
Lieutenant Commander Lin, a tall and studious-looking man, bowed, “Thank you very much. Do you have the guest list for who will attend our dinner on August 19th?”
“Yes, I do,” said LT Weathersby. “Governor Shelby and his wife will be able to attend, as will Representative Bennett and her husband. It also looks like the majority of Admiral Barnaby’s staff will be able to attend, as well as the Captain and Executive Officer from Naval Base Kitsap and their wives. Almost everyone that was invited will be able to attend and they were all very happy to be included. Speaking of which, Admiral Barnaby would be very honored if your admiral and as many of your officers as are able could join him at his house on August 20th for a party to commemorate your visit here.”
“We would be delighted,” Lieutenant Commander Lin said. “Although I will have to confirm it with him, I’m sure my admiral would be happy to attend. My admiral also asked me to coordinate some logistical movements while we are here. With our ships separated at three different bases, he was wondering if we would be able to fly our helicopters between the ships so we can move supplies and people back and forth. It is quite a long drive from Bremerton to Everett, although it is not very far as the raven flies, as I believe you say.”
“The bird is a crow,” Commander Gao corrected, “but the point is valid. The admiral has asked my Captain to be present for several planning sessions for the other upcoming port visits we have; it would be a much more economical use of his time if we could fly him to the Long and back. We would also like to be able to use our landing craft to move around some supplies and renew our certifications. Would that be all right?”
“I imagine that can probably be arranged,” said LT Weathersby. “I will confirm that with my chain of command and get back with you.”
“Actually, do you know what would also be very helpful?” asked Lieutenant Commander Lin Gang. “I believe that the local air traffic control (ATC) facility is in Seattle, correct?”
LT Weathersby shrugged. As a ship driver by trade, he didn’t know as much about air operations as he probably should have.
“I believe that the agency that runs the air traffic control in this area is “Seattle Control,” said LCDR Lin. “It would be very helpful if we could get a tour there for our air traffic controllers from the Long and talk with the representatives from Seattle’s ATC facility. If we could get a tour at about 1300 on the 19th, then our controllers would be well prepared for coordinating our operations while we are here with ATC. Not only that, but by seeing the equipment in operation, our sailors will understand what your controllers are looking at, which will help our controllers to better interface with yours.”
“I know that Sunday afternoon isn’t the best time for a tour, but we’d like to do it as soon as possible once we pull in to avoid any airborne misunderstandings with our helicopters,” LCDR Lin continued. “By doing it at 1300, we also won’t have to disturb the dinner later that afternoon.”
“I will try to get that set up,” Weathersby said. He was worried about the Chinese using the opportunity to spy on the American ATC facilities, but the request made sense; if the Chinese were going to be conducting flight operations in the Seattle area, it was imp
erative that they know how to contact ATC and what procedures they should be following.
“Thank you,” said LCDR Lin. “That would be most helpful. Do you suppose that they would mind if a couple of wives attended, as well? I know the men involved, as they work for me, and two of them have wives that work for the auto manufacturers in the area; they were hoping to spend some time with them while we are here. It is not a problem if they can’t, but I know that the wives had planned to meet with their husbands while we were in port.”
“I’ll see what can be arranged.” Weathersby indicated the table with several piles of papers. “We’ve also taken the liberty of putting together some other trips and tours you might be interested in, if you’d like to take a look.”
Guangzhou Interbay Assembly Plant, Seattle, WA, August 17
The plant was closed for a three-day weekend so workers could attend the trade show at the convention center. The members of the Guangzhou Military Region Special Forces had to come to work, though, and it was most definitely not business as usual. The second and third shift operators the night before had pulled containers 2147, 2148 and 2149 into the plant and had emptied them. All of the ammunition they had contained was now down in the basement of the plant, which had been transformed into its true purpose: a firing range.
Colonel Zhang watched as the members of the second and third shifts worked on re-honing their skills with their combat rifles. As he walked down the range with Lieutenant Colonel Peng and Captain Chou Min, he looked at the targets that his men were using and decided that he was satisfied with the results. Not happy, but satisfied. “Their marksmanship is not as good as it used to be,” he said. “It is obvious that they haven’t been able to practice recently.”
Lieutenant Colonel Peng nodded as he walked along next to his commanding officer. “We moved all of the non-Special Forces personnel to the first shift a couple of weeks ago so our second and third-shift troops could start shooting again. The Special Forces personnel on the first shift, though, are going to be a little rustier. They will begin shooting tomorrow morning.”
Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle (Occupied Seattle Book 1) Page 5
