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Dangerous Grounds Reviews

AUGUST 2016

147

THE SUBMARINE REVIEW

Large red letters read: “TOP SECRET. Special Compartmented Information. Sly Eye.” Just beneath the words were the SEAL’s “Budweiser” shield and the submariner’s gold dolphins.
Chapman noticed that several of the people seated around the room were dressed in cammies and sported the large, gold SEALs shield. Two of them, a commander who appeared about his age and a youngish-looking lieutenant, were seated at the conference table.
The room was silent as Ward spoke.
“Gentlemen, this brief is classified. No notes will be taken. Nothing will leave this room. Couriers will deliver your orders to your individual commands later this evening.”
He pressed a button. A map of the unmistakable peninsular shape of North and South Korea flashed up on the screen.
“We have reason to believe that the DPRK has acquired a number of nuclear weapons from Russian sources. Our intelligence is very reliable on this one.”
He stopped for a second while a collective gasp arose from the group. They had just heard their worst fear verbalized. Something they had dreaded for their entire careers had apparently come to pass. The North Koreans, one of the most unpredictable and desperate nations ever to cloud the Earth, owned the power to ensnare Asia in a nuclear holocaust.
It was unthinkable, intolerable. And in his own mind, each man in the room knew immediately that they had to be stopped at any cost.
“We know that at least two old Soviet-era nuclear torpedoes disappeared from the submarine base at Vlad,” Ward said, using his laser pointer to point to the spot on the edge of the map. “They were last located at the North Korean naval base at Najin. They probably came in by sea, as observed by Topeka while she was gathering intelligence in the area.” Ward nodded in Chapman’s direction. He was always glad to give a submariner props. “We have not positively located the torpedoes since. National assets aren’t able to pinpoint them because of the high natural radium content in the mountains in that part of the world. We have only one recourse. We have to put eyeballs on the target to confirm

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AUGUST 2016

THE SUBMARINE REVIEW

their existence. That’s where the SEALs and the Topeka come in. They’ll go in and they’ll find the nukes if the are there.”
The SEAL lieutenant, the one wearing a nametag that said ” Walker” asked, “And then what? We blow ’em?”
“Easy, Cowboy,” the older SEAL said, almost in a whisper. “We gotta let everyone play.”
A Navy captain wearing a Lake Erie ball cap spoke up. “Reckon that’s where we come in. You guy’s find ’em and we use Erie’s Tomahawks to smash ’em.”
“That about describes the plan,” Ward chimed in. “Now, let’s get down to planning the nitty-gritty. We haven’t got much time. They may keep moving them to lessen the chance we’ll find them. Or they may intend to get them to their buddies somewhere else in the world. We have to find them first. I want Topeka and the SEAL team underway by first light tomorrow. Lake Erie will follow tomorrow afternoon.” Jon Ward paused for a moment and looked into the eyes of each man in the room. “Fellows, do I need to tell you how sensitive this all is? Or what it means if we don’t stop those nukes before the bastards use them. Or give them to somebody who does?”
No one said a word.

Extract # 4
Insert SEALs
Don Chapman swung the scope around slowly, looking care- fully at the surface of the sea sixty two feet above his submarine.
Nothing to see but the last glimmer from the sun as it slid below the horizon. They were all alone in this bit of the Sea of Japan.
That was a good thing.
Chapman spoke into the open microphone just above his head. “ESM, picking anything up?”
The early warning receiver was quiet, but it was still a good idea to have his experts make sure no one was looking for them.
“Captain, picking up a shore-based surface search radar,” the ESM watchstander answered. The man was sitting in the forward

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