tc.redstormrising-第15部分

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obile　guns　had　supplied　fire　support；　along　with　a　battery　of　rocket　launchers。　Three　times。
Alekseyev　turned；　removing　his　helmet　and　earmuffs　to　look　at　the　regimental　mander。　〃A　Guards　regiment；　eh；　rade　Colonel？　Elite　soldiers　of　the　Red　Army？　These　tit…sucking　children　couldn't　guard　a　Turkish　whorehouse；　much　less　do　anything　worthwhile　inside　of　it！　And　what　have　you　been　doing　for　the　past　four　years　manding　this　rolling　circus；　rade　Colonel？　You　have　learned　to　kill　your　whole　mand　three　times！　Your　artillery　observers　are　not　located　properly。　Your　tanks　and　infantry　carriers　still　can't　coordinate　their　movements；　and　your　tank　gunners　can't　find　targets　three　meters　high！　If　that　had　been　a　NATO　force　holding　that　ridge；　you　and　your　mand　would　be　dead！〃　Alekseyev　examined　the　colonel's　face。　His　demeanor　was　changing　from　red…fear　to　white…anger。　Good。　〃The　loss　of　these　people　is　no　great　penalty　for　the　State；　but　that　is　valuable　equipment；　burning　valuable　fuel；　shooting　valuable　ordnance；　and　taking　up　my　valuable　time！　rade　Colonel；　I　must　leave　you　now。　First　I　will　throw　up。　Then　I　will　fly　to　my　mand　post。　I　will　be　back。　When　I　e　back；　we　will　run　this　exercise　again。　Your　men　will　perform　properly；　rade　Colonel；　or　you　will　spend　the　rest　of　your　miserable　life　counting　trees！〃
Alekseyev　stomped　off；　not　even　acknowledging　the　colonel's　salute。　His　adjutant；　a　full　colonel　of　tank　troops；　held　open　the　door　and　got　in　behind　his　boss。
〃Shaping　up　rather　well；　eh？〃　Alekseyev　asked。
〃Not　well　enough；　but　there　has　been　progress；〃　the　colonel　allowed。　〃They　have　only　another　six　weeks　before　they　have　to　start　moving　west。〃
It　was　the　wrong　thing　to　say。　Alekseyev　had　spent　two　weeks　chivvying　this　division　toward　bat　readiness；　only　to　learn　the　day　before　that　it　had　been　allocated　to　Germany　instead　of　toward　his　own　as…yet　inplete　plan　to　descend　into　Iraq　and　Iran。　Already　four　divisions…all　of　his　elite　Guards　tank　units…had　been　taken　away；　and　each　change　in　CINC…Southwest's　order　of　battle　forced　him　to　restructure　his　own　plan　for　the　Gulf　An　endless　circle。　He　was　being　forced　to　select　less…ready　units；　forcing　Alekseyev　to　devote　more　time　to　unit　training　and　less　time　to　the　plan　that　had　to　be　pleted　in　another　two　weeks。
〃Those　men　are　going　to　have　a　very　busy　six　weeks。　What　about　the　mander？〃　the　colonel　asked。
Alekseyev　shrugged。　〃He's　been　in　this　job　too　long。　Forty…five　is　too　old　for　this　kind　of　mand；　and　he　reads　his　fucking　parade　manuals　too　much　instead　of　going　out　in　the　field。　But　a　good　man。　Too　good　to　be　sent　counting　trees。〃　Alekseyev　chuckled　heavily。　It　was　a　Russian　saying　that　dated　back　to　the　czars。　People　exiled　to　Siberia　were　said　to　have　nothing　to　do　but　count　trees。　Another　of　the　things　Lenin　had　changed。　Now　people　in　the　Gulag　had　plenty　to　do。　〃The　last　two　times　they　did　well　enough　to　succeed；　I　think。　This　regiment　will　be　ready；　along　with　the　whole　division。〃

USS　PHARRIS
〃Bridge；　sonar：　we　have　a　contact　bearing　zero…nine…four！〃　announced　a　voice　on　the　bulkhead…mounted　speaker。　mander　Morris　turned　in　his　elevated　swivel　chair　to　watch　his　officer　of　the　deck　respond。
The　OOD　trained　his　binoculars　to　the　direction　of　the　contact。　There　was　nothing　there：　〃Bearing　is　clear。〃
Morris　got　up　from　his　chair。　〃Set　Condition　I…AS。〃
〃Aye　aye。　Battle　Stations；〃　the　OOD　acknowledged　the　order。　The　boatswain's…mate…of…the…watch　walked　to　the　announcing　system；　and　blew　a　three…note　whistle　on　his　bosun's　pipe　into　the　speaker。　〃General　Quarters；　General　Quarters；　all　hands　man　your　battle　stations　for　anti…submarine　warfare。〃　The　alarm　gong　came　next；　and　a　quiet　forenoon　watch　ended。
Morris　went　aft；　down　the　ladder　to　the　bat　Information　Center；　or　CIC。　His　executive　officer　would　take　the　conn　at　the　bridge；　allowing　the　captain　to　control　the　ship's　weapons　and　sensors　from　her　tactical　nerve　center。　All　over　the　ship；　men　were　running　to　stations。　Watertight　doors　and　hatches　were　dropped　into　place　and　dogged　down　to　give　the　ship　full　watertight　integrity。　Damage…control　parties　donned　emergency　equipment。　It　took　just　over　four　minutes。　Getting　better；　Morris　noted　as　the　〃manned　and　ready〃　calls　were　relayed　to　him　by　the　CIC　talker。　Since　leaving　Norfolk　four　days　before；　PHARRIS　was　averaging　three　GQ　calls　per　day；　as　ordered　by　mander；　Naval　Surface　Forces；　Atlantic。　No　one　had　confirmed　it；　but　Morris　figured　that　his　friend's　information　had　kicked　over　an　anthill。　His　training　routines　had　been　doubled；　and　the　orders　for　the　increase　of　activity　were　classified　as　high　as　anything　he　had　ever　seen。　More　remarkably；　the　increased　training　tempos　would　interfere　with　maintenance　scheduling；　something　not　lightly　set　aside。
〃All　stations　report　manned　and　ready！〃　the　talker　finally　announced。　〃Condition　Zebra　set　throughout　the　ship。〃
〃Very　well；〃　the　tactical　action　officer　acknowledged。
〃Report；　mister；〃　Morris　ordered。
〃Sir；　the　navigation　and　air…search　radars　are　in　stand…by　and　the　sonar　is　in　passive　mode；〃　replied　the　TAO。　〃Contact　looks　like　a　schnorkeling　submarine。　Came　in　clear　all　at　once。　We've　got　a　target…motion…analysis　track　going。　His　bearing　is　changing　fore…to…aft；　and　pretty　fast；　too。　A　little　soon　to　be　sure；　but　it's　shaping　up　like　he's　on　a　reciprocal　heading；　probably　no　more　than　ten　miles　out。〃
〃Contact　report　off　to　Norfolk　yet？〃
〃Waiting　for　your　say…so。〃
〃Very　well。　Let's　see　how　well　we　can　run　a　hold…down　exercise；　mister。〃
Within　fifteen　minutes；　Pharris's　helicopter　was　dropping　sonobuoys　on　the　submarine；　and　the　frigate　was　lashing　it　with　her　powerful　active　sonar。　They　wouldn't　stop　until　the　Soviet　submarine　admitted　defeat　by　ing　back　to　schnorkeling　depth…or　until　he　evaded　the　frigate；　which　would　put　a　large　black　mark　in　Morris's　copybook。　The　objective　of　this　non…lethal　exercise　was　nasty　enough：　to　break　the　submarine　captain's　confidence　in　his　vessel；　his　crew；　and　himself。

USS　CHICAGO
They　were　a　thousand　miles　offshore；　heading　northeast　at　twenty…five　knots。　The　crew　was　decidedly　unhappy；　though　they'd　all　been　through　this　before。　What　should　have　been　a　three…week　layover　at　Norfolk　had　been　cut　short　at　eight　days；　a　bitter　pill　after　a　long　first　cruise。　Trips　and　vacations　had　been　interrupted；　and　some　minor　maintenance　work　supposed　to　have　been　done　by　shoreside　technicians　was　now　being　done　round　the　clock　by　her　own　crew。　McCafferty　had　announced　his　sealed　orders　to　the　crew　two　hours　after　diving：　conduct　two　weeks　of　intensive　tracking　and　torpedo　drills；　then　proceed　to　the　Barents　Sea　for　further　intelligence　gathering。　It　was　important；　he　told　them。　They'd　heard　that　one　before；　too。

7　…　Initial　Observations

NORFOLK；　VIRGINIA
Toland　hoped　his　uniform　was　properly　arranged。　It　was　0630　on　a　Wednesday　morning；　and　he'd　been　up　since　four　rehearsing　his　presentation；　and　cursing　CINCLANT　for　an　early…riser　who　probably　wanted　to　get　in　a　round　of　golf　that　afternoon。　He　would　spend　the　afternoon　as　he　had　for　several　weeks；　sifting　through　endless　intel　documents　and　copies　of　Soviet　publications　in　the　Intentions　cubbyhole　half　a　building　away。
The　Flag　Officers　Briefing　Room　seemed　a　different　world　from　the　rest　of　the　tawdry　building；　but　that　was　hardly　a　surprise。　Admirals　liked　their　forts。　Bob　made　a　quick　trip　to　the　nearby　head　to　eliminate　a　distraction　caused　by　too　much　wake…up　coffee。　By　the　time　he　came　back；　the　flag　officers　were　filing　in。　They　exchanged　greetings；　but　there　were　no　jokes；　none　of　the　banter　one　would　expect　this　early　in　the　morning。　The　officers　selected　their　leather　seats　by　order　of　rank。　Those　few　who　smoked　had　ashtrays。　Each　had　a　note　pad。　Stewards　brought　in　several　pots　of　coffee；　cream；　and　sugar　on　silver　trays；　then　withdrew。　The　cups　were　already　in　place。　Each　officer　poured　himself　a　cup　as　part　of　the　morning　ritual。　CINCLANT　nodded　to　Toland。
　〃Good　morning；　gentlemen。　Approximately　a　month　ago；　four　colonels　in　the　Soviet　Army；　all　regimental　manders　in　mechanized　divisions；　were　court…martialed　and　executed　for　falsifying　data　on　their　unit　training　and　readiness　reports；〃　Toland　began；　explaining　the　significance　of　this。
〃Earlier　this　week　Kraznaya　Zvesda；　'Red　Star；'　the　daily　newspaper　of　the　entire　Soviet　military；　publicized　the　execution　of　a　number　of　privates　in　the　Soviet　Army。　All　but　two　were　in　the　final　six　months　of　their　enlistment　period；　and　all　were　charged　with　disobeying　the　orders　of　their　sergeants。　Why　is　this　significant？
〃The　Russian　Army　has　long　been　known　for　its　tough　discipline；　but　as　with　many　aspects　of　the　Soviet　Union；　not　everything　is　as　it　seems。　A　sergeant　in　the　Soviet　Army　is　not　a　professional　soldier　as　is　the　case　in　most　armies。　He　is　a　conscript；　just　like　the　privates；　selected　early　in　his　enlistment　term　for　special　training　due　to　his　intelligence；　political　reliability；　or　perceived　leadership　ability。　He　is　sent　to　a　tough　six…month　course　to　make　him　an　instant　sergeant；　then　returned　to　his　operational　unit。　In　fact　he　has　about　as　little　practical　experience　as　his　subordinates；　and　his　superior　knowledge　of　tactics　and　weapons…use　is　a　matter　of　increments　rather　than　the　more　dramatic　differences　between　sergeants　and　new　recruits　in　Western　forces。
〃Because　of　this；　the　real　pecking　order　in　Soviet　ground　formations　does　not　necessarily　derive　from　rank；　but　from　time　in　service。　The　Soviets　induct　their　troops　twice　a　year；　in　December　and　June。　With　the　usual　two…year　term　of　service；　we　see　that　there　are　four　'classes'　in　any　formation：　the　lowest　class　is　in　its　first　six…month　period　and　the　highest　is　in　its　fourth。　The　young　men　who　have　the　actual　status　in　a　Soviet　rifle　pany　are　those　in　their　final　six…month　term。　They　typically　demand　and　get　the　best…or　at　least　the　most…food；　uniforms；　and　work　details。　And　they　typically　obviate　the　authority　of　the　pany　NCOs。　In　fact；　orders　e　directly　from　the　officers；　not　the　platoon　and　squad　sergeants；　and　are　usually　carried　out　with　little　regard　to　what　we　consider　conventional　military　discipline　at　the　subofficer　level。　As　you　can　imagine；　this　places　an　enormous　strain　on　the　ju