Breaking Point

By Tom Johnson

Lieutenant Commander Jason Farmer reports aboard the USS Topeka in Norfolk, VA.
An old enemy of his, Captain Stuben , a small minded, vindictive man, is in command.
Stuben informs Jason that he will see to it that Jason is not promoted to Commander and furthermore,
he will break him before the tour is over. Their relationship goes downhill from there.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483520711

Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson is former senior editor at Netflix and has written movie reviews and features for E! Online, Moviefone, and People magazine, among other publications. His entertainment writing has been recognized with a Minnesota Newspaper Association achievement award and a National Hearst Foundation award for news writing.

Book preview

9781483520711

CHAPTER One

Naval Station, Norfolk, VA

Captain Karl Stuben strutted down the pier at the Norfolk Naval station toward the USS Topeka (LPD-15), a large ship which carried twenty officers and 400 enlisted crew. It could also carry 400 marines including all their equipment and deliver them to any hot spot in the world. Stuben, its first Commanding Officer, was a short and somewhat rotund man with close cropped hair and pronounced Germanic features. His uniform fit too snugly, and he took short quick steps with a scowl on his face.

This was a deep draft command and normally a stepping stone to Admiral. Stuben could already visualize the stars on his collar. The four gold stripes on his sleeves sparkled in the morning sun. He was a peacock to be admired and held in awe by lesser beings. The sounds and smells of the waterfront filled his ears and nostrils as he made his way down the pier toward the huge hunk of steel which would be his kingdom for the next two years.

He heard the 1mc, the ship’s PA system, announce, Topeka arriving. He stuck out his chest, tightened up his strut and tried to stretch his five-foot six-inch stubby frame higher. With a scowl on his face, he felt his power to intimidate as he walked up the brow and saluted the colors. He did not initiate the salute to the quarterdeck, as is proper, but casually returned the officer of the deck’s salute.

Good morning, Captain, the OOD said cheerily.

Stuben didn’t reply to the OOD’s greeting but instead looked up at the tall ensign and asked, Where’s the CDO? The Command Duty Officer acted as the commanding officer when the captain and the executive officer were not present.

I don’t know, Captain. Would you like me to page him for you?

I want him to meet his captain on the quarterdeck when I come aboard. That’s what I want.

Yes, Sir, Captain, I’ll pass the word.

Have him report to me in my cabin.

Yes, Sir, the OOD said.

Stuben shouldered his way past the OOD saying, Clear the way when I come through.

Yes, Sir, Captain, he said, stepping aside.

From his days at the Naval Academy, Stuben carried the emotional scars of being bullied by upper classmen. He had barely made the height requirement on the entrance exam and was conscious of his short stature. Even as a junior officer, he suffered the barbs and jokes of larger senior officers. He always tried to make up for his shortcomings by working long hours to gain the favor of his seniors. His operating policy was ‘kiss up and kick down.’ Now it was his turn to instill fear and trembling into his subordinates. He enjoyed making them suffer.

Stuben wished his wife would show some interest in his career, but she didn’t seem to care and berated him for having no interest outside the Navy and no friends. She had never visited the ship nor met any of the ship’s officers or their wives. He wondered about her outside interests, and whether or not she was having an affair since he couldn’t rise to the occasion anymore. He also wondered if he could convince her to visit the orphanage in his stead while he was at sea. This was a practice he’d started during his last shore duty tour. It gave him much satisfaction, mainly because the kids would hang onto him while he was there, and it made him feel wanted and important.

Stuben entered the Captain’s cabin which consisted of a bedroom on the right and a separate lounge to the left containing a long table with seating for ten and the captain’s chair at the head. There was a coffee mess to the side and a private galley with the commanding officer’s personal chef and steward. He sat down in his chair at the head of the table as if it was his throne and called for the steward.

Good morning, Captain. Would you like some breakfast? asked the steward.

Yes, replied Stuben, scrambled eggs and bacon, and where’s my coffee?

Coming right up, Captain.

As he sipped his coffee, he picked up his morning messages and noticed a copy of Lieutenant Commander Jason Farmer’s orders to the Topeka as operations officer. He smiled. This is a good day he thought. Now I’ll get even with him for showing me up in Key West. The young up-start, we’ll see who’s boss now. Revenge will be sweet, he muttered to himself.

Lieutenant Commander Steve Howard, the engineering officer, was in the generator room when he received word the captain wanted to see him. He immediately dropped everything and made his way to the captain’s cabin. He knocked on the door and waited.

Enter, Stuben said.

Lieutenant Commander Howard reporting as ordered, sir.

Commander, are you the CDO?

Yes, Sir.

Then why didn’t you meet your captain on the quarterdeck when I came aboard?

I was in engineering, Captain, checking on the installation of a generator.

Don’t you think your Captain is as important as a generator?

Yes, Sir, Captain.

Don’t let it happen again.

Yes, Sir, Captain. Anything else, Sir?

No. Tell the executive officer I want to see him.

Yes, Sir, replied Mr. Howard, glancing at the telephone on the table in front of Stuben.

Chapter Two

Norfolk, VA

Looking out the window of Delta flight 3049 as it turned on the final leg of its approach to Norfolk municipal airport, Jason thought back to his arrival in Saigon three years earlier. He’d spent from December 1967 to December 1968 as an advisor to a Vietnamese gunship and had been in the Mekong Delta most of that time. This time there was no tracer fire to welcome him and it was a bright sunshiny day. He felt good. The last two years he’d been at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in Newport, Rhode Island. The job was mostly managerial and he was beginning to feel normal again. Sometimes at night he could still hear the sound of Huey helos and the chatter of machine gun fire. There were still sleepless nights. The least little noise would jar him instantly awake, fully alert.

The moment the airplane stopped, passengers stood to retrieve coats and packages from the overhead storage. He kept his seat. He’d learned from experience that standing in the aisle didn’t get you off any faster than sitting and waiting for the herd to move.

Jason noticed the man across the aisle had reached into the overhead bin above him and retrieved Jason’s London Fog all-weather coat. He promptly stood and said, That’s my coat, sir.

Does it have your name on it, the man asked, pretending to be taken aback.

Jason took the coat, opened it up and showed the man his name stenciled on the underside of the collar.

The man released the coat, turned and started off the plane. In a loud voice, Jason said, Your apology is accepted, THIEF.

Red-faced, the man continued off the plane.

Jason wasn’t looking forward to reporting aboard the USS Topeka. The Commanding Officer, an old enemy of his, was small-minded and vindictive. Jason could ask for a change of orders, but decided to take the good with the bad. This tour was going to be bad. He could feel it.

They’d met in Key West in 1967 when Jason was a Lieutenant and instructor at the Fleet Sonar School teaching ASW, Anti-Submarine Warfare, tactics. Captain Stuben, then Commander Stuben, a short abrasive man with a crew-cut, came through the school as a student on his way to command a destroyer. During one of Jason’s lectures, Stuben stood and informed the class that what Jason was teaching was not the way things were done in the fleet. Jason promptly asked Commander Stuben if he would take the podium and tell the class how things are done in the fleet. Stuben took the podium and when he paused, Jason asked the class if anyone had any questions for Commander Stuben. A captain raised his hand and said, I don’t have a question but I’d like to say something. I’d like for Commander Stuben to sit down and shut up and let the Lieutenant finish the lecture. A red-faced Stuben sat down and shut up. The silence could be felt throughout the room. Jason finished the lecture without interference.

Several weeks later, Stuben returned to Key West as commanding officer of a destroyer which had been assigned to the Fleet Sonar School as a training ship. As senior instructor, Jason rode Stuben’s ship with a class of twelve students. As such, Jason had under his control two destroyers, one submarine, two helos, and one fixed wing aircraft. At the beginning of the exercises, Stuben began interfering and countermanding Jason’s orders and instructions. Jason stepped out to the bridge from CIC,