Moral Revenge

By Athos Macris and Timothy Mazza

Family. Honor. Devotion. Revenge.

When world events, egos, and naval careers scapegoat Vice Admiral Alexis Kochenko, it shakes him and his family to their core.
Torn by revenge, patriotism, and honor, the Admiral's son, John Kochenko, commanding officer of one of the Navy's newest nuclear fast-attack submarines,
risks everything to lead a select group of crewmembers to do the unthinkable.  The voyage of the USS Redfish exposes a corrupt consortium to save Kochenko's family, the United States Submarine Service, and the country from an unimaginable fate.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Athos Macris
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781734017717

Athos Macris

Athos Macris is a Cold War Era-qualified submarine officer who writes from experience.  He lives in Connecticut with his family and enjoys classic cars and cooking.

Book preview

1 The Dawning

It was 0545 and dawn was beginning to hint on the promise of a beautiful day at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. A promise that was never to be realized. The topside watches on the various docked submarines were taking the final draft readings of their watch and waiting anxiously to be relieved.

A battleship gray International Harvester truck skidded into its designated space at the entrance of the watch building on the lower base by the piers. The building, a converted garage, now a storage room with a desk.  A first class petty officer got out of the truck and hastily walked into the building. He was frightfully aware that his next actions could easily be a prelude to his court martial for dereliction of duty.  With his watch log in hand, he walked to the one-man bunkroom and knocked on the door.

Chief, wake up. We have a problem. After hearing no response, he knocked again, a little harder and faster. Chief Cromery, you really need to get up right now.

The young petty officer stepped back slightly from the door, knowing that when it swung open he would catch a ration of shit for waking the Chief of the Watch so early and abruptly.

The door swung open revealing a middle-aged man in  fairly worn khaki pants, and struggling to throw on an equally worn khaki shirt. He was in need of a razor, a comb, and at least two more hours of sleep. After looking at his watch, the chief scowled at the petty officer, and with the most severe voice that he could muster without having his first cup of coffee, he answered.

Jennings, if this is anything less than another fire on the upper base; you had better have a corpsman outside ready to extract my boot from your ass.

I wish it was just a fire, Chief. The chief fumbled to button his shirt correctly, as he looked at the petty officer who could barely look directly back at him. "I just went up to pier 31 North and the Redfish is not there."

The chief paused and looked up. "What the hell do you mean, it’s not there?"

"Just what I said, Chief.  It’s not docked at the pier. I double-checked the schedule for ship movements and the Plan of the Day. There is no indication Redfish was to move. I double checked, and it hasn’t moved to any of the other piers either."

The chief forgot about his shirt and overall appearance and looked up at Petty Officer Jennings.

"Give me your log. When was the last time you were down at Pier 31 and saw Redfish?" The chief started to thumb through the Pier Watch Log Book.

Petty Officer Jennings fumbled for words. Well Chief, I looked up from Pier 20 at 0300 and am pretty sure it was there at that time. He stood silently waiting for the inevitable questions, certain that were sure to get him in more trouble than he could imagine.

"Pretty sure? Really?  Am I supposed to tell the DevGroup duty officer that? Because if I do, I’m pretty sure you and I are really going to be wearing our asses for collars with that answer. No, Jennings, what I want to know is what time you were physically at Pier 31 North, saw the Redfish and saw or spoke to the topside watch on that boat."

I think it was around 0110, Chief.

The chief found the log entry at 0110 indicating Petty Officer Jennings had indeed driven up to Pier 31 North and questioned the topside watch regarding the removal of their gangplank banner.

The chief became loud at this point. "So you mean to tell me that you haven’t gone down to 31 North since 0110, and that, unless we weren’t informed about an authorized movement, the Redfish has either left or fucking disappeared over four hours ago. Is that right?"

The petty officer was visibly nervous. "I know it was there before the fire at the upper base, Chief.  Shortly after I left Pier 31, the fire at the upper base went off. When I found out the fire was in the parking lot, I went up there because my car is in that lot and I wanted to make sure it was okay. I was on the upper base for about an hour, then came back down to the lower base piers. I spent some time at Pier 20 bullshitting with the topside watch on the Bluefish and as I looked down the piers, everything appeared to be okay, so I didn’t go all the way back down to Pier 31 until my next rounds.  He paused, and then in a confused and defeated tone, answered the chief’s question. I certainly doubt that the Redfish just disappeared Chief, but as to when, how, and where it went, I have no idea."

The chief looked at Petty Officer Jennings with a cold, and hard stare. His voice made it clear that he was not sympathetic in the least. On the contrary, he was becoming pissed off.

"Oh, you doubt it, huh? Chief Cromery watched as Jennings winced. Well I doubt that you’re going to go unscathed from this. I only hope that there’s some sort of unknown movement order for Redfish; but I’ll tell you what, if there’s no good reason for that boat to be gone, you and I are going to be in a world of fucking hurt."

The chief sat at the desk, grabbed the phone and dialed. Petty Officer Jennings stood attentively, waiting to see what came next.

Hello, Thames Tugboat? This is Chief Cromery, the lower Sub Base Chief of the Watch. Is John Wronowski there?

The chief stood with the phone against his ear, shaking his head slightly from side to side while waiting to speak. Hi, John, Doug Cromery here at the Sub Base. Hey, did you guys have a work order to move a boat from Pier 31 North early this morning? He paused, while listening. No, huh? By any chance did any of your guys see anyone else moving a boat somewhere between one and five A.M.? The chief paused as he took a deep breath. Okay, thanks, John.

The chief looked up dazed as he hung up the phone. Jesus, Jennings, this is scary shit.

The chief made sure he had paper and a pen at the ready, then picked up the phone and dialed hastily.

This is Chief Cromery at the lower base watch station. Give me the DevGroup Duty Officer right away.

He listened for a few brief seconds. I’m fully aware of the time Petty Officer whoever the hell you are; now get me the duty officer right now.

He took the phone away from his ear, covered the mouthpiece while muttering a snide remark, then returned it to his ear and waited for a response.

Dev Group Two, this is Lieutenant Watkins.

"Lieutenant Watkins, this is Chief Cromery at the Lower Base Watch Station. My Pier Watch just came and reported Redfish is no longer docked at Pier 31 North, sir.  I know that she was conducting some testing and remained critical, but I have nothing on the work schedule or the Plan of the Day for any ship movement. I already checked with Thames Tugboat, and they didn’t move anything yesterday or this morning."

There was a more than slight pause. Chief, I’m sending someone down to meet you. Without calling a lot of attention to this, I want you, your duty watchman and my guy to get an immediate inventory of every pier. There was another pause and some muffled conversation.  I’m also sending someone down to Pier 31 North to let any of the crew who show up for the morning watch to muster up here at our office. The last thing we need is a bunch of crew members mulling around with nowhere to go to start the rumor mill running. The lieutenant paused briefly. And Chief, I want this pier inventory done quickly and precisely and it’s to be given to me personally.

Aye, aye, sir. The chief hung up the phone and rushed to get dressed.

As he tucked in his shirt, he looked seriously at Petty Officer Jennings. Jennings, don’t move from this office. We’re going to have company.

The petty officer looked visibly shaken and answered in a wavering voice. Aye, aye, Chief.

Lieutenant Watkins was now fully awake. Before heading to the duty officer’s stateroom to finish dressing and wash up, he ordered the duty yeoman to check the Operation Orders Manual for any procedure written regarding a missing vessel. Even though the Navy has a procedure for everything from firing a missile to buttering toast, the lieutenant doubted that there would be a contingency for a nuclear submarine missing from homeport. The thought of something like this happening would be as inconceivable as a repel unicorns drill.

Within minutes, a DevGroup first class yeoman walked into the lower base watch shack. He recognized the chief. Morning, Chief Cromery. I’m here to help with a pier inventory that seems to be of some importance.

That’s right, Petty Officer Grimes. The three of us are going to every pier and see who’s here.

Fine with me, Chief.  I’m ready whenever you are. They seem pretty anxious to get this info right away.

I know, Grimes. Let’s get on it.

The three men jumped into the less-than comfortable but functioning truck and headed for the piers. The inventory didn’t take long: most boats were active at sea. It was not yet 0600. There was a petty officer already stationed at Pier 31 North to advise any crew member, who showed up for breakfast or muster, that they were to report to DevGroup Two. When they finished, all three men initialed the inventory and made a copy for the lower base watch log.  Petty Officer Jennings was in full sweat mode in anticipation of the grilling he was sure to get in a short time.  Petty Officer Grimes took the notepad with the inventory and headed back to the DevGroup offices.

While he waited for Petty Officer Grimes to return, Lieutenant Watkins formulated an approach to deal with the potential problem at hand. He was anxious to get the pier inventory hopeful the problem would be resolved or that he would wake from this bad dream. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the yeoman returned with the pier inventory.

Pier 3 – USS Bergall (SSN667)

Pier 4 – USS Trepang (SSN674)

Pier 9 – USS Archerfish (SSN678)

Pier 10 – USS Pargo (SSN650)

Pier 15 – Hughes Construction Barge

Pier 20 – USS Bluefish (SSN675)

Pier 23 – Hughes Construction Barge

After reading the inventory, Lieutenant Watkins looked at Petty Officer Grimes and shrugged. All ships were accounted for with the exception of the Redfish.

I wish I knew what the hell is going on here. I know one thing for sure; I’m going to hate making this next phone call.

The first class yeoman looked at the lieutenant as though he wished he could help in some way. He stared into space thoughtfully and then asked in a hopeful voice, "Sir, we know Redfish was critical and running so they could perform a main steam system leak down test after their operation last week. Could they have made arrangements to go down the river to Electric Boat for some reason?"

The lieutenant half smiled in a thankful way and with a furrowed brow, looked at the yeoman.

"I don’t think so, Jennings. Any test at Electric Boat would have to have an authorized work order sent ahead of time and the test and movement would be in our operations log and the Plan of the Day. I’m certainly not going to call over and ask if Redfish is there. I might as well beg to be find my face on the front page of The Day next to a picture of an empty pier and a magnifying glass.  At this point I don’t think I have any choice but to call Captain Jones and Commander Hauley. We can’t afford to let the clock continue ticking while doing nothing."

Jones and  Hauley were the commodore and the squadron officer respectively. The last people Watkins wanted to speak to.  He headed for the office and turned toward the petty officer.

I’m making these calls, get in touch with each in-port ship and, without indicating why, have the Duty Officer get a hold of their commanding officer. Tell them that they’re to get over to squadron headquarters immediately. As Grimes walked over to his desk, the lieutenant added an afterthought. And tell them to bring their topside logs with them.  With that, the lieutenant went into the office and closed the door.

Lieutenant Watkins took a deep breath as he dialed the phone. This is Lieutenant Watkins at DevGroup Two. Give me Captain Jones right away; this is an emergency.

While on hold, the lieutenant looked over the notes he had jotted down. "Yes sir, Captain. This is Lieutenant Watkins, DevGroup Two duty officer. We have a potentially very serious condition here, sir. The Redfish is not docked at Pier 31 North and we have no indication that there was any authorized ship movement."

He paused to listen. Yes, sir, I’ve already called all in-port commands to have the commanding officers and duty officers assemble with their topside log books here at squadron headquarters.

He stopped to take more notes. Aye aye, sir. Thank you, sir. Will do.

He hung up the phone, took a deep breath and exhaled before picking up the phone and dialing again. Yes, this is Lieutenant Watkins at DevGroup2. I need to speak to Commander Hauley immediately.

He waited nervously for the squadron ops officer. Yes, sir, it’s Lieutenant Watkins, sir. He relayed the same information he had just given to the commodore. Commander Hauley indicated that he had no information regarding orders for Redfish’s movement.  As he listened to Commander Hauley, Lieutenant Watkins detected the urgency in the officer’s voice. 

Yes, sir, we’re trying to keep this as low key as possible, but I expect that the crew will be mustering very soon. We have them being directed to assemble here at the squadron gymnasium.

He stopped speaking and, underlined what he’d just written them for emphasis. Yes, sir.  Will do, sir.

He hung up the phone, shook his head while taking a deep breath and thought aloud, Holy Shit!

As he walked toward Petty Officer Grimes’ desk, he announced in a relatively urgent tone, "Get ready, Yeo. The shit’s going to hit the fan in not too many minutes. I want the phone contacts for the captain of the Redfish on my desk in two minutes or less, then get over to the gym and get a list of every crew member there so we know who is potentially on Redfish. When we know who is on that boat, I want six copies of the list. We’ll then need the personal files on each of those men." 

He looked sternly at the petty officer, who was already thumbing through a binder labeled In Port Commands. No pressure Grimes. You’ve got twenty minutes.

Petty Officer Grimes made and maintained what he called his In Port Commands Log, making it easy for him to phone or send correspondence to the correct people on the ships in port. With a look of rushed panic in his face, he removed the page for the USS Redfish and handed it to Lieutenant Watkins.

"Here you go, sir; Commander Kochenko is captain of the Redfish. His phone number and address are alongside his name at the top of the page."

Grimes was proud of himself for being able to supply the information requested in less than a minute, but that pride was supplanted by his disbelief at the scenario unfolding before them. He was also fully aware the Navy didn’t care what he believed or felt. They cared about his following orders, as given, to the letter. He grabbed a clipboard and glanced over at Lieutenant Watkins.

I’ll be back right away, sir.

Very well.

It was 0615 and the proverbial dawn’s early light had come to New England. Many of the crew of Redfish had gathered, as instructed, in the gym at DevGroup 2. Some of the men lay down on the wooden bleachers, taking advantage of the unexpected extra minutes of sleep. Some played an impromptu half-court basketball game, and all of them wondered what the hell was going on. Although full muster was not for another forty-five minutes, there were a conspicuous few crewmembers missing, not to mention their submarine. The rumor mill was in full operation, making grist for speculation.

Petty Officer Grimes walked up to a group of four chiefs that were standing together. Is one of you Chief Blakely? He read from the name from his log page.

A fifty-something man with salt and pepper hair and library frame glasses stopped sipping his coffee and looked at the yeoman. I’m Chief Blakely, what can I do for you?

"Chief, The DevGroup duty officer has instructed me to get a list of Redfish crew members here. Would you line ‘em up for me, please? We’re kind of in a rush to get this done."

The chief looked at the name stenciled on the yeoman’s shirt. Sure, Petty Officer Grimes. Are you going to let us know what the hell is going on and where our boat is?

Grimes mustered up his most convincing tone. I wish I could, Chief, but I know about as much as you do.

The chief looked at the petty officer in disbelief, but he knew whether he believed him or not, it would be useless to push the issue. He then turned and faced the interior of the gym and yelled in an authoritative voice.

"Listen up. Crew of the Redfish, put the ball away, get your butts up and muster on line immediately. "

Thanks, Chief. Grimes hastily went to each man and got his name and rate then headed back to the office.

Upon return to the Dev Group Operations office Lieutenant Watkins instructed Petty Officer Grimes to compare his list to the crew list of the Redfish and create a list of who was missing. He then instructed both Petty Officers Grimes and Jennings to call the numbers available and to go to both the enlisted barracks, bachelor officers’ quarters, and their homes to get in touch with any and all crewmembers on the list.

Less than half an hour after being contacted, Commander Hauley arrived, followed shortly by Captain Jones. Lieutenant Watkins had Petty Officer Jennings put all the files he requested, as well as, the roster of Redfish, in the conference room. The presence of Commander Hauley and Captain Jones amplified the uncertainty and tension.  

The four men sat at the conference table. Without a word, they looked at each other and the few files and notes they had in front of them.  Commander Hauley began the meeting he would remember for the rest of his life.

"Gentlemen, I’m sure we all understand this situation must be handled with the utmost security, not just between us, but with all the officers and enlisted we are about to address. If in fact Redfish is missing, the consequences are inconceivable."

He paused to arrange his thoughts in order of importance. As of this moment, we are considering the USS Redfish missing. We are going to assume the worst scenarios and work from there; we have lost control of a nuclear submarine with nuclear weapons. While I don’t believe it’s in hostile hands, we must assume that as a possible scenario until we find out otherwise.

Those few words increased the intensity in the room, and focused the mission to resolve whatever it actually was.

We can no longer keep this a local matter. We must immediately contact the base commander and advise SecNav, ComSubLant, and CinClant.

What the commander was suggesting – bubbling their missing boat up to the Secretary of the Navy, the Commander Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet, and the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet – spoke to the gravity of the situation blanketing the four men

Mr. Watkins, you have five minutes to prepare a succinct, yet complete, message of what we know thus far. I will present it and request an immediate response. He took a deep breath, as he leaned back and looked to the ceiling.

When he leaned in again, to look at each of the three men, he said, Gentlemen, I can guarantee you this will go to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President immediately. I can’t even guess what will happen after that. He removed his glasses, placed them on the table in front of him, and rubbed his eyes as he shook his head. God, help us.

While these men were professionals, experienced in all phases of naval operations and procedures, they were treading on new ground. They knew caution and control were going to be most important. They also realized time was not on their side.  Captain Jones looked up from his notes.

Gentlemen, if I may make a suggestion, I don’t believe we should address the crew prior to a response from CinClant. We have too many unknowns in this situation and until we know what action is going to be taken and the reason for that action, we can’t put any word out to anyone.

He looked at Commander Hauley, Do we have that statement yet?

Petty Officer Jennings rushed to Lieutenant Watkins’ office. The two men returned to the conference table within a minute with three copies of a draft statement Watkins hoped was usable. 

We are in the midst of a significant and unprecedented event. Last night the USS Redfish was secured to the North side of Pier 31 with the reactor critical in order to conduct high temperature leak testing prior to its anticipated departure in two days. The last verified contact with Redfish was at 0110. At 0500, it was reported by the lower base watch that Redfish was missing from Pier 31. No one in the squadron is aware of any changes in operation orders.  The Redfish has a complement of four SubRoc missiles and ten conventional weapons. At this time, we have had no contact with Redfish. We await your immediate reply.

Commander Hauley and Captain Jones read the draft, and instructed Petty Officer Jennings to telex the message with a top-secret security classification immediately to both CinClant and Sublant.

In under fifteen minutes, a call came through to DevGroup 2 instructing Petty Officer Jennings to set up a conference call and patch it through to the conference room speakerphone. There was to be only Watkins, Hauley, Jones and Jennings in the conference room for the call. Jennings put the call through as instructed and went into the conference room where the three officers involved were already waiting.

Petty Officer Jennings opened the call. Sirs, the call is patched, and all are assembled.

Gentlemen, this is Admirals White and Johnson. Can you all hear us clearly?

There was a collective Yes sir from those in the room.

"Very well. I am going to begin this conversation by saying this is perhaps the most profound and highly secure issue I have ever encountered in my twenty-seven year career. I fully expect nothing we are about to discuss is to leave the room, and my office will control all communications regarding this situation from this point forward. If you have not already, I want all the topside watch logs from each in-port ship scrubbed for any information that may give us a time frame of Redfish’s movement."

There was a pause. Captain Jones took the opportunity to speak up.

"Admiral, we’re concerned about the security of the ship. We have the crewmembers who arrived for morning muster sequestered here at the DevGroup. I must say, they are anxious to know what’s going on. We’ve made several attempts to reach Commander Kochenko, captain of Redfish, with no result. We are currently gathering a list of the assembled crew to compare with the current ship’s roster. We have also assembled the commanding officers and duty officers of the five other ships in port."

He cleared his throat, and then continued. "If I may suggest sirs, would a speculative story be in order or more prudent here? I don’t see any reason to alarm these men, and if we present the right scenario, we can offer a good reason for assistance in hunting down Redfish."

There was the sound of muffled conversation on the other end of the phone. The men sitting at the conference table looked at each other with expressions of questioning and disbelief as they waited for a reply.

In answer to your question Captain, as a rule, a speculative story, as you like to call it, would not be in order; however in this most unusual instance, I believe such a story would be more prudent and advisable to maintain order.

There was another pause on the phone and an awkward silence in the conference room.

"Gentlemen, you are to advise the crew and officers who have been assembled, there has been a class one, nuclear emergency aboard Redfish. For that reason, Captain Kochenko took it upon himself to remove Redfish from not just the base, but also the general population. Exact information regarding the extent of their problem is unclear. Once we have full and precise details, we will dispatch resources to either assist in the repair of the problem or remove the crew if necessary.  We believe, if this notification is presented properly, it will not only offer a vague answer, but motivate any of the commands recruited to work a search and rescue operation."

Another voice came through the speaker box in the middle of the table. Gentlemen, this is Admiral Johnson. Admiral White will be there within the hour, and I’m taking a military flight from Norfolk to New London right away. This situation is one none of us have thought to prepare for and we don’t know what questions to ask, but I expect you to figure out what those questions should be and start getting answers to them by the time we’re all able to assemble together. When this gets to the CNO and the President, they’re going to want answers and, good or bad, we are going to have them.

Admiral White broke in. Again, I’d like to stress, this and all future meetings and correspondence with regard to this situation is of the highest security classification. Exact information is strictly on a need-to-know basis, and any leak of this, either intentional or unintentional, will be considered grounds for a summary court martial.

In the room, as the men searched for the right thing to say. The admiral beat them to it.

Gentlemen, I suggest you immediately advise the other commands of the emergency at hand, and move forward from there with cautious haste.

Commander Hauley spoke up. Aye, aye sir. We’ve already got some oars in the water and will have a better hand on the situation by the time you arrive.

Very well. We’re on the way.  The phone went dead.

If I may, gentlemen, I believe we must first address the various commands regarding the scenario we are faced with.  Captain Jones said, "We need to find out the exact time Redfish left port. I’ve requested the topside logs from each in-port command. I expect someone was alert enough to log in the movement of a submarine in the middle of the damn night. We need to find out who’s on Redfish. I want all bands of communication open and monitored on the chance Redfish tries to contact us or anyone else. The commander put his notes down and looked around the table. I’m sure there is something I’m missing and welcome your input."

Lieutenant Watkins spoke up. "I’ve requested all the personal files on the crew of Redfish. It may be a good thing to get in touch with the immediate families of the at sea crew to see if anyone said anything to their family before leaving."

An excellent idea, Lieutenant. Captain Jones leaned forward to the table. We should be very careful as to what information we give them and what questions we ask. We should try to contain the panic of this situation to this room.

Commander Hauley gathered his notes and stood up. I suggest we get our collective asses in gear, gentlemen. Mister Jennings, once everyone leaves this room, would you get the in-port command officers to come here with their topside logs?

He shook his head while taking a deep breath. He then spoke sternly as though he had an afterthought he did not want to skip. Also, if Chief Cromery is at the gym with the watchman who was on duty at the time, I want to see them as well. He in added a loud and pointed tone. If they’re not there, if they’re off somewhere preparing their shit shields, find them and tell them to report to me ASAP.

Aye, sir. The yeoman had the look Wile E. Coyote always had prior to holding up his YIKES! sign. He turned, left the conference room and headed for the building next door.

Captain Jones looked up at the duty officer. Mr. Watkins, you said Chief Cromery talked to Mr. Wronowski, is that correct?

"Yes, sir. He called them to see if they moved Redfish."

Let’s get him over here right away. I don’t want to take the chance of him questioning the call or starting any rumors. Also, I want you to let me know which two of the boats in port can be deployed on a moment’s notice.

Aye aye, sir. The lieutenant quickly went to his desk, flipped the cards in his Rolodex and dialed the Thames Tugboat Company.

The in-port commanding officers who had been gathered at the DevGroup gym were now in the conference room awaiting the shroud of secrecy hanging over them to be lifted. Commander Hauley entered the room, stood at the head of the long table and dropped a folder down. He looked up at the officers gathered.

"Gentlemen, I’m sorry for all the mystery this time of the morning, but we have a serious situation unfolding. As you can see, one of your peers is not at this meeting. Captain Kochenko of