'You mean decoded, deciphered, edited, and altered,' Heinrich Braunmueller, the East German ambassador, said wryly. 'Intelligence data takes time to be made presentable.'
I 'We'll bring the data in, you can be sure of it,' Adams said.
'It clearly shows a tracking radar, one strong enough to steer dozens of nuclear — tipped surface-to-air missiles to it.'
'That is a wild, baseless accusation, sir,' Karmarov said once again, shaking his head in exasperation. 'You'll not get the Soviet Union to admit any culpability in this unfortunate accident.
'Tell the Council, Ambassador Karmarov,' Adams said, folding his hands in front of him. 'What sort of activities do you pursue at Kavaznya?
Why is it so important? Why is it so vital that you'd shoot down an unarmed survey aircraft in international airspace?'
'You are beginning to become tiresome, Ambassador Adams,' Karmarov asked. 'I will repeat myself for the last time-we do not know what happened to your aircraft. Kavaznya is the site of an important research facility that I am not permitted, and this council is not entitled, to discuss. Further, your aircraft, by your own admission, was not in international airspace. It was intruding into a Soviet controlled defense zone. It, or, more precisely, the military leaders in your Pentagon that ordered those men and women into violating the airspace of another nation, were the guilty party, not the Soviet Jnion. The aircraft made no attempt to identify itself, ask for help, state its intentions, or file a flight plan. It was an unidentified aircraft-'
'That you shot down!'
Adams said, pointing his finger at Karmarov. He was ready to play one last card. 'We know you are conducting research into particle-beam weapons, lasers, and other such devices, Ambassador. You may as well admit it.
You decided to test your new toy on an unarmed American aircraft.
'And you are on a fishing expedition, Adams,' Karmarov said. He turned to Ian McCaan. 'Mr. Secretary- General, the Soviet Union pleads innocent to the trumped-up charges levied against us by the United States. We demand that the United States shows its evidence against us immediately. If there is no evidence, as I suspect will be the case, or if the evidence is not found to be accurate, reliable, or in clear support of the charges against us, I demand all charges be dropped and a formal apology be delivered by both Ambassador Adams and the President of the United States.'
'Ambassador Adams,' Ian McCaan said, 'are you prepared to present your evidence supporting your charge'' Adams glared at Karmarov, then studied the faces of those around him. He saw only tiredness, confusion 'The United States will present its evidence to the Council by the end of the week, in a regular session of-' 'Then the delegation from the United States has wasted our time,' Karmarov declared.
'Ambassador Adams, I feel the need to remind you that an emergency meeting of this Council is not the proper forum for a political diatribe against the Soviet Union. Further, be prepared to confront the accused with evidence if you make such damaging charges. I will ask the Steering Committee of the United Nations to investigate this rash and irresponsible abuse of your privilege and see if charges of impropriety are not warranted against Gore. Mr. Secretary-General, I move for adjournment.
'Seconded,' Braunmueller said quickly.
Even McCaan, a long-time supporter of the United States and a friend of Gregory Adams, looked irritated. The rest of the Security Council members were already departing.leaving trails of angry comments behind, when McCaan's gavel tapped the stone.
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, BOISSIER OTY, LOUISIANA
Lieutenant-General Bradley Elliott.the honorary master of ceremonies, glanced at the typewritten winner's name at the bottom of the five-by-seven card. His shock deepened. In his three years as honorary awards officer for the annual Strategic Air Command Bombing and Navigation Competition.he had never seen anything like it. One organization-A)nc crew.in fact-had blown the doors off the competition as no other crew in history had. The oddsmakers and the crystal-ball gazers were not just wrong about this one-they weren't even in the ballpark.
General Elliott waited until the two stagehands were ready and the audience escorts had moved into position. He straightened his shoulders and smiled. These poor crewdogs.he said to himself. They wait months for the results of the SAC Bombing and Navigation competition.and whoever presents the awards teases them with sly innuendos and hints as to who won. And then, to increase their agony.
the escorts walk through the aisles in the audience, stopping in front of a unit's row just long enough for the victory cries to begin, then move on.
A few years ago, Elliott recalled with pride.he stood on stage accepting the trophies for his unit.feeling the applause ripple through the massive hangar. His old unit, the sleek, supersonic FB-111s at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire, had been top dog for years. It was different now.though.
It wasn't that the modern, super-sophisticated new bombers were taking all the trophies. Rather, crew quality had become the crucial factor.
'The Curtis E. LeMay Bombing Trophy,' General Elliott continued, immediately hushing the crowd, 'is awarded to the #1 bomber crew-whether from B-52s, FB-111 s, or B-1Bs-who compiles the most points competing in both high- and low level bombing. To give you a little background, this trophy was known simply as the Bombing Trophy from 1948 until 1980, then renamed in honor of General Curtis E. LeMay for his contributions to the Strategic Air Command and his support of strategic air power.
'For eight of the ten past competition years, the crews from Pease and Plattsburgh have walked away with the LeMay trophy. It was thought by some that the upgraded Offensive Avionics System and the B-1B Excalibur would finally bump the FBs out of the running. 'The General paused, waiting for a reaction from the crews in the audience. Then, he smiled a sly, secretive smile, and glanced at the Eighth Air Force commander and the fB-111 crews beside him.
'With a score of ninety-five point nine percent damage expectancy in low-level bombing and an unbelievable ninety percent effectiveness in high altitude bombing, the 715th Bombardment Squadron 'Eagles' of Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire set a record in all-purpose bombing-' At that, a huge roar went up from the audience.and the FB-111 crews from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.began to go berserk. The ' fastburner' FB-111 crews had gone through the entire competition in fear and loathing of the 'heavies,' the B-52s with their spanking-new digital computers and the sleek, deadly B-1s with an even more sophisticated version of the solid-state bombing equipment. A B-52 crew had won the previous year, and the FB crews had felt their superiority in this annual international competition slip.
The FB-111 guys had not done too well in the awards ranking until then, although their performance had been up to their usual near-perfect levels. This, an all-time Bomb Comp record, was their turning point.
Elliott let the celebration continue for a few seconds. 'Sorry, boys, I hate to do this to you He had to raise his voice to make himself heard over the shouts of the FB-111 crews. More effectively than a gunshot or a cannon blast, a single word from Elliott quieted the audience and broke more hearts, including his own: 'But…
The winner of the 1987 Curtis E. LeMay Bombing Trophy, with an unprecedented ninety-eight point seven- seven percent damage effectiveness score and an unbelievable one hundred percent score in low-level bombing, is… crew E-05, from the 470th Bombardment Squadron.'
A massive scream went up from the members and guests of the winning bomb squadron and, as the winning B-52 crew stood and made their way to the stage, an equally noticeable groan went up from the rest of the crews in the huge converted aircraft hangar-now Competition Center at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The restlessness was not unlike the reaction of a crowded football stadium when the visiting team had just scored another touchdown and gone ahead by twenty points with only a few minutes remaining in the game. The outcome of the contest, although far from over, was already obvious.
The 470th Bombardment Squadron, and Crew E-05 in particular, had just walked off with five trophies, losing only one trophy to another B-52 unit and three other trophies that could only be awarded to either an FB-111 or B- 1B unit. In addition, the 325th Bomb Wing, of'which the 470th was a part.
had taken three other trophies for their KC-135B tanker unit and also brought home the Doolittle Trophy for
