possibility that I feel it would be more prudent to act upon.” The President had a very slight-but very noticeable- exasperated frown-he didn’t like being told that he was wrong. He rolled his hand as if to say, ‘Get on with it.” Curtis said, “My staff feels that this attack may be a prelude to an all-out attack and invasion of the Philippines by China… Everyone in the room sat up. Voices started coming at Curtis and at President Taylor all at once. “Ridiculous “Totally off the mark “They’d never try it Curtis pressed on. “All I have is speculation, sir, but we’re forgetting China has long historical claims to many of the Philippine Islands and the fact that ethnic Chinese make up a great majority of the Philippine population. Couple that with someone like Daniel Teguina, who has strong Communist ties, and you’ve got the makings of a real land-grab.” Voices of dissent were heard from the CIA director, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor. The President cleared his throat-loudly. All heads turned to him. “Look, we can speculate all we want, but without any information, speculation’s not going to do us a damned bit of good.” He turned to the DCI. “No word from Manila yet? Or Mikaso?”
“All lines are still jammed, sir. Satellite and HF networks are still down.” This got a grunt from the President. “And what China? Have we heard what they think about all this?” DCI Kenneth Wayne said, “We’ve got calls in to sir, including Premier Cheung.” The President turned to Tom Preston, his Secretary of Defense. Preston had been silent so far. “Thomas, what do you think?” “Well, this is an extremely vulnerable region, sir. And we’ve lost a lot of influence there since… leaving. So I think we’ve got to do at least an on-site military inspection. A task force sent from Hawaii or Japan would be sufficient and, ” in partial acknowledgment to Curtis, he added, “would deter any possible aggression, if that were going to happen.”
“Uh-huh.” The President nodded. “We do have ships patrolling the area all the time, right? So we send a few in, check it out, keep them on station for a while, and get the CIA in as well: Meanwhile I can sell everyone-for the time being-on this being an accident.”
“Excuse me, sir, but there are several standard OPLAN responses that should be implemented, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have a few plans we’d like to offer as suggested responses, ” Curtis interjected. “You don’t think just a few ships-say, sending one carrier group-are enough?” the President asked. “Why am 1 not surprised?”
“Sir, the nuclear blast itself is cause enough for concern. But a single twentyzkilometer nuclear device detonated in the middle of one carrier battle group would destroy everyone and everything within five miles, including an aircraft carrier. “This is why the standard OPLAN calls for the deployment of at least three carrier battle groups to the region, along with a Marine Expeditionary Force, the Twenty-fifth Infantry Division of the Army Western Command, and the Air Force First Air Battle Wing. They would deploy afloat or from Okinawa or Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, as appropriate. It is especially important these days since we have no… military forces in the Philippines. Even if we don’t use three, at least two carrier battle groups would be more appropriate. “The only two carrier battle groups available are two fossil fueled carriers, Independence and Ranger. Ranger still does not have Hornet fighter-bombers because of her accelerated decommissioning schedule, but Independence is fully combatready. Two nuclear carriers, Nimitz and Abraham Lincoln, are both in the Indian Ocean at the present time, but that’s several days’ steaming time to get back to the South China Sea. We recommend that the Marines’ landing-support carrier Belleau Wood and her support ships be deployed with the task force; they can carry about two thousand Marines and about thirty helicopters. They can split between the two carrier groups as necessary.” Curtis saw the President’s eyes when he mentioned the Marines, and he added quickly, “It’s routine to send a Marine Expeditionary Unit with such a task force, and if we’re dealing with the Philippines it might be necessary. The President still had that pained look in his eyes, but Curtis continued nonetheless: “Because the two carrier groups have fewer air-to-ground attack planes, it was suggested to augment the task force by forming the First Air Battle Wing at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam to-“
“The First-what? What the hell is that?” the President asked with irritation. “The First Air Battle Wing is the new Rapid Deployment Force air combat group, sir, ” Curtis explained. “According to the current strategic force operations plan under DEFCON Three, the First Air Battle Wing is formed upon alert notification and deployed to one of three locations-Loring Air Force Base in Maine, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, or Andersen on Guam. From these three operating locations, the Air Battle Force can strike at any spot on the globe within twelve hours.”
“Who’s in this Air Battle Wing?” “The wing is a collection of strike aircraft, mostly heavy bombers-B-52s, B- 1Bs, F-111G, and F-15E bombers-plus tankers, fighters, and cargo planes, ” Curtis replied. “The Air Battle Force has its own fighter escorts, its own reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft, and its own defense-suppression aircraft- it’s a single self-contained combat unit that can operate from remote areas over long distances on very short notice. It-“
“Let me get this straight, ” the President said, an exasperated edge in his voice. “You want to send in two aircraft carrier battle groups-that’s over twelve thousand men if I’m not mistaken-plus two thousand Marines, plus all these B-52s and other combat aircraft?” He said the words “B-fifty-two” as if he were uttering a curse. “Do you know something about this operation I don’t?”
“Sir, the Joint Chiefs feel it’s vital to act quickly, decisively, and with enough firepower into the area very quickly. The carriers can’t get into the area for several days-” “Enough, General, ” the President said. “I am not going to send all those men and all that firepower into that area without first knowing what I might get myself into. You can understand that, right?” He did not wait for a response. “You said it would take a couple of days to get a couple of naval units into the area? Fine. I’ll buy that. “I’ll authorize two carrier battle groups-not three-to head toward the area where the explosion was detected. They are to take no military action unless I specifically authorize it. Those ships are authorized to protect themselves to the fullest extent. I’ll also authorize a small patrol to investigate-no more than three surface ships. Deploy radar aircraft as you see fit. But I don’t want any massive armada steaming off the Philippine coast-they’ll think it’s a damned invasion. “As for the Air Battle thing, that’s out of the question, ” the President continued. “I know the Air Force has been trying to downplay the nuclear role of the B-52 and show the world that the mere presence of the thing doesn’t constitute the end of the world-I believe they call it ‘desensitization’-but we’re not going to provoke the goddamned Chinese into a full-scale conflict. God only knows where it would lead “Yes, sir, I understand, ” Curtis replied. “And another thing, ” the President added. “I’m allowing you to deploy these two groups against my better judgment. Frankly I’d prefer only one group. “One last request, ” Curtis added quickly. “Yes?” The President sighed. “I realize you don’t want the Air Battle Force involved yet, but I would like permission to deploy the STRATFOR-“
“The what?” Curtis knew that the President knew what he was talking about. “The Strategic Force. The advance team for the Air Battle Force. I’d like to deploy them for reconnaissance operations in the area.”
“And what would you do with the STRATFOR if you got it?” the President asked warily. “We’d conduct long- range reconnaissance and probe missions from Guam, using E-3C radar planes, RC-135 reconnaissance planes, and EC- 135 communications planes-General Tyler of SAC has a team standing by ready to go. The STRATFOR also takes officers and engineers from the Air Battle Force to help set up support facilities-this is especially important now that we have aircraft like the B-2 bomber in inventory.” The President mulled this over. “Uh huh. And then what? What’d be next?” Curtis pressed on. “Then, if the situation warranted, and you, of course, felt the time was appropriate, we’d deploy the First Air Battle Wing. This is important because they’d be an integrated force of bombers, fighters, and support aircraft to protect the naval forces and clear a path for further operations.” The President looked indecisive and exasperated. He turned to Defense Secretary Tom Preston. “What is it exactly that you want to do, Thomas?”
“Just what General Curtis is recommending: send in the STRATFOR to Guam. SAC will back it up with the Pacific Tanker Task Force, which will provide air refueling support for the deployment.”
“Uh huh.” The President nodded, still not entirely convinced, but leaning toward a yes. “Oh… and, Mr. President?” General Curtis said. “CINCSAC is recommending, and I agree, for Major General Richard Stone to be the STRATFOR commander-he’s an ex-SAC division commander and was the former base commander at Clark. He knows the Philippines like the back of his hand. General Stone will make his recommendations to Pacific Air Forces and Pacific Command on the type of response neces sary and they make recommendations to you. Once approval is granted from you through Pacific Command, the STRATFOR will form the Air Battle Force.” The President paused for a few moments, then nodded his head. “All right, General-I have my doubts, but let’s do it. Send in the two carrier groups only, put the Marines on standby, and send out the STRATFOR to Guam to help check things out. We’ll wait on whether to send your Air Battle Force until we find out what in hell the Chinese are up to. Got all that?”
“Yes, sir, I understand, ” Curtis replied, and quickly added, “There are a few more items-” President Lloyd Taylor had had enough, but he said, “Yes, General, make it quick…”
