strategy that broke the Soviets’ naval defense of Norway and led to the
disabling of the Soyuz. The commendation reads, in part … ‘Commander
Magruder’s brilliance in implementing the tactical doctrine of carrier forces
operating from advance positions in the Norwegian fjords has played an
important role in delaying the Soviet timetable in the area, and in winning
for United States forces the time necessary to organize an effective
counterattack.'”
Folding the paper carefully, he turned again to face Tombstone.
“Commander Magruder, as Commanding Officer of Carrier Battle Group Fourteen,
and by the direction of the Commander in Chief, Atlantic, it is my great
privilege and personal pleasure to present you with … these.” He extended
the open box. Inside were a pair of small silver eagles. “Congratulations,
Captain Magruder.” Tombstone accepted the devices, stunned. “I, uh …” He
stopped, embarrassed. “I don’t quite have the time in grade, Admiral.”
“Waived. By special directive from the Navy Department. You’ve been
handling your duties as Acting CAG so well, it looks like they’ve gone and
made you captain so you could be CAG in fact. Can’t have a commander filling
a captain’s billet, after all.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Then say nothing. You’ve got the damned job, whether you want it or
not!”
CVIC exploded in laughter and scattered applause. Tombstone smiled and
accepted the admiral’s handshake. He returned to his seat as the applause
continued, his eagles clutched in an unsteady grip.
“Heeeey, Cap’n Stoney!” Batman said as he sat down once more. He tossed
Tombstone a salute, strictly nonregulation since he was uncovered. “Way to
go, Stoney!”
“Thanks, Batman.” Several other nearby officers, grinning broadly,
clapped him on the back. “Thanks, guys. Damned if I’ll ever understand the
military mind!”
Promotion to captain. It marked an important turning point in his career
… the turning point. Only a small percentage of all naval officers stuck it
out long enough to make captain, and as often as not, their rise to that rank
was as much due to politics as it was to skill. For most of his career,
Tombstone had wondered if his rapid rise through the ranks had been due to the
influence of his uncle, Admiral Thomas Magruder. Talk about being junior for
a command–he’d been made skipper of VF-95 when he’d still been wearing two
and a half stripes, a necessity when there’d been a shortage of qualified full
commanders aboard. Two weeks earlier, he’d become Acting CAG, filling a
captain’s slot while still a commander. Now he was a captain years before he
should have even been able to dream about getting on the promotions list.
It didn’t hurt to be well connected. He knew that fact, and accepted it.
But for perhaps the first time in his naval career, Tombstone knew that he was
being rewarded for his abilities, and his talent. His uncle would have had
nothing to do with these eagles. Even if he had, it didn’t matter.
Though saddened by the loss of Coyote and the others, he was proud of
what he’d done. He deserved those eagles, not as reward, but because of the
job he still had to do.
“Now to the business at hand,” Tarrant said. Tombstone looked up,
willing an inner trembling to subside. “During the past few hours, we and the
Norwegians have been following through on our rather spectacular victory over
the Soyuz this morning.
“At 1420 hours today, the Norwegian submarine Ula, a German Type 210, put
three torpedoes into the replenishment oiler Ivan Bubanov twenty miles off
Stavanger. The Bubanov, carrying something like thirteen thousand tons of
fuel and fresh water, plus hundreds of tons of munitions, sank in about twenty
minutes. An hour later, a Russian submarine support ship was damaged by a
torpedo from a Type 207 Norwegian sub, the Skolpen. In an action off
Stavanger late this afternoon, a Kashin-class destroyer was hit by two Penguin
Mark 11 SSMs from a Norwegian missile boat and sunk. Another Russian ship,
the corvette Odesskey Komsomolets, was damaged by Norwegian F-16s loaded with
five-hundred-pound Snakeeye retarded bombs. She ran aground off Kristiansund
and her crew surrendered to Home Defense forces.
“In the past five hours, ASW helos and Vikings of CBG-14 have racked up