Dick Couch - Out of the Ashes

So you say, thought Madani. You aren’t an average Iranian whose standard of living has been set back by a decade .

“So we are allowing the Americans to sweep these mines,” the grand ayatollah continued as he raised a finger to call for attention to his point. “The Revolutionary Guard Corps put them in the water and we will allow the Americans to remove them, so long as they respect our territorial waters and our laws as they do so.”

“Yes, Grand Ayatollah, I have heard those announcements from the Islamic Republic News Agency.” Just one more thing you didn’t consult me on, you idiot. Have you no idea how zealously the Americans guard their rights regarding freedom of navigation?

“Good, but what you might not know, since you are young, President Madani, is that for decades the United States has been harassing us about our supposed illegal maritime claims and our sea boundaries. I needn’t remind you of the claims the great Persian nation has had for centuries, since what is now America was still wilderness.”

Now you are lecturing me, old man. What is it you are planning?

“I see, Grand Ayatollah. So you have warned the Americans and I hope they will heed your warnings.”

“If they do not, I have told Admiral Sayyari, whose ships are now shadowing the American mine-clearing forces, to enforce our territorial claims and our maritime boundaries. He has been instructed not to allow the Americans to enter our territorial waters without permission.”

“Grand Ayatollah, I believe we need to make sure the West, and especially the Americans, respects the Islamic Republic of Iran. Yet we may not wish to anger the Americans more than we have, at least not right now. May I suggest that since we now have our victory, we not press them further. Should they decide to retaliate we could suffer greatly.”

“President Madani, these matters are not your concern. If the Americans dare to attack us I have already put events into motion that will cause them to be more concerned with their own affairs and less with ours.”

Madani knew this could only be a terrorist strike against America. “But Grand Ayatollah,” Madani said, trying to keep his voice even, “there are risks to this, especially now. Perhaps we should rethink this?”

“Again, President Madani, this is not your concern,” Khamenei said. He rose to suggest that the meeting was over. “Now, I am sure you have many important matters of state to attend to. May Allah’s blessings be with you as you go about them.”

Sarosh Madani left the grand ayatollah’s office more worried than he had ever been in his life.

Seven hundred miles south of where the grand ayatollah and President Madani were having their conversation, Commodore Joe Armao’s forces had already been at work for several hours. They were preparing to sweep the mines the Iranian dhows had dumped in the approaches of the Strait of Hormuz. This would not be high-tech, sophisticated work, but some of the most blue collar of all the tasks performed by the U.S. Navy. It would be backbreaking work that involved hauling on lines and working in concert with heavy mechanical devices. Armao knew he would need to balance the need to clear these mines quickly and reopen the strait against the toll it would take on his men and women.

Ponce ’s captain, Jackson Bowling, saw Joe Armao working his way up to the starboard wing of the bridge.

“Commodore on the bridge,” he called to his bridge crew.

“As you were,” Armao said. “We about set, Captain?”

“Yes, sir, I hold us on station and in a good position for you to control the operation.”

“Perfect. Thank you. We had good overhead imagery of where the Iranian dhows laid their mines so we think we know where most of these mines are planted. There’s no danger to your ship if we operate right here. We don’t have to worry about any tanker traffic while we do our job.”

“No, I guess not,” Bowling replied. “That Notice to Mariners 5th Fleet issued stopped ship traffic cold.”

“Here’s an update with the latest mine-laying intelligence,” Armao continued, opening the navigation chart he had folded up under his arm so Bowling could see the chart with its overlays. “We’ve got the bulk of them right here in a more or less straight line, beginning at the eastern tip of Quesm Island. The mines then string south past Larak Island and all the way down to the vicinity of Ras al-Khaimah near the northern tip of the United Arab Emirates.”

“Looks like just the way we anticipated they’d do it,” Bowling said. “And just the way we’ve always trained on how we’d clear them.”

“But with far fewer mines than we ever thought, so that’s a break.”

“That’s good. My surface-search watch team is keeping an eye on that Iranian Bayandor -class corvette that’s steaming right over the horizon near Larak Island. You’ve assigned Mustin to keep an eye on her, too?”

“I have. Mustin ’s here, about five miles southwest of Larak,” Armao replied as he stabbed the map with his forefinger. “She’ll be in position to take action should that corvette move our way.”

“Pretty old ship though, isn’t it?”

“It is. Actually it’s an old U.S. Navy PF-103 class corvette we gave Iran back when the Shah was in power. Now it’s been armed with C-802 antiship missiles and a reasonably capable 76-mm Fajr-27 gun. They could do some damage.” Armao paused a moment to frame his thoughts. “However, with Mustin accompanying us, we should be in good shape. Still, we’re not that far from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy bases. They could send a swarm of fast boats out here pretty damn quick.”

Bowling nodded in agreement and understanding. “I think we’ll be all right. 5th Fleet has their intel folks keeping an eye on those bases and we’ll get enough early warning if something’s up. Our ace in the hole is the high-energy laser the Office of Naval Research put on Ponce a few years ago. We tested it last year on some unmanned surface vessels and it burned right through them. Turned ’em into toast. I think we’ll win any dustup.”

The two men ducked reflexively as one of MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters approached Ponce ’s flight deck to refuel. The Sea Dragons had been airborne since before dawn using their AN/AQS-24 mine detection sonar to confirm the Iranian mines were where the initial intelligence said they would be. That task was still under way, but the location of enough mines had already been confirmed to enable the Avenger -class mine-countermeasure ships to begin clearing operations. One Sea Dragon, the one now refueling, would be fitted with the Mk 103 Mod 2 mechanical mine sweeping system to begin sweeping the moored mines.

Armao’s attention lingered on the Iranian corvette and the C-802 cruise missiles she carried. “That Iranian corvette is no match for Mustin, ” he concluded. “Let’s hope she’s not stupid enough to try anything.”

They stood on the wing of the bridge in companionable silence before Bowling spoke. “So, Commodore, now that we’re a half day into it, any guesses as to how long this operation is going to take?”

“If we keep up progress like this, I think we can get traffic moving through the strait in maybe two days and then finish up by clearing the mines closer to the coast in three or four days after that. I figure we’re here a week, tops.”

As he spoke, Armao directed Bowling’s attention to the chart. They were beginning their mine-countermeasure efforts in the center of the navigation channel on the Arabian Gulf approaches to the Strait of Hormuz. Once those mines were cleared and at least a narrow ship channel was restored, they would press out north and south and clear those mines closer to Quesm Island and in the vicinity of Ras al-Khaimah, respectively.