Cyber Warfare and the New World Order

One if by Land, Two if by Sea

Rear Admiral Michael Stonebridge was the youngest Admiral in the Navy at just 41 years of age. He had distinguished himself as the Captain of one of two American ships that had survived the nuclear attack against the American Fifth Fleet by the Islamic Republic in the Gulf of Aiden at the outset of the war. His guided missile cruiser had sustained heavy damage, but also managed to destroy six IR naval vessels, including two submarines. During the fighting, they shot down 84 missiles and destroyed 31 enemy drones. After being hit by four enemy anti-ship missiles and sustaining heavy casualties, they were forced to limp away along with the lone surviving destroyer (which had also sustained heavy damage). It took nearly fourteen hours to control the fires that threatened to send their ship to the bottom of the ocean. Stonebridge’s leadership was definitely one of the key reasons that so many of his sailors had survived that confrontation. Upon returning to the U.S., Captain Stonebridge had been awarded a purple heart (with V device for valor) and the Medal of Honor. He was also promoted to Rear Admiral for his heroic defense of the Fifth Fleet.

Several months later, as a newly minted Admiral, his task force assisted the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales in the fighting against the Russian Navy in the North Atlantic and the North Sea as they attempted to push forward and disrupt the supply lines to Europe. Admiral Stonebridge’s task force of guided missile cruisers and three Zumwalt-guided missile destroyers helped to defeat a Russian surface fleet in the North Atlantic as the Russians tried to push past the NATO fleet between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The French carrier that had been a part of the task force, the Charles de Gaulle, was destroyed during the engagement, and the HMS Queen Elizabeth had been severely damaged. Admiral Stonebridge was awarded his second purple heart after this skirmish; his ship had been hit by several cruise missiles during the fray, and he broke his left arm and lost a finger on that left hand. He had also received the Navy Cross for his actions during the Battle of the Faroe Islands; because the NATO forces managed to hold the line, the Russians had not been able to break out into the Atlantic, giving the Allies a huge win.

After recovering from his wounds, Admiral Stonebridge was given his second star and given command of CSG-12, arguably America’s most powerful strike group. Admiral Stonebridge was a dynamic leader and not afraid to get his hands dirty. He could often be found in the flight maintenance deck helping the mechanics conduct routine maintenance on the drones or mentoring young seamen and junior non-commissioned officers during weekly professional development training. He was a sailors’ sailor and cared about the men and women he was commanding.

Admiral Stonebridge’s work had now brought him to be stationed on the USS New York, just off the coast of Virginia. As he sat at his station, reviewing some emails on his tablet, the captain of the ship, Captain Baker, walked briskly up to Admiral Stonebridge to bring him the latest personnel report. “Admiral, we are still missing about 223 people with only an hour left before we pull out of port. What do you want to do about the missing men?” It was a question he asked rather facetiously, having already resolved to leave them behind if they missed the deadline.

“Under normal circumstances, I would leave them behind and write them up for missing the recall. However, we were not scheduled to leave for another six more days and most people have been on leave for the holidays. I still want the fleet to pull out of port and begin to head towards the canal; then we can dispatch several helicopters and aircraft standing by here in Norfolk to fly the missing individuals out to the fleet as they continue to arrive. We are going to need everyone for this mission.”

Captain Baker had not expected that response. He found that his mouth had kind of hung open while the Admiral spoke. He quickly checked his facial expression and then nodded in agreement. “Yes sir.”

“Are the contractors still coming with us?” asked Stonebridge. The fleet still had several technical systems that needed to be completed before the ships were technically ready for combat, and the navy had enlisted civilians to help speed up the repair process in order to get things rolling.

“Every contractor that was working on the ships has agreed to accompany us to Panama, and directly into combat if we need them. They all want some payback for what the Japanese just did to our forces.”

A broad grin spread across the Admiral’s face, “Excellent, Captain. When we get underway, I want the defense systems run through their paces, and make sure we are not going to have any further issues with them. We are going to need them soon.”

Captain Baker could see that Admiral Stonebridge kept glancing down at his tablet, so he left him alone to finish up his emails while he went back to getting the ship ready to leave.

Once he finished getting his Christmas message written, the Admiral moved down to his quarters, where the media team was waiting for him. He wanted to get a video pre-recorded now rather than giving it live. Once the ship was out to sea, he was going to need to hold a series of meetings with various department commanders within the ship and the fleet as a whole; he was going to have to hit the ground running.

“Admiral, we are ready to begin when you are,” said the Lieutenant Commander who was the media department chief for the fleet. The Admiral nodded and began his prepared speech.

“Merry Christmas my fellow sailors and marines, and to the civilians who have volunteered to accompany us on this dangerous mission. As we prepare for combat, I want everyone to take some time to remember those who have been lost this past year and to be thankful that we are still alive and able to fight for our country. I am grateful for those of us whose families are safe, and that we have been given the opportunity to bring vengeance and retribution to our enemies. 2040 and ‘41 have been rough years for the Navy and our country. We have lost a lot of friends and family members, and our country has been invaded twice. Not since the war of 1812 has America’s very survival been at stake. We have been punched, sucker-punched, and kicked while we were down. President Stein said it best in his Christmas Day address to the nation a few hours ago, ‘America has been given a bloody nose and a kick to the teeth.’ Unfortunately for our enemies, the military giant that is America has been rousted from its slumber, and soon we will be taking the fight to the enemies’ own homelands.”

Pausing for a second and looking at the sailors in the room with him, he continued, “Carrier Strike Group 12 is the most advanced naval fleet the world has ever seen. Group 12 is anchored by the carriers New York and Baltimore in remembrance of our two great cities that were destroyed by the IR, and with the strength of their memory, we are going to destroy the PLAN and JDF fleets.”

“I want everyone to enjoy this evening and the comraderie of your fellow sailors and marines. Those on shift tonight will be replaced by their commanding officers at the end of your shift for four hours while everyone enjoys a few extra hours of sleep in the morning. Starting tomorrow, we are going to be working longer and harder than ever before to get this fleet ready for combat. We will reach the Panama Canal in 67 hours at flank speed, and we will be in range of attacking the PLAN fleet within six days.”

“We do not have a lot of time left to get our ships ready for combat. I want everyone to know that your nation and I are counting on you to be ready. I have full confidence in your abilities; we will win this coming fight. The men and women you see around you will be the guiding force in turning the war in our favor. Please take a few minutes to pray and give thanks for everything that we have been given, and trust that your commanders have your best interests at heart. That is all.”

The media director had a few small edits and wording changes to the speech, but otherwise it was ready to be broadcast to the crew. The entire fleet would hear the message just before their Christmas dinner.