Chapter 1 Excerpt

“Fire torpedoes number two, full speed astern! Fire number four! She won’t budge, Captain!” exclaimed the sub’s executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Ruelman, to Jodi Bennington, Captain of the USS Shark Fin (SSBN 721).

“Were those your exact words?” asked the court appointed Provost, Robert Riley. Ruelman’s pulsating jaw muscles suggested a significant measure of controlled anger, staring at Officer Riley.

Lieutenant Commander Ruelman, who was seated in the witness chair at the board of inquiry hearing of Captain Bennington answered, “Yes Sir, those were my exact words,” addressing the provost and the three Navy Admiral members of the court. The courtroom was silent, the old clock on the wall ticked, and outside the board room, the corridors were busy with the usual hustle and bustle of the normal work day at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

“Would you please tell the court how you found yourself in this predicament, Commander Ruelman,” and where were you, in the ship from about 1400 on the third day of your patrol. And please recount the events of that early morning up to the time of the incident.

“Yes Sir. We were three days out on patrol and Captain Bennington was taking the boat through some training and tactical maneuvers, and I was in the sail tower. We were about 110 miles north of Bermuda. We had a pre arranged meeting with the U S Coast Guard Cutter Chase at 1420 to drop of 3 Navy seals we brought with us out of our base at New London, Connecticut.”

“Why were you transporting the Seals and what was their purpose?”

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