“How does it feel leading a bunch of Army troops?” asked the President with a grin.
Hammond broke into a wide smile. “These guys over here are great. They don’t mind if I ask a question. But basically, it’s the same as maneuvering a large fleet. You get your best assets in where they are needed and let them do their jobs. I have tried to get around to most units and at least say hello. In some cases, I have observed their training. Sometimes they have to douse me with salt water, but I get by,” he joked.
The people in the room laughed. A few questions later and the meeting was about to end when the President held his hand up. “Admiral, you are doing a magnificent job. You have my fullest confidence, and I can say it is the same with every leader in Europe. That makes my next task very enjoyable,” he said pulling out a box. “Early on you had some difficulties with senior officers who were more senior than yourself and appeared to have a problem with the authority we placed in you. Well, we rectified that. A box like this one was supposed to have been handed you before this meeting. Did you get it?”
“Yes sir, I did.”
“Good. This will be a joint ceremony,” the President said as he opened the box in front of him. He pulled out a small set of insignia. It was a set of five stars set in a pentagon. “On behalf of the Congress, we have reinstated the rank of five stars. Today we will make two of you. First,” he said as he walked over to General Black, “Our Chairman has been promoted to General of the Marines,” he said handing the insignia to Black. “You have now achieved the rank of Fleet Admiral. Put them on today,” the President said.
Hammond and Black looked down on the insignia they held. Not since World War Two had the five star rank been used. For the first time, Black was speechless. Hammond looked from the insignia to the camera. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say much. This means Black can still fire you,” the President quipped.
The room erupted in laughter. “Congratulations to you both,” said the President. He gave Hammond a wink and then shut off the transmission.
Hammond rubbed his fingers across the shining stars. One of his aides walked over and pulled off the Velcroed stars he had and attached some new cloth ones. Inside the box were new shoulder boards. He would have to get another stripe on his blues, but he didn’t wear those much anymore.
“Congratulations, boss,” said the aide.
Hammond placed a hand on his shoulder and left the room without saying anything.
Jeffers was bone tired. Between the trip to Europe and then the briefings, he felt like a train had hit him. He almost staggered to the wardroom to grab a quick meal before he took Admiral Hustvedt’s advice and crashed. The room was filled with officers. Most were complaining about not having one last night on the town or with families. Not wanting to participate, he found a nice quiet table in one corner of the room and sat down. He had only taken two bites when he heard a friendly voice.
“Damn, Rod, you look like shit.”
Looking up he saw the concerned face of his friend Evan Chambers. A smile returned to his face. “You’d look that way too if you’d been to Europe and back since yesterday,” he said.
Chambers sat down. “You’re kidding me.”
“No, I’m not. Met some interesting people and got to see my old boss, Admiral Hammond. What’s been going on here?” he asked tiredly.
“Same old thing. The Captain’s screaming at everyone to make sure everything’s ready and jumping down people’s throats of he finds the least flaw. He went through my damage control operations two days ago and finally gave us a go. I’ll be so glad to finally get underway I may go into a dance,” Chambers said.
Jeffers nodded. He had been hearing more and more about Captain Donner. None of it sounded good. But he was the CO and he could run his ship pretty much however he wanted. “I feel the same way. I figure once we get moving, things will settle down a bit. You all set?” he asked.
“Who, me? You know I’m always ready to go. I saw you over here and wanted to see if you wanted to join our little bluegrass group. We’re getting together in about twenty minutes to have a little jam session up forward on the hanger deck. But from what I see, maybe you need to pass tonight,” Chambers said.
Life came back to Jeffers’ eyes. “No, that sounds like just the thing I need. It will help me settle down some before I crash for the night. You want me to bring the banjo or the guitar?”
“The banjo. I’ve been telling these guys about you and getting somebody that plays a banjo is just what we’ve been needing,” said Chambers.
“The forward part of the hanger bay. I’ll be there. Let me finish this and I’ll come down,” Jeffers said.
Jeffers hurried through his meal and stopped off at his stateroom to gather the banjo. When he entered the hanger deck he could hear guitars playing. He found seven guys sitting on folding chairs playing a soft melody. Two played guitar. There was a fiddle player, a mandolin player, a bass player, and a fellow playing a Dobro. One other guy was sitting back not doing much of anything, but as the music played he produced a harmonica and joined in. Chambers saw him and motioned him to a chair beside him.
“Guys, this is Lieutenant Commander Jeffers, the guy I’ve been telling you about. I asked him to join us tonight,” Chambers said.
The group was made of a mix of Chiefs, a First Class and two officers besides Jeffers. “Mister Chambers, here, says you’re pretty good with that thing. Why don’t you show us what you’ve got,” said one of the Chiefs.
Jeffers gave a quick look at Chambers. “Can you guys keep up?” he asked.
The Chiefs chuckled. “We can probably make sure you’re covered up,” said another chief.
Jeffers finished pitting on his picks. “Okay. Hang on.” He immediately went into the Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Chambers knew what was coming and stepped right in. The bass player was next and pretty soon everyone was in sync and playing rapidly. The grins on their faces told the story. This was what they got together for. At one point, with a nod from Jeffers, the fiddle player took off. The bow seemed to fly in his hand as he improvised a part of the piece.
There were yells from the other part of the deck and people started to gather round and listen. As the tune went round and round, even Chambers picked up a portion. His fingers appeared to pick the guitar strings almost like playing a banjo. On the last cord the whole group broke out in a yell.
“Damn! That’s the best I’ve ever heard it. Mister Chambers you weren’t kidding!” exclaimed one Chief.
“Glad to have you with us, Commander,” said the First Class.
The crowd of sailors around them also broke out in applause. Jeffers looked up toward one of the catwalks and saw Admiral Hustvedt standing in a doorway. He looked down at Jeffers and nodded his approval.
“You guys know the Grand Ole Opry Song?” asked Jeffers.
“Sure! You lead off,” said the first Chief. Jeffers started the song and the Chief sang the lyrics. On the chorus, everybody pitched in.