“We need to issue a press release calling this a false jump by the military,” his wife said. “Off the record, I’ll say we were nearly shanghaied into getting on board this thing — we can authorize that to get leaked to the press.”
“Let’s get the military business over with, shall we?” the President asked. “What do we need to do, General?”
“Your first decision is how to respond to the attack,” Tarentum replied, “specifically to the use of nuclear weapons by Russia. From a military standpoint we have no strategic nuclear forces available right now except for a few submarines, which I very much doubt if the Russians think we would consider using in a European conflict. This means we hold no Russian targets at risk whatsoever. If Russia decided to commence a nuclear attack in Europe or North America, our only response right now would be with six Ohio-class submarines, each carrying sixteen or twenty-four missiles, each with one warhead — a maximum of 144 warheads.”
“That’s a pretty sizable force, I’d say.”
“Yes, sir, but the question would be, does Russia think we’d employ those missiles, and would the damage they’d inflict be greater than what the Russians could do on their first attack?”
“What do the Russians have deployed right now that could reach the United States?” the President asked.
“We don’t know precisely, sir,” Tarentum replied, “but our latest estimates are based on credible forces the Russians had deployed at the time they voluntarily stood down a large percentage of their nuclear forces.” He placed another folder before the President; no one touched it. “The primary threat is from approximately two hundred road-mobile SS-25 missiles and about ninety rail-mobile SS-24 missiles. That’s almost three hundred missiles, assuming the Russians haven’t put multiple warheads on the SS-24—it can take as many as ten warheads each.
“We estimate at least 25 percent of their sea-launched ballistic missile force has been mobilized since recent hostilities started — that’s another 250 missiles, not including the additional deployment of sub-launched SS-N-21 Sampson cruise missiles. We’ve seen as many as one hundred bombers launched in support of the attacks against targets in the Ukraine, and they’ve been carrying cruise missiles and short-range attack missiles — the Blackjack bomber can carry twelve cruise missiles each—”
“Okay, okay, I get the picture,” the President said. “Jesus, I thought the Russians were doing away with all these heavy nuclear forces. Why in the hell are we giving them billions of dollars to dismantle their nuclear forces when they still have all these forces operational?”
“Sir, as you know, final ratification of the START treaty was held up primarily because of the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine,” National Security Advisor Lifter said. “The Ukraine refused to eliminate its nuclear weapons until a defense agreement was signed with NATO — that wasn’t done until late last year.”
“I know, but we’ve been telling the American people that we’ve been doing away with Russian weapons of mass destruction, that we’ve got nothing to worry about from Russia as far as long-range nuclear weapons are concerned,” the President said. “Next thing you know, we’re up in the Doomsday Plane. How are we going to explain this?”
“Sir, let me get back to the situation at hand,” General Tarentum interjected. “I have a specific suggestion to make: implement the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s alert plan right away.” The First Lady was no longer paying attention; the President motioned for him to continue: “We can have our land-based bombers placed back on alert within twenty-four hours.” He set another folder before the President. “That comprises a force of fifty B-52G and — H bombers, approximately eighty B-1B bombers, and twenty B-2A stealth bombers. We can augment this force with F-111 or F-15E bombers if necessary. The Pentagon suggests that we not mobilize any more sea-launched or land-based missiles at this time. The bombers would represent a low-scale response to a very grave threat.”
“I’ll have to take this up with the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” the President said. “When can I talk to them?”
“We should be connected any minute now, sir,” Lifter replied.
The President was silent for a moment; then: “What about mobilizing the Reserve forces? What kind of force mix do we get from that?”
Tarentum had anticipated such a question, and flipped a page in the previously ignored folder to show the President. It was a well-known fact that the Commander in Chief was a firm believer in the cost-cutting advantages of the Reserves, and a primary focus of his administration had been to enhance the viability of the Reserve forces. “There is one B-1B squadron in South Dakota, four B-52 squadrons in New York and Washington state, one F-15E squadron in North Carolina, and four F-111 squadrons in New Mexico and New York, all in the Enhanced Reverse Program,” Tarentum replied. “These units are primarily conventional squadrons — the one RF-111 unit up in upstate New York is a reconnaissance and Wild Weasel-type unit — but they are all fully certified for nuclear duties.” He paused, watching the First Lady out of the corner of an eye, and added, “They also have the largest percentages of women serving in the tactical air squadrons—thirty percent of the crewmembers in these combat units are women.”
That got the Steel Magnolia’s attention like nothing else. As outspoken as the President was on the value of the Reserves and National Guard, she was equally vocal about putting women in combat. Her reaction was understated, but Tarentum could see her eyes flicker in sheer delight. This was precisely what she wanted, and she made her wishes known by simply placing her hand atop her husband’s, a secret, quiet sign — known to everyone in the White House — that she wanted the order given.
“I think this would be a good opportunity to see our women combat soldiers in action,” the President declared. “Besides, I don’t want to stir things up too much — it’s possible that the Russian attack was all a big mistake, and I don’t want anyone to get the impression that I think the Cold War is heating up all over again. Ten bomber squadrons is plenty — no subs or MX missiles for now. Get General Freeman on the phone and let’s get to it. And I want a report on when we can set this thing down — the sooner the better.” He had lapsed into calling NEACAP, the most sophisticated aircraft on earth, “this thing,” just like his wife referred to it and all the apparatus of the office of the President of the United States with which she was decidedly uncomfortable.
“Maybe we should go somewhere as if this was a scheduled visit,” the First Lady suggested. “Perhaps down to talk to President Carter in Georgia, or Walter Mondale in Minnesota? Perhaps we can pick up Air Force One in Georgia and fly back to Washington in it, so the press and the public will see us flying in it rather than the … the Doomsday Plane.”
“Good idea, honey,” the President said. “Can you see if we can arrange that, General? Let’s go see Jimmy. Mike, how about getting the office on the phone and twisting some arms here? And some coffee and juice would be nice. What’s the kitchen like on this thing, anyway?”
The meeting over, stewards and secretaries swarming into the conference room, General Tarentum carefully collected up all the classified briefing folders on the conference table and dismissed his staff. Just as he feared, the threat wasn’t being taken seriously. What could possibly become World War III was happening right now in Europe, and the President of the United States’ response was to mobilize only one-fifth of America’s strategic fighting forces, then he was off to see Jimmy Carter, of all people, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.