The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

'Bundle thirty-eight!' Fromm commanded as they entered.
'Thirty-eight,' Ghosn acknowledged.
***
'Yes, Commodore?'
'Sit down, Harry, we need to talk over some things.'
'Well, I have the crew all ready. The sonar troops are hot.'
Mancuso looked at his subordinate. At what point, he wondered, does a positive
can-do attitude become a lie? 'I'm a little concerned with the transfer rate
from your ship.'
Ricks didn't go defensive. 'Well, we had some guys with family concerns. No
sense holding onto people whose minds are in the wrong place. A statistical
blip. I had it happen once before.'
I bet you did. 'How's morale?' Mancuso asked next.
'You've seen the results of our drills and exams. That must tell you something,'
Captain Ricks replied.
Clever son of a bitch. 'Okay, let me make it clear, Harry. You had a run-in with
Dr Jones.'
'So?'
'So, I talked with him about it.'
'How formal is this?'
'Informal as you like, Harry.'
'Fine. Your Jones fellow is a pretty good technician, but he seems to have
forgotten the fact that he left the Navy as an enlisted man. If he wants to talk
to me as an equal, it would help if he'd bothered to accomplish something.'
'That man has a doctor's degree in physics from CalTech, Harry.'
Ricks took on a puzzled expression. 'So?'
'So, he's one of the smartest people I know, and he was the best enlisted man I
ever met.'
'That's fine, but if enlisted were as smart as officers, we'd pay them more.' It
was the supreme arrogance of the statement that angered Bart Mancuso.
'Captain, when I was driving Dallas, and Jones talked, I listened. If life had
worked out a little different, he'd be on his XO tour right now and on his way
to command of a fast-attack. Ron would have made a superb CO.'
Ricks dismissed that. 'We'll never know that, will we? I always figured that
those who can, do. Those who can't, make excuses. Okay, fine, he's a good
technician. I don't dispute that. He did good work with my sonar department, and
I'm grateful for that, but let's not get too excited. There are lots of
technicians, and lots of contractors.'
This was going nowhere, Mancuso saw. It was time to lay the law down. 'Look,
Harry, I'm catching rumbles about morale on your boat. I see that many transfer
requests, and it tells me there might be a problem. So, I nose around, and my
impression is confirmed. You have a problem whether you know it or not.'
'That, sir, is bullshit. It's like the alcohol-counseling weenies. People with
no drinking problem say they have no drinking problem, but the counselors say
that denial of a problem is the first indication there is one. It's a circular
argument. If I had a morale problem on my boat, performance figures would show
it. But they don't. My record is pretty clear. I drive submarines for a living.