At Offutt, the informal discussion was drawing to a close. A late lunch with the STRATCOM senior staff was set to begin in thirty minutes. Afterwards McAlister and Warner would fly back to Washington. SecDef was becoming more relaxed as the talk shifted to lighter topics. Maybe Frank Browne had done him a great favor with his recommendation, he thought to himself. Better to be in Omaha today rather than the viper pit DC was sure to be.
The black phone on the conference room table chirped. As Coleman leaned over to answer it, McAlister leaned over and commented quietly to Warner that he hoped the temperate weather would follow them back east. The Chairman was about to reply when the general hung up the phone and rose abruptly.
“Gentleman, come with me to the GOC,” he said quickly and headed for the door.
The Global Operations Center was only a short walk away. STRATCOM’s commanding general led his superiors into the dimly lit operations room. McAlister noted immediately that the amount of activity had increased from when he was in there earlier. The duty officer, an air force O-5 was waiting.
“General, the SBIRS and DSP systems have detected four probable launch events in southwest Asia two minutes ago. CSpOC confirms the events and the initial assessment is ballistic missiles.”
“Where in Southwest Asia?”
“Western Iran, sir.”
Uh-oh. McAlister felt an icy ball materialize in his stomach at that answer. He mentally reviewed the latest intelligence reports concerning Iran and couldn’t remember anything about an upcoming missile test. He commanded himself to keep calm and let the men and women here do their jobs. On the large screens placed at the front of the command center, the contacts were plotted. Data from NORAD and the SBIRS and DSP satellites was displayed on the main panel, with a host of secondary data and other information he could not figure out.
“Is there any sign of a malfunction on the birds?” Coleman wanted to know at once.
“Negative. Each bird is at one hundred percent reliability, sir.”
Warner, who was standing just in front of McAlister turned around. “Israel?” He wondered. The Secretary of Defense was about to answer when klaxon alarms began blaring across the GOC.
“Second event. Northeast Asia.” A controller at the main console alerted.
“Where exactly?” Coleman snapped to no one in particular, but received an answer immediately.
“North Korea.”
Data from the satellites was being fed into four separate command and control sites and an additional six sensor and radar locations. The picture McAlister saw was being shared between Offutt, NORAD and CspOC at Vandenberg in California. A Missile Display Conference was underway. Coleman donned a headset and started a conference call with General Dwight Bagley, the dual commander of Northern Command and NORAD. Together they were reviewing the constant influx of data and attempting to determine if the danger was real and not the result of a malfunctioning satellite or computer.
McAlister continued examining the activity on the screens. He was little more than an observer at this early stage as the drama played out around him. In his mind a flurry of questions and thoughts were gathering. Eventually, they needed to be addressed, but now was not the time. First a clear picture had to be painted of what was happening. General Warner was in the same fix, ironic as it seemed. The Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had been reduced to observer status. The military they oversaw was working to determine if the United States or one of its allies was under attack, and neither man had anything to contribute.
Israel could be the Iranian target, as reckless as it seemed. But what about the North Koreans? The timing was too convenient. Was this the beginning of a coordinated test and an act of defiance against the world? Or was it something more ominous such as an attack against Europe and Japan or the United States? As much as he wanted to, McAlister could not count out the possibility. Percentages and thoughts aside, the data on the display in Omaha showed the reality of the moment. Four Iranian and three North Korean missiles were in the air and each bird obviously had targets selected somewhere.
“We’ll know for certain where the projected impact points are in two or three minutes. Definitely not Israel. These are multi-stage rockets.” Coleman said, assuredly. Now the Cobra Dane and Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar sites were picking up and tracking the inbounds. The computers at NORAD and here were being fed a constant stream of data. “Right now, it’s fifty-fifty. Europe or North America. The North Korean birds are heading in this direction without a doubt.” He turned to SecDef and Chairman. “Sirs, in light of this, I am dispensing with the threat assessment conference and declaring a missile warning conference immediately. The alert aircraft will be launched at once. NAOC here, and the E-6 down at Tinker. Then I will contact the President.”
“Get them up now,” McAlister ordered. Warner concurred with a nod.
Less than a quarter mile away klaxon alarms erupted inside the alert facility of the 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron adjacent to the flight line. The aircrew and battle staff of the National Airborne Operations Center responded instantly, scrambling to their waiting aircraft; an E-4B positioned less than fifty yards away on the ramp. A similar scene was playing out four hundred miles to the south at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma where the crew of the E-6B Mercury was preparing for immediate takeoff.
Time began moving faster now. In this type of emergency every government agency and service branch has its own continuity of operations plan. For the Defense Department it begins with the evacuation of the president and senior government leaders from Washington DC. McAlister ordered General Warner to contact the Pentagon and get the ball rolling. The National Military Command Center would serve as the node. From it, calls would go out to the military units and government agencies responsible for moving officials to secure locations outside of the capital. The president was at Camp David that afternoon with the secretary of state. Marine One was there and would serve as their transportation. In five minutes from the first call, other helicopters located at Andrews and Quantico would start spooling up and head into Washington DC to whisk cabinet members, the vice president and select others to safety.
Next, McAlister fished his secure cellphone and turned it on. A tech sergeant on the floor punched a code into his computer terminal and connected it to the secure STRATCOM circuit. As this took place, Coleman received an assessment from NORAD on the projected impact points. Without a second thought the general the lifted the receiver of the yellow phone on the desk. After three rings the phone was picked up on the other end.
“Yes?”
“Mr. President, this is General Coleman in Omaha. General Warner and Secretary McAlister are with me at the present time. We have a situation.”
“What’s going on, General Coleman?” the President asked after a moment.
“Sir, we are currently tracking seven inbound ballistic missiles in flight. Three were launched from North Korea and four from Iran. The projected points of impact for the North Korean missiles are somewhere in the western United States. The Iranian missile trajectories indicate impact areas are somewhere in North America.”
A long pause followed. “General, the Secretary of State is here with me now. How certain are you about this?”
“ SBIRS satellites detected the missiles immediately following launch. Cobra Dane and BMEWS picked them up shortly after and are tracking them now. No system malfunctions have been reported and confidence is high. We are under attack, Mr. President.”
“Chris, are you there?”
“I am, sir,” McAlister answered at once.
“Is it just like the general said? No chance of a mistake?”
“None, sir. I’m looking at the same information he is and concur fully. General Warner does too.”
“Mr. President, I understand how sudden this is” Coleman interjected. “But we have some issues to handle immediately. First, on my authority, I am launching NAOC and the Looking Glass aircraft. COMNORAD will be joining us momentarily. He is going to request your authority to release the sea and ground-based missile interceptors. You’re at Camp David now, sir?
“Right. We weren’t planning on going back to town until tonight.” A new voice could be heard speaking in the background. “They’ve told me here that the helicopter is ready to depart. We’re going to Andrews and will board Air Force One.”
“Sir, I advise against that,” McAlister spoke up. “Should DC be targeted, it will be best to keep you away from there. Fort Ritchie is not too far away. There’s a secure underground facility there and it’s a ten-minute hop from Camp David. I suggest you head there.”
Coleman agreed. “He’s right, Sir. And I am being told that the initial impacting area for the Iranian missiles appear to be the eastern US and Canada.”
“Dammit, the Iranian’s are not supposed to have missiles capable of reaching Europe,” the President snapped. “Let alone the United States!”
“I know, sir,” Coleman responded in a controlled, calm voice. “That is not important right now though. Obviously, our intelligence was wrong. What’s most important now is getting you to a place of safety. Secretary McAlister is correct. If Washington is targeted, you won’t make Andrews if a missile gets through our defenses. I strongly recommend Fort Ritchie as well, sir.”
At this point a new voice came on the line. “Mr. President this is General Bagley at NORAD. The North Korean missiles are coming within range of two BMD-armed destroyers in the Pacific. I’m requesting authority for weapons release at this time.”
“Granted,” the President agreed instantly. “General Coleman, I am boarding Marine One now. Andrews will be our destination. Chris, I want you and General Warner in the air immediately. Contact me when you get airborne.”
McAlister tried one final time. “Sir, you will not make it to Andrews. There isn’t enough time.” He intended to say more but the connection had been terminated from the other end by the President, who was probably boarding Marine One at that second. As it stood, McAlister did not want to leave right now. He was in a secure location and preferred to remain here until the situation stabilized. He was part of the line of succession and his survival was considered essential. For the next few hours at least. However, orders were orders and he told himself that he’d probably be safer on the more survivable NAOC.
“We’ll get up and loiter until things calm down,” Warner was telling the STRATCOM commander. “Be in touch as soon as we’re off the ground.”
An entourage of a dozen Air Force security personnel materialized out of nowhere. “These men will escort you to the flight line and accompany you aboard NAOC. Good luck.” Coleman saluted. Werner returned the salute and McAlister shook his hand quickly.
“Good luck to you too, pal.” Warner offered as he and SecDef made for the door.
“Get the hell out of here, Tony.” COMSTRATCOM growled, then grinned slightly. “I have work to do.”
The Final Days of America 