Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military From: terryr@ogicse.ogc.edu (Terry Rooker) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Tom Clancy Message-ID: <12305@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 14 Dec 89 03:36:17 GMT References: <12211@cbnews.ATT.COM> <12255@cbnews.ATT.COM> Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: Oregon Graduate Institute (formerly OGC), Beaverton, OR Lines: 59 Approved: military@att.att.com From: terryr@ogicse.ogc.edu (Terry Rooker) In article <12255@cbnews.ATT.COM> mec@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (michael.e.connick) writes: > > >From: mec@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (michael.e.connick) > >is" and how he got hold of the information. I find it quite humorous >that he got it all just by reading and asking questions! > It's not humorous, it's scary. There is an urban legend in the Navy about an operation in the SOCAL (Southern California) OPAREA. One officer was tasked with finding out all he could about an upcoming operation, without accessing classified documents or breaking any laws. At the final pre-op briefing that officer was able to outline the entire operation. As the story goes the admiral in charge ordered the doors closed until the source was revealed, and presumably hung :-) The officer explained that everything was found out legally and no one involved intentionally revealed any information. How did he find out? Basically he was simply nosy. A ship preparing for an operation will have increased supply activity among other things. By simply watching which ships are storing supplies, and especially ammo, you can get an idea which hsips are involved. Such exercises are also tied to deployment schedules so that provides information. The officer involved was experienced with the SOCAL OPAREA so he could infer other information based upon their requrements. He had an advantage since it was a peacetime exercise; Notice to Mariners would be required giving some navigation information. Once you have the ships it is easy to find the length of the underway period. Sit around the O club and listen to people complain about another separation. Call the ship or even wives, and try to schedule some service. When you are told that so and so won't be available until after XXXXXX, then you have the length of the exercise. You get the idea. But this was an exercise, Clancy got real world actual classified information. That's different. Right? The Navy was recommissioning an old enging repair ship. It was base on a WWII LST hull to repair boat engines. That Navy doesn't need anything that old and slow, and there aren't that many boat engines. So why recommision it? There was a rumor that certain intelligence communities were interested in its shallow draft to operate close ashore for electronic monitoring. I called someone at the naval branch of NSA and asked him about the ship. He said he could only read from a press release on his desk that really said nothing. The mere fact that he had an agency press release was significant. He apologized for not telling me more. I told him he had said everything I needed to know, and he said he was aware of it. Considering the social circuits Clancy had available, it's not surprising at all that he got such information. Remember that only those *in the know* which parts are accurate and which are garbage. Remember that he didn't have military training so the doctrine presented is his best guess, and may be wide of the mark. Terry Rooker terryr@cse.ogi.edu