April 15 0745 EDT
RADM A. J. Chegwidden was ushered into the Chief of Naval Operations office for what he thought was the chief's regular briefing. All thought of a 'normal' meeting vanished from the Admiral's thinking when he saw the new SECDEF, new SECNAV, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs all sitting around the CNO's conference table. 'Shit!'
"Good Morning, AJ! Coffee?" the CNO greeted as the yeoman ushered AJ into the spacious Pentagon office.
As AJ nodded, the Chairman spoke up. "If you are thinking ambush, don't. We're here for an 'out of school' conversation that can't be handled officially, right now. So, relax, I know SEAL training dies hard . even for a lawyer or a gentleman.
"Big challenges and bigger changes are coming. The vice president has been named to head a team to conduct a bottom-up of the DOD. I'm quoting now, 'General, I don't want anymore of the horseshit you have been dipping up at the puzzle palace since I worked on that side of the river. The boss realizes that we are in trouble on a number of fronts about money, people, hardware, modernization, and capability. He's committed to taking the political heat for bringing the armed forces into the 21st century, but you are going to have to put an integrated plan into the hopper.'"
Instantly AJ could see a major migraine headache coming. 'What do these vultures want from me personally.or what problems are they going to dump into JAG to be cleaned up.'
"AJ you are here for a couple of reasons," SECDEF spoke up. "On the personal side I want to give you a heads up: You have been nominated for a third star, and once that is confirmed you will be moved up river to run a new policy initiatives office and report directly to me.
"My predecessor says you are the man to keep the palace praetorian guard under control and an eye on the ball.
"There is a second issue that also involves you directly," SECNAV added. "I don't have the necessary confidence that any of the currently serving senior officers can do what the President has directed. They are too grounded in sacred history, and I don't have the time or inclination to get bogged down in a pissing contest with the aviation lobby, the submarine Mafia, or any of the other entrenched power points.
"I am going to call Tom Boone back to active duty to head a task force to write the Navy's manifesto for the 21st Century.if you are prepared to tell me there's nothing hidden in the investigation your people conducted prior to his last courts martial.
"Yes or no Admiral. Is Tom Boone okay?"
"The officers who ran that investigation both told me Boone was a good man caught in a bad spot over the Vietnam allegations. The CIA on one side and his honor on the other. And, the admiral was ready to fall on his sword about the situation in the Balkans although he was 'right' from the start, and that's good enough for me," AJ said flatly.
"Okay. That's a done deal. Now let's give AJ the rest of the medicine about the Boone Board," SECNAV said with a grin that reminded AJ of the way a cat looks at a slow mouse. "Your top gun Rabb is being promoted to Captain and sent to Boone as general counsel and deputy as soon as we can get the paperwork authorizing the board run through the hoops. I am thinking that it will be 40 - 60 days before they are up and running. Can Rabb wrap up whatever mischief he is involved with in that length of time?
"Finally, Admiral, with you leaving within the next 90 days; Rabb leaving in 60 days max, and some other assignment changes in the immediate offing where does that leave JAG? We can't shut down the Navy's primary legal shop for lack of personnel or leadership."
AJ thought for a moment about his staff (soon to be ex-staff) before responding. "Under the circumstances the operation will run without significant augmentation, but that won't last.particularly if something big jumps up. We've also got some slick folks we can grab on TDY if needed."
"AJ," the CNO spoke up, "you better start bringing some of the hot troops home.TDY if necessary pending permanent change of station orders. Your shop is going to have a bunch of changes. It would also be a good idea for you to talk with me soon about your replacement. I have already seen the alternatives that the Pentagon general counsel has come up with, and they will not work. Not today."
On that note the meeting broke down into a discussion of the routine items AJ expected to discuss when he walked into the Pentagon. The ride back to Falls Church gave AJ an opportunity to think about his surprise meeting with the big brass, and, frankly, he was surprised and astonishingly eager to move along.
Other changes in the JAG team were also in the pipeline, AJ anticipated, and he was sure the staff plunderers at BUPERS were hard at work on moving his people up, out, and along. What he didn't know was how soon those changes would take place.
1045 EDT April 15
PO1 Tiner jumped to his feet as Chegwidden rumbled into the JAG bullpen. "Admiral on deck!" Automatically AJ put the bullpen back to work with a mumbled "as you were" while turning into his office. The yeoman moved quickly to close the admiral's door and return to the desk, but his escape wasn't quick enough.
"Tiner, what's this 'confidential' package from BUPERS?"
"Sir, I'm not sure, but it came by Pentagon courier about an hour ago. That's the same way the last round of promotion and reassignment paperwork came."
The Admiral looked at the package much the same way he looked at a booby trap trip wire in the Southeast Asian jungles years ago and, at least for the moment, thought those may have been easier times.
Sorting through the stack of official paperwork that composed the BUPERS package AJ quickly pulled out the salient parts and read..
"Tiner," AJ bellowed, "as soon as the senior staff has trickled back from lunch I want everyone in the big conference room for a brief meeting. If anyone has court appearances for 1330, make arrangements for the second chair to make their manners with the presiding officer until the senior staff is released from this little fun fest."
1220 EDT April 15
Middle April can be cool and wet in Washington, D. C., but this was a chamber of commerce day, and the little sidewalk café a short walk from the JAG office was filled with Navy personnel and promotions were the topic of conversation at any number of tables.
One group gathered on the patio had other things to discuss.more pleasant things too be sure.
On one side of the table the lieutenants Roberts were conniving their sons' God Parents into watching Little AJ over part of the upcoming Easter holiday so they could get away for a couple of days of R&R. On the other side of the wooden picnic table Rabb and a lovely Marine Lieutenant Colonel were jockeying over Little AJ's housing arrangements and entertainment plans.
Little did any of them know that the winds of change that were reshaping political Washington were about to restructure their lives in the coming weeks.
1305 EDT April 15
"Now that everyone is here, people, let me have your attention. I have a number of announcements," the Admiral said opening the meeting. "The Navy's bureaucratic Gods have stirred. Now there's official and 'unofficial' news that impacts almost everyone here. I want to get all of the details on the table in one pass so we don't spend the next few weeks being interrupted every few days when the 'official' word concerning promotions and assignments comes down the pipeline."
Those few words grabbed each officer's rapt attention. Over the next few minutes careers would be changed and lives altered in a way unique only to the military, and everyone wanted to absorb each nuance of the Admiral's words.
"First, the CNO and SECNAV told me this morning that I have been nominated for a third star and I will be leaving JAG for a new job in the SECDEF's office.within 90 days."
For most of the senior staff Rear Admiral (Upper Half) A. J. Chegwidden had been THE JAG almost forever. No one seriously thought he would leave Falls Church for any reason short of death or retirement. The questions came quickly. "No. I am not prepared to discuss any details now. It's been a pleasure to serve with each of you, and I will discuss this in more detail in the near future. For now, be quiet. There's much more to come.
"Lt. (Bud) Roberts you will be promoted to Lt. Commander with an effective date of May 1. You will remain at JAG HQ for not more than an additional 120 days from your promotion prior to being sent to JAG Pacific in Pearl Harbor as head of litigation and deputy chief of staff. We will twiddle Harriett's reserve posting to send her to Hawaii also.probably with a return to active duty..Goddamnit quiet!
"There will obviously be a number of staff moves here, and much of that will be left to the new JAG...and at this point there is no word on who that will be. However since there will be a number of open job slots when all of the changes shake out we will have some new faces around here over the next few weeks.
"Meg Austin was promoted to Lt. Commander in the last evolution, and she will be coming back to Falls Church within 10 days.." There was more: "Commander Kate Pike is coming back to Falls Church TDY for 45 days starting one week from today" Harm and Mac each had a whirlwind of contradictory thoughts start to form, but before those thoughts were completely formed, much less considered, the final bombshell was dropped.
"Commander Rabb and Col. MacKenzie will also both be leaving JAG in the near future . .SILENCE! I'm not done here.
"Commander Rabb you have been promoted to Captain with an effective date of May 1 although you may consider yourself 'frocked' effective close of business this week. Commander, you will be leaving JAG to serve as general counsel for a new operation headed by RADM Tom Boone, who will be recalled to active duty on or before May 1. You will probably also be named his chief of staff when you move your gear to Adm. Boone's office on or before June 1. Quiet damnit!
"Colonel you will be leaving us at the end of the duty day next Friday with five days of leave prior to heading to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit TDY as the G-2. You will be replacing another Lt. Colonel being shipped home following a JAGMAN investigation being run by the 6th Fleet JAG office. Your stay in the Mediterranean should be brief. The BUPERS DF on your paperwork indicates you will get your eagle at the end of the TDY stay and prior to receiving a new 'permanent' assignment.
"Okay people there's work to be done. The speculation can be done at McMurphys later. Dismissed!"
Harm and Mac looked at each other across the table trying to see if the other could make heads or tails out the Admiral's string of announcements. The questions did not need any real words.the "look" was enough.and that's all there was for a long moment.
"Captain? Working for Tom Boone? "
"Adm. Boone was forced into retirement.now he's being brought back to run some mystery shop."
"Kate's coming home!"
"3rd Marines . as the G-2 . then promotion?"
"What does Meg's transfer mean.."
"Jesus. Meg and Kate back at JAG? The office will look like the Harmon Rabb harem.shit.I mean fan club.partners association.shit!"
"What's the CAG's new job?"
"What else ." they both wondered walking out of the conference room with Harm's hand on Mac's back. As they walked out of the room Clayton Webb vanished into the Admiral's office. The heavy door muffled the raised voices inside but it was clear AJ and the 'Assistant Secretary' were probably not talking about dinner plans.
1330 EDT April 15
"Commander? Colonel?" The Gunny inquired. "The Admiral needs you in his office ASAP!"
###
RADM A. J. Chegwidden was ushered into the Chief of Naval Operations office for what he thought was the chief's regular briefing. All thought of a 'normal' meeting vanished from the Admiral's thinking when he saw the new SECDEF, new SECNAV, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs all sitting around the CNO's conference table. 'Shit!'
"Good Morning, AJ! Coffee?" the CNO greeted as the yeoman ushered AJ into the spacious Pentagon office.
As AJ nodded, the Chairman spoke up. "If you are thinking ambush, don't. We're here for an 'out of school' conversation that can't be handled officially, right now. So, relax, I know SEAL training dies hard . even for a lawyer or a gentleman.
"Big challenges and bigger changes are coming. The vice president has been named to head a team to conduct a bottom-up of the DOD. I'm quoting now, 'General, I don't want anymore of the horseshit you have been dipping up at the puzzle palace since I worked on that side of the river. The boss realizes that we are in trouble on a number of fronts about money, people, hardware, modernization, and capability. He's committed to taking the political heat for bringing the armed forces into the 21st century, but you are going to have to put an integrated plan into the hopper.'"
Instantly AJ could see a major migraine headache coming. 'What do these vultures want from me personally.or what problems are they going to dump into JAG to be cleaned up.'
"AJ you are here for a couple of reasons," SECDEF spoke up. "On the personal side I want to give you a heads up: You have been nominated for a third star, and once that is confirmed you will be moved up river to run a new policy initiatives office and report directly to me.
"My predecessor says you are the man to keep the palace praetorian guard under control and an eye on the ball.
"There is a second issue that also involves you directly," SECNAV added. "I don't have the necessary confidence that any of the currently serving senior officers can do what the President has directed. They are too grounded in sacred history, and I don't have the time or inclination to get bogged down in a pissing contest with the aviation lobby, the submarine Mafia, or any of the other entrenched power points.
"I am going to call Tom Boone back to active duty to head a task force to write the Navy's manifesto for the 21st Century.if you are prepared to tell me there's nothing hidden in the investigation your people conducted prior to his last courts martial.
"Yes or no Admiral. Is Tom Boone okay?"
"The officers who ran that investigation both told me Boone was a good man caught in a bad spot over the Vietnam allegations. The CIA on one side and his honor on the other. And, the admiral was ready to fall on his sword about the situation in the Balkans although he was 'right' from the start, and that's good enough for me," AJ said flatly.
"Okay. That's a done deal. Now let's give AJ the rest of the medicine about the Boone Board," SECNAV said with a grin that reminded AJ of the way a cat looks at a slow mouse. "Your top gun Rabb is being promoted to Captain and sent to Boone as general counsel and deputy as soon as we can get the paperwork authorizing the board run through the hoops. I am thinking that it will be 40 - 60 days before they are up and running. Can Rabb wrap up whatever mischief he is involved with in that length of time?
"Finally, Admiral, with you leaving within the next 90 days; Rabb leaving in 60 days max, and some other assignment changes in the immediate offing where does that leave JAG? We can't shut down the Navy's primary legal shop for lack of personnel or leadership."
AJ thought for a moment about his staff (soon to be ex-staff) before responding. "Under the circumstances the operation will run without significant augmentation, but that won't last.particularly if something big jumps up. We've also got some slick folks we can grab on TDY if needed."
"AJ," the CNO spoke up, "you better start bringing some of the hot troops home.TDY if necessary pending permanent change of station orders. Your shop is going to have a bunch of changes. It would also be a good idea for you to talk with me soon about your replacement. I have already seen the alternatives that the Pentagon general counsel has come up with, and they will not work. Not today."
On that note the meeting broke down into a discussion of the routine items AJ expected to discuss when he walked into the Pentagon. The ride back to Falls Church gave AJ an opportunity to think about his surprise meeting with the big brass, and, frankly, he was surprised and astonishingly eager to move along.
Other changes in the JAG team were also in the pipeline, AJ anticipated, and he was sure the staff plunderers at BUPERS were hard at work on moving his people up, out, and along. What he didn't know was how soon those changes would take place.
1045 EDT April 15
PO1 Tiner jumped to his feet as Chegwidden rumbled into the JAG bullpen. "Admiral on deck!" Automatically AJ put the bullpen back to work with a mumbled "as you were" while turning into his office. The yeoman moved quickly to close the admiral's door and return to the desk, but his escape wasn't quick enough.
"Tiner, what's this 'confidential' package from BUPERS?"
"Sir, I'm not sure, but it came by Pentagon courier about an hour ago. That's the same way the last round of promotion and reassignment paperwork came."
The Admiral looked at the package much the same way he looked at a booby trap trip wire in the Southeast Asian jungles years ago and, at least for the moment, thought those may have been easier times.
Sorting through the stack of official paperwork that composed the BUPERS package AJ quickly pulled out the salient parts and read..
"Tiner," AJ bellowed, "as soon as the senior staff has trickled back from lunch I want everyone in the big conference room for a brief meeting. If anyone has court appearances for 1330, make arrangements for the second chair to make their manners with the presiding officer until the senior staff is released from this little fun fest."
1220 EDT April 15
Middle April can be cool and wet in Washington, D. C., but this was a chamber of commerce day, and the little sidewalk café a short walk from the JAG office was filled with Navy personnel and promotions were the topic of conversation at any number of tables.
One group gathered on the patio had other things to discuss.more pleasant things too be sure.
On one side of the table the lieutenants Roberts were conniving their sons' God Parents into watching Little AJ over part of the upcoming Easter holiday so they could get away for a couple of days of R&R. On the other side of the wooden picnic table Rabb and a lovely Marine Lieutenant Colonel were jockeying over Little AJ's housing arrangements and entertainment plans.
Little did any of them know that the winds of change that were reshaping political Washington were about to restructure their lives in the coming weeks.
1305 EDT April 15
"Now that everyone is here, people, let me have your attention. I have a number of announcements," the Admiral said opening the meeting. "The Navy's bureaucratic Gods have stirred. Now there's official and 'unofficial' news that impacts almost everyone here. I want to get all of the details on the table in one pass so we don't spend the next few weeks being interrupted every few days when the 'official' word concerning promotions and assignments comes down the pipeline."
Those few words grabbed each officer's rapt attention. Over the next few minutes careers would be changed and lives altered in a way unique only to the military, and everyone wanted to absorb each nuance of the Admiral's words.
"First, the CNO and SECNAV told me this morning that I have been nominated for a third star and I will be leaving JAG for a new job in the SECDEF's office.within 90 days."
For most of the senior staff Rear Admiral (Upper Half) A. J. Chegwidden had been THE JAG almost forever. No one seriously thought he would leave Falls Church for any reason short of death or retirement. The questions came quickly. "No. I am not prepared to discuss any details now. It's been a pleasure to serve with each of you, and I will discuss this in more detail in the near future. For now, be quiet. There's much more to come.
"Lt. (Bud) Roberts you will be promoted to Lt. Commander with an effective date of May 1. You will remain at JAG HQ for not more than an additional 120 days from your promotion prior to being sent to JAG Pacific in Pearl Harbor as head of litigation and deputy chief of staff. We will twiddle Harriett's reserve posting to send her to Hawaii also.probably with a return to active duty..Goddamnit quiet!
"There will obviously be a number of staff moves here, and much of that will be left to the new JAG...and at this point there is no word on who that will be. However since there will be a number of open job slots when all of the changes shake out we will have some new faces around here over the next few weeks.
"Meg Austin was promoted to Lt. Commander in the last evolution, and she will be coming back to Falls Church within 10 days.." There was more: "Commander Kate Pike is coming back to Falls Church TDY for 45 days starting one week from today" Harm and Mac each had a whirlwind of contradictory thoughts start to form, but before those thoughts were completely formed, much less considered, the final bombshell was dropped.
"Commander Rabb and Col. MacKenzie will also both be leaving JAG in the near future . .SILENCE! I'm not done here.
"Commander Rabb you have been promoted to Captain with an effective date of May 1 although you may consider yourself 'frocked' effective close of business this week. Commander, you will be leaving JAG to serve as general counsel for a new operation headed by RADM Tom Boone, who will be recalled to active duty on or before May 1. You will probably also be named his chief of staff when you move your gear to Adm. Boone's office on or before June 1. Quiet damnit!
"Colonel you will be leaving us at the end of the duty day next Friday with five days of leave prior to heading to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit TDY as the G-2. You will be replacing another Lt. Colonel being shipped home following a JAGMAN investigation being run by the 6th Fleet JAG office. Your stay in the Mediterranean should be brief. The BUPERS DF on your paperwork indicates you will get your eagle at the end of the TDY stay and prior to receiving a new 'permanent' assignment.
"Okay people there's work to be done. The speculation can be done at McMurphys later. Dismissed!"
Harm and Mac looked at each other across the table trying to see if the other could make heads or tails out the Admiral's string of announcements. The questions did not need any real words.the "look" was enough.and that's all there was for a long moment.
"Captain? Working for Tom Boone? "
"Adm. Boone was forced into retirement.now he's being brought back to run some mystery shop."
"Kate's coming home!"
"3rd Marines . as the G-2 . then promotion?"
"What does Meg's transfer mean.."
"Jesus. Meg and Kate back at JAG? The office will look like the Harmon Rabb harem.shit.I mean fan club.partners association.shit!"
"What's the CAG's new job?"
"What else ." they both wondered walking out of the conference room with Harm's hand on Mac's back. As they walked out of the room Clayton Webb vanished into the Admiral's office. The heavy door muffled the raised voices inside but it was clear AJ and the 'Assistant Secretary' were probably not talking about dinner plans.
1330 EDT April 15
"Commander? Colonel?" The Gunny inquired. "The Admiral needs you in his office ASAP!"
###
