The North Atlantic D+22 (31 July 1987) Part III (Charlie)

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was escorted into the Situation Room on the basement level of the White House at 0930 EDT. Upon entering the wood-paneled conference room, Admiral Lee Baggett, US Navy noted more officials, civilian and military, than normal. One of the men seated against the wall in a chair was John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy. Lehman’s presence, while not a complete surprise, reinforced to Baggett the importance of this meeting. Lehman was a major proponent of naval power. Specifically, offensive naval power as outlined in the US Navy’s Maritime Strategy doctrine, the strategy guiding Baggett’s prosecution of the war at sea in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea.

The coup in Moscow back in April came at the right time for the secretary, who was under fire over allegations of inappropriate behavior at the 1986 Tailhook convention. As is the case in Washington, when the story broke it unleashed a deluge of accusations and claims about Lehman’s conduct professionally and personally. In late April he was close to tendering his resignation, but the change of management in the Kremlin and rise in global tensions forced Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and President Reagan to table the resignation until the crisis subsided. Of course, the opposite happened and instead of departing from government service in disgrace, John Lehman was one of the President Reagan’s most important wartime advisors.

Baggett was briefed in by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Crowe earlier in the morning. As a result, SACLANT had a fair idea of what to expect from the meeting. Crowe had explained that the purpose of the meeting was to decide what shape the final stage of the war would take. The naval forces under Baggett’s command were quite possibly poised to play a major role in the coming days. In the days before the nuclear destruction of Madrid and Gorki, the war plan for SACLANT had been to launch an air campaign against the Kola Peninsula starting on D+19. This would set the stage for US Marine landings west of Murmansk, and in concert with NATO ground forces in Northern Norway, a land attack into Soviet territory would start. This attack was to be coordinated with a possible attack against the Soviet SSBN bastions in the Barents Sea and Artic Ocean. The White House and Pentagon supported implementing the plan fully until D+18. Crossing the nuclear threshold had changed the dynamic of the war in an instant. Reagan and his advisors took a step back to reconsider the next move. Consequently, these plans for offensive action were placed on the shelf.

The fate of said offensive was to be decided today.

SACLANT’s arrival in the Situation Room brought an end to the discussion that had been taking place. President Reagan greeted him and took the opportunity to congratulate Baggett on the performance of his command in the war so far. Next, he asked the admiral to explain the air/land variant of the Kola Peninsula Offensive plan. Baggett laid out a timeline and summary of the variant, superimposing this information onto the present date and conditions in theater and across the world. The carriers and II MEF’s amphibious force were already moving farther north. The aircraft carriers of Strike Fleet Atlantic were expected to begin air operations against the Kola in a matter of hours. The miniature air campaign would last 36 hours, ending early on D+24. Around that same time, II MEF would begin its first set of landings west of Murmansk, followed by other NATO ground forces crossing the frontier into Soviet territory eight hours later.

Next, Baggett handled questions from the gathered NSC members. For the most part the questions were centered on details of the plan but a couple were entirely political in nature. The Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic reminded his audience that he was not a politician. Answering political questions was far outside of his purview. Reagan accepted this without question, but a handful of his advisors and cabinet secretaries were visibly annoyed with Baggett over his evasion.

By 1100 SACLANT’s task was complete and he was on board a VH-60 helicopter heading back to Andrews AFB and his waiting aircraft. Before leaving the White House, President Reagan had ordered Baggett to make the final preparations for an air/land offensive against the Kola. The Marines would begin their landings in approximately forty-eight hours.