Operation Clash Case Study

Operation Nucflash

On the Seahawk helicopter sat Cliff Stewart and the three other men of the Navy’s Special Operation team tasked with disarming dangerous explosives. They were returning from a successful mission and had just touched down on the deck of the USS Patriot when Cliff, the team 's leader received a call. “Lieutenant Stewart,” said a clipped voice, “this is Captain Wilson, Admiral Davidson’s chief of staff.”

Cliff was suddenly alert, “Yes, sir.”

“The admiral wants to see you in the war room, immediately.” Before Cliff could respond the line went dead.

The USS Patriot was enormous and even though Cliff was moving as fast as he could, it still took him five minutes to navigate the 168 feet from the landing platform to the entrance of the war room. Standing outside the door, Cliff suddenly felt nervous; he had never been requested by the admiral, so it must be extremely important. He pushed through the door and entered the room marked “War Room” and saw a large bustling space filled with maps and computers. Admiral

Greeted by the admiral, they entered the room and took their seats. This was the starting point of the mission so the admiral asked, “Are you boys ready to do this? If you want to change your mind, know is the time, but personally I think you are ready for this.” (The Threshold)

“We’re ready, let 's do this,” said Cliff. Suddenly the room started filling with water, and once it was filled the floor retracted and the team splashed into the ocean, just 25 miles from the nuclear bomb threatening the city of San Francisco. Under the ship, the four men reunited with one of their favorite pieces of equipment, an underwater sled that was capable of moving four men at speeds of 35 M.P.H. They boarded the vehicle and in seconds were on their