The Aden Effect

9781612511092 Naval Institute Press 2012

Murder, politics, seapower, Middle East instability, and intrigue in the White House are all part of this action thriller. Set against a background of modern piracy in the Gulf of Aden, the story begins as the new Ambassador to Yemen, C.J. Sumner, is assigned to negotiate access to the oil fields off the island of Socotra and enlist help countering pirates who are capturing ships at will off the Horn of Africa. Meeting with resistance to her diplomatic overtures, Sumner recruits Connor Stark, a former naval officer turned mercenary who knows the region, as her defense attaché. When Stark sets up a meeting with the owner of a Yemeni shipping company and the ruling family, the challenges begin.

Against this backdrop, diplomatic security agent Damien Golzari is investigating the death of a State Department official’s son when he stumbles on an illicit khat trade involving Somali refugees in the United States. His probe leads him to Yemen and the shipping company owned by Stark’s contact. As a result of this chance discovery, the two men are forced to become unwitting allies when they discover that their mysterious roads lead to one source.

To earn the favor of the Yemeni government, Sumner sets up a humanitarian-assistance mission to Socotra. But the Navy warship assigned to assist her is attacked by pirates. Stark assumes command and mounts a daring counterattack. Sumner negotiates a treaty to develop the oil fields and provide mutual security from the pirates, who, unknown to her, are working with other powers. In a final confrontation, Stark and Golzari must decide whether to challenge a navy and the most powerful man in the world.

A good effort at a first novel, a genre we normally do not review. But having had the privilege of once having dinner with Tom Clancy's first editor, I know USNI has shown a knack in the past of spotting good novelists. This book flows well with the only complaint being the imaginary USS Bennington, a ship so poorly run it is a bit tough to believe. With a bit more polish, hopefully the next work, from what appears to be a planned series, will not stretch credulity too far.

Betrayed Scandal, Politics, and Canadian Naval Leadership

by Richard O. Mayne $85.00 Hardcover ISBN: 9780774812955 $29.95 Paperback ISBN: 9780774812962
With this book, Richard Mayne has shown that he is one of Canada’s up and coming pre-eminent naval historians. The book is aptly titled “Betrayed Scandal, Politics and Canadian Naval Leadership.
In just over five years, the Royal Canadian Navy went from one of the world’s smallest to the third largest. The strain on both political and uniformed leadership was enormous.
Various political intrigues are detailed with behind the scenes intrigues than can almost be described as Machiavellian in nature. The two leading uniformed figures were Jones and Nelles and most of the prewar regular force officer cadre was beholden to one or the other. These fights eventually led to the ouster of Nelles as Chief of Naval Staff and his replacement by Jones.
At the height of the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942-43, the Royal Canadian Navy was built around the Flower-class corvette. Adapted from the Southern Pride whaler in the UK, the simple to build corvettes were easy to construct in Canadian yards which had previously rarely built anything larger than fishing vessels. However while these ships were being put into service, two things had taken place which pretty much made these ships obsolete - airpower and the Enigma code breaking efforts. The Canadian ships were urgently in need of refit but the navy agonized over the merit of refitting obsolete ships.
Londonderry in Northern Ireland became a major base for Canadian warships but virtually no support was offered to them. Small touches as a Canadian shore staff and recreational pursuits would’ve been wonderful for morale.
These two major issues which directly contributed to the effectiveness or lack thereof for ships of the Royal Canadian Navy were of secondary importance to the political intrigues playing out in Ottawa.
A few minor criticisms of the book are noted:
303 machine gun was misidentified as a .50 caliber
No coverage of the contempt felt for the officers assigned to Fairmiles by other officers
A comparison of the high quality refits of Canadian-manned but UK owned corvettes provided under the US Lend-Lease program in US yards would have been beneficial
Use of ``the` on a consistent basis before ship names is a definite no-no according to David Freeman, author of the authoritative Canadian Warship Names.
These minor points aside, this work is highly recommended for anyone interested in Canadian naval history. I look forward to Mr. Mayne's next work.