Honing Our Deterrence

Author © Scott D. Zachary

       I loved living in Norway. I delighted in cross-country skiing at night on all the lighted trails in and around Oslo. The overhead lights refracted a million sparkles from the crystallized snow around me, fostering a magical ambiance of diamond fields. Yes, there was a lot of snow, and I liked that too! And it was certainly cold most of the year; however, once I learned to dress in fine wool as the Norwegians do, frigid became cozy.

       My favorite aspect of being stationed in Norway was working inside Kolsås Mountain with the brilliant system analysts on the RSSC (Regional System Support Centre) team. A keen esprit de corps banded our team in a way that I had not experienced elsewhere, except perhaps Air Force Officer Training School.

       Headquarters AFNorth is a highly select assignment since there are so few positions available. Further refining the selection process, their rigid qualifications sifted a few of the best computer analysts from each NATO country involved to design the Northern European Command and Control Information System: Germany, Britain, Denmark, Norway, Canada, and the United States. Our team of software developers included some world-class civilian analysts which the organization also tightly screened. We were the best of the best, and Headquarters AFNorth made sure of it.

       Working intensively with this team of high-caliber international analysts sparked my wit through the relative ceiling. That, in combination with the inspiring leadership of my ingeniously-gifted boss, Jens Kannegaard, set my sparkle for logical analysis on fire! I was determined to be the best of the best of the best. My boss’s boss, Danish Air Force Colonel Orfelt, confirmed that achievement in his Letter of Commendation at the end of this story. I assure you that he would not have stepped out on the end of that superlative branch had it not been so universally supported.

       Most of all, I was happy to be doing something productive finally. I spent the first six months of my Norwegian assignment working on a different project at the foot of the Mountain. During that time, I shared an office with German Captain Dieter Ermer, a brilliant mathematician. Dieter and I never did figure out what our assigned project consisted of, so we devised some challenging work to accomplish. Experienced Cribbage players will commonly say “19” to indicate a zero-point hand because they know well that a score of “19” is not possible. Dieter and I set out to prove that hypothesis, and we nailed that complicated mathematical proof to the wall, figuratively and literally. That was one of the projects we completed.

       Once the brass reassigned me to development of the Command and Control Information System, I became a shooting star. I not only out-produced and out-analyzed all the other developers, but I also took it upon myself to train all new analysts joining the team.

       We were computerizing, and thus streamlining, management of all the manpower resources and infrastructure on Earth from a military perspective, with emphasis on Europe and Scandinavia. We were creating the pieces in a grandiose puzzle that mirrored the world, and it was fun! I can’t describe what I did in any greater detail due to its top-secret classification.

       My snarky marital encumbrance often conjectured, “What do you do out there, plan wars?”

       I responded, “We’re striving to prevent war by honing our deterrence.”

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       Don’t get the silly idea that I was sober during this time. Quite the contrary. If the Air Force Major General over all the U.S. military at Headquarters AFNorth had learned of my dancing on the tables with the Senior and Chief Master Sergeants at the Senior NCO Club, my captain’s bars would’ve been up for grabs. However, I was well liked and highly respected among the upper echelons of the enlisted ranks, so I’d put 4-to-1 odds on their pillars defending my reckless butt.

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Colonel J. Orfelt, Royal Danish Air Force

Chief Regional System Support Centre

Headquarters Allied Forces Northern Europe

Kolsås, Norway

4 July 1988

Letter of Commendation

To whom it may concern.

      Captain, U.S. Air Force, Scott D. Zachary has, from 1^st January 1986 to 30^th June 1988, been attached to the Regional System Support Centre, where he has worked in an international team of ADP System Analysts preparing the baseline for the Northern European NATO Command, Control and Information System.

      During this period, he has displayed excellent analytic capabilities, a high morale of work, and a great working ability. These qualities have made him the most productive member of the team.

      Captain Zachary has further demonstrated initiative, sound sense, team spirit, humour, and willingness to accept responsibility.

      He is a high-quality officer, and his loyalty is beyond doubt.

      I have enjoyed working with Captain Zachary and can recommend him wholeheartedly.

J. Orfelt

J. Orfelt