Naval Strike Novels

Naval Strike

Book 1 - Achille Lauro

December 1983. President Reagan’s administration and the U.S. military struggle in the first global war on terrorism. Mired in a peacekeeping mission in Beirut, which has claimed over 250 service members’ lives, a naval air strike is executed with more tragic results. Lessons learned are gathered amidst calls for change.

Three patriots must seize the lessons of the past and apply them when terrorists hijack the cruise ship Achille Lauro, threatening the lives of U.S. citizens. Are the lessons and changes enough to to bring the culprits to justice?

Lieutenant Storm Devlin, A-6 Intruder pilot and committed agnostic, disillusioned and frustrated after participating in the strike, questions his role in the Navy. Estranged from his father and angry at any concept of God and the organizational hierarchy of the military and government, he begins a journey to identify who he is and where he belongs.

His father, Rear Admiral Michael Devlin, a strong and committed Christian, serves as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy. Playing a key role to build and develop the nation’s strategic plans and policies he works faithfully to help his son and country find solutions in the aftermath of the disastrous air strike.

Storm’s flight school roommate, former F-14 Tomcat pilot, Lieutenant Patch Swensen, struggles to define himself in his new role in naval intelligence. Assigned to the joint intelligence community’s Counter Terrorism Working Group he works diligently to detect and disrupt terrorist operations. This transition he will find provides him a mentor and father figure he never expected, but desperately needed.

Audience

Achille Lauro is first in the “Naval Strike” series of four books about the men and women of the U.S. Navy and those who love them. It’s for those interested in historical military operations in times of peace. It will appeal to readers who want to see beyond cynical headlines and read a story that celebrates the heroism of those who worked in the shadows during a time of transformational change and emerging threats. Those who read this story enjoy great action and adventure, but also want to learn how a man of faith responds to adversity and how a person without faith could come to experience Christ in times of crisis.

Author

Raymond Corrigan is a retired U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer with 35 years of military, diplomatic and business experience in Europe, the Balkans, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. A veteran of 14 combat and expeditionary operations, he has worked at the strategic, operational and tactical level within the military and government. Having lived in Singapore for 20 years, he currently lives in Steilacoom, Washington with his wife, living close to their three children and five grandchildren. He enjoys writing, personal coaching, tennis, hiking and scuba diving.