Chapter Six

Brief Summary-  The CIA discusses the possibilities of what the Red October is planning.  Several ideas are put forward, including misinformation.  Finally, Ryan presents an idea and the CIA, and is asked to present it at the meeting of the National Security Council that afternoon at the White House.  At the meeting Ryan presents the pictures of the Red October to the council and the president, and informs them that the Russians have given orders to find and sink her if necessary.  Ryan states that all of the officers are leaving no family behind and that this fact points to the possibility the Red October attempting to defect.  After the briefing the president asks Ryan to fly out to the fleet commander and brief him the situation disguised as a naval officer.

Journal-  I happened to find this chapter very interesting; my theory of the Red October defecting proved to be true.  Also, Ryan, who seems to have thought himself himself to be a relatively unimportant CIA worker has landed himself in a very important job.  I could really imagine his nervousness before presenting his information to some of the most important men in the country, and his surprise when he learned that the president wanted him to go and brief the fleet commander on the situation.

Chapter Five

Brief Summary-  Admiral Yuri Ilych Padori receives Ramius's letter after the Red October has been at sea for five days, a panic ensues. 

      On board the USS Dallas, the sonarman Ronald Jones picks up an unusual noise, which he runs through the BC-10 computer to analyze the sound.  The BC-10 determined that the noise was caused by magma displacement.  However, Jones believes the noise to be too regular to a natural anomaly.

      Moscow responds to the Red October by sending out an alarming number of vessels.  The National Security Agency's report on this development leaves the CIA baffled; the Russians had just conducted a large scale exercise a month before and the amount of data taken in during an operation of that size takes much longer than a month to analyze.

      Meanwhile the CIA can't even be sure that the Red October even sailed yet.

Journal-  I think its obvious that the Red October is planning to defect, why else would the Moscow officials send out so many of their vessels?  I don't think their planning on attacking the United States because Ramius said he wants Russia to suffer, and he couldn't be planning to attack the State because he's moving toward the Americas.

Chapter Four

Brief Summary-  The United States has become aware of the Red October; a spy has informed the CIA that it has sailed, and pictures of it have been sent to the CIA.  It is forty four feet longer than the submarines of her class, and has more torpedo tubes.  Along with this is has four mysterious doors on it , two on each side.  CIA agent Jack Ryan, with the permission of James Greer, plans to show these pictures to Skip Taylor, an expert on submarines, who Ryan believes may be able to shed some light on the mysterious doors.  When Skip examines these photos he determines that it is a Typhoon class submarine, which are the largest and some of the quietest submarines, and that it had twenty-six missiles instead of twenty.  He also realizes that the doors resemble the tunnel drive system that the United States had once attempted to develop before it was dropped because they couldn't get it to work efficiently.  However, if this system was successfully it would make the submarine using it nearly undetectable.

Journal-  I can see why Ramius sent the letter to Moscow to inform the State of his plan.  If the doors are what Skip Taylor thinks they are, no one would be able to find the Red October, why not tell inform them, they won't be able to stop him anyway.  That makes Ramius seem overly confident about the situation; he thinks no one will be able to stop him because of his intellect and superior submarine.

Chapter Three

Brief Summary-  Ramius calls a meeting with his officers to discuss their current situation.  It becomes apparent that the other officers are in on Ramius's plan, and believe that now "there is no going back".  During the meeting we are privileged to a flashback in which we learn of Ramius's youth and what drove to him to what his is doing now.  Ramius's grandmother had taught him religion, and he seems to harbor a hatred toward Russia for not being allowed religious freedom.  This hatred grew stronger when his wife Natalia died, and he felt that "The State had robbed him of more than his wife, it had robbed him of a means to assuage his grief with prayer, it had robbed him of the hope-if only an illusion-of ever seeing her again" (33).  He also blamed Russia for his wife's death; the drunk surgeon who caused serious damage to her while operating, and the and untested medicine that had never been inspected, given to her after the surgery.  Neither the doctor or the manufactures of the drug were held responsible, and Ramius wanted to make the state pay for it injustices.

Journal-  I sympathize with Ramius, his past was riddled with suffering cause by the Communist government of Russian.  The death of wife was a series of tragic events that were caused by lax safety precautions and errors of judgment on the parts of many groups, that would have had serious consequences if they had happened in the United States.  His idea to punish Russia is just.