The West Wing

Ballast

Description

Ballast surges into action as a vital support unit within the Pacific Fleet's rescue coordination chain, contacted urgently from the Situation Room during President Bartlet's override of cautious diplomacy. It channels hierarchical naval commands to facilitate DSRV deployment for extracting the USS Portland's crew from deep peril near North Korean waters, transforming presidential resolve into operational momentum amid restored satellite intel and evaded destroyer threats.

Event Involvements

Events with structured involvement data

2 events
S3E6 · Gone Quiet
Bartlet Overrides Albie's Dire Warnings, Orders Rescue as Portland Breaks Silence

Integrated into officer's briefing as second link in Pac Fleet contact chain to facilitate DSRV deployment, underscoring naval hierarchy propelling rescue from White House fiat to Pacific execution.

Active Representation

Via relayed command confirmation in briefing

Power Dynamics

Supportive node in fleet hierarchy serving presidential directive

Institutional Impact

Exemplifies rapid naval mobilization under crisis

Organizational Goals
Relay crisis intel down Pacific support chain Prepare for DSRV Mystic integration in extraction
Influence Mechanisms
Hierarchical comms bridging fleet to sub assets Logistical coordination for air/sea rescue convergence
S3E6 · Gone Quiet
Portland Breaks Radio Silence, Evading Destroyer

Ballast noted in officer briefing as contacted via Pac Fleet chain, integral to rescue relay from San Diego/North Island, embedding in broader extraction infrastructure activated by Bartlet's push.

Active Representation

Via mentioned command linkage

Power Dynamics

Support node in naval hierarchy

Organizational Goals
Facilitate DSRV deployment coordination Relay crisis intel upward
Influence Mechanisms
Inter-fleet communication chains Logistical support provisioning

Related Events

Events mentioning this organization

4 events
S3E6
Holodeck Prototype: Recreate and Run

With time collapsing and the dilithium lattice decision urgent, Geordi escalates from theory to hands-on trial: he orders the ship to pull a restricted prototype …

S3E13
Powerless, Time Running Out

In Picard's ready room the technical failure becomes moral ballast: Geordi delivers a blunt debrief that the tractor beam drained critical power and they lack …

S4E5
Gaudeamus: A Camp Song and the Politics of Allocation

On the Saybrook patio staffers sing the old Latin camp song 'Gaudeamus igitur,' its meditation on youth and inevitable death casting an unexpectedly elegiac mood …

S4E10
Parking‑Ticket Diplomacy: Bartlet Breaks the Tension

During a fraught Oval Office exchange about whether the White House should intervene in a Navy disciplinary case, a UN call interrupts. Bartlet deliberately takes …