January 16, 2012

You are sooooo dumb! ¹

American History, Uncategorized • Tags: 1968 Scorpion, Cold War, submarine, Viet Nam

1968 is often called one of the most pivotal years in the second half of the 20th century.

Even by today’s post 911 standards, many key events happened that would shape the way American’s would view themselves and our place in the world. January kicked off the whirlwind of events that literally transformed us from a Post World War 2 land of American exceptionalism to a country divided like it had never been since the civil war. The Battle for Khe Sanh began on January 21st and was a precursor for the Tet offensive which started about a week later.

North Korea seized one of our surveillance ships during the same week and pictures of the mutilated ship flashed across the American landscape.

The year never did get much better.

Protests. Riots. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy assassinated. My Lai massacre. A nerve gas leak at the US Army Proving Grounds at Dugway in Utah. USS Scorpion sinks 400 miles form the Azores. The Prague Spring ends with the arrival of 200K Warsaw Pact troops and 5000 tanks in Czechoslovakia. Northern Ireland breaks out into a new round of “troubles”. Mao Zedong starts a massive internal reeducation program. The list goes on and on and truly changed us as a nation and set in motion changes for the rest of the world.

I remember 1968 pretty well for a couple of reasons. First, I was in the eighth grade and started studying something called current events. I had saved some money from my summer job (cutting grass) and in the fall of 1967 convinced my Dad to let me order subscriptions to three magazines that would give me three views on the world. I had researched them at the school’s library but had a burning desire to have my own copies. The magazines started to arrive in January of 1968 and I devoured them from cover to cover. This seemingly harmless addiction to information is responsible for my current state of mind.

Television was really just coming into its own (spurred on my the on the spot coverage that started in the aftermath of JFK’s shooting.) The one thing that TV lacked was depth. I didn’t want a two minute segment on fluoride in the water, I wanted the hard stuff and I wanted a lot more information than Walter was willing to give me in his evening spots. The arrival of each new copy was almost like celebration since I would then be able to absorb myself into the many details that a 1000 word article could provide. I could re-read it and look things up if I wasn’t sure about some of the facts identified. Unlike most eighth graders, I could not only show you where Viet Nam was on a map, but could point to the location of many of the major battles that came blazing through my mail box.

I remember anticipating a catastrophe at Khe Sanh where the beleaguered Marines seemed to be holding off the entire Communist forces of the world. Day after day, they held off a determined enemy that, at least according to the articles, had been declared all but dead and beaten. I watched and studied in horror as the American flag at the US Embassy was bullet ridden and torn after the Tet attacks in Saigon.

The loss of the USS Scorpion was of special interest to me even though I had no inkling that I would ever become a submariner.

I do remember thinking how awful it was for the guys and their families not to know where she was and how they died. By the end of the year, I knew what the bathyscaphe Trieste II looked like and how far down it was supposed to be able to safely go.

I also learned about something called “Crush Depth” for the first time. I guess like many kids, I never thought we would design or put a submarine that could be somehow “crushed”.

The year came and went.

I got “A”s in all my important classes and really felt like I had gained something by my extra curriculum reading. One thing that did bother me though was that after a while, it seemed like all three magazines were covering the same stories. The writers were different, but the stories and themes were identical. The way the US was being portrayed was also changing. As Viet Nam played out (including My Lai and other massacres), the coverage got more cynical and discouraging. I didn’t look at the Marines or Army in my “John Wayne” colored glasses anymore. According to the magazines, they were back to being mere mortals.

The year also caused me to really wonder about the great experiment called America. Students and blacks rioting, teachers strikes, politicians being killed, civil rights being fought over, and on and on. By December when Dad asked me if I was going to reorder the magazines I said no. I was in ninth grade by then and discovering that girls were actually more interesting than I had at once thought. I had also discovered in my own mind that my opinions were probably being formed by what I read. I had no way of independently verifying what was true and what was something called bias. The new year began with a strong emphasis on my new interests.

Over the years, I read an occasional US News and World Report for additional information. The TV seemed to find better ways to give expanded coverage and frankly I got a bit passive in my political and news hunger. Programs like 60 Minutes (which also started in 1968) filled in enough of the blanks. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that they too had their own bias. After all, who selected their stories? What point of view would be presented? Somebody seemed to have to be the bad guy if the ratings were to rise.

The one magazine I really liked back in the day was Newsweek

The stories seemed to resonate with all the things going on around me. The writers had opinions and they were hard to dismiss since they seemed to be filled with enough facts to make their view plausible. It wasn’t until the Internet became really easy to use that I discovered that for every story, there are people with their own “facts” to support their own “versions” of the story. After Watergate, we had learned that the Government also had “facts” to support its own claims. Sadly, the era of mistrust caused us to even question our own government and the press watching them.

Or is it sad? Doesn’t our access to a wider variety of information make us more informed and more discerning? I for one no longer accept anything at face value if it is political or related to what the government says. I think that serves people well when we do question authority (something which is also attributed to 1968). I have my heroes. Most of them are in uniform. They are not perfect, but at least they have the guts to place their lives on the line for what they believe in.

Like so many, I lost my innocence in so many ways in the late sixties.

Its okay. I don’t miss it that much. Being a bit more aware keeps me from believing in the impossible. Like voting for someone with absolutely no executive experience and expecting them to perform at an executive level. I hope someday, the rest of the country figures out it has been manipulated and used by the very press that used to stand between us and crooked and inept politicians. I heard that Newsweek was recently bought for a dollar. I wish I had known it was for sale. I would have bought it and closed it down. Just for old times sake.

“and that’s the news for tonight. Good night America, where ever you are.”

Mister Mac

January 9, 2012

SSN 711 ⁹

Submarine, Teamwork, US Navy • Tags: Guam, submarine, USS San Francisco

Seven years ago, an event happened on the USS San Francisco that serves as a reminder that even in this day of modern technology and science, the ocean is still mightier in its capability to test man’s limitations. On January 8th 2005 at 0243 GMY, she collided with a sea mount resulting in massive damage to the bow section, 23 were wounded as a result of the collision and the tragic death of MM2/SS Joseph Allen Ashley of Akron Ohio occured the next day as a result of his wounds.

Within a very short time of the collision, the emails of previous San Francisco lit up with passed along messages. Speculation was the name of the game which seems to ghoulishly follow all tragedies at sea. The first thought was an underwater collision with another boat but a closer examination revealed that the damage to the sonar dome and the forward ballast tanks was consistent with a much bigger collision: a seamount that was not on the charts available to the San Francisco.

I spent four years on the San Francisco and as a new construction team member, I crawled through every tank and ever void on the boat. As a plank owner, I remember the thrills (and scares) of putting the boat through her paces for Admiral Rickover. I will never forget the added pressure that he instilled in the crew as we did the irregular maneuvers to prove the boat’s sea-worthiness. But we hit every mark and sailed her to Hawaii for her first serious set of tours.

When I heard about the crash, my mind went back to the days of sailing at a high speed transit from one place or another. You can feel the rush of the water down the sides of the hull, every turn results in a feeling of pulling in one direction or another as the boat reacts, and the feel of the boat reacting to the churn of the prop is very noticeable. Crawling into your rack, you push the obvious into the back of your head (if you think of it at all). What if something gets in the way? I am not a great physics scholar but I believe that in my life I have been a great believer in the big physics laws. An object in motion… an object at rest…

For all the patrols and special operations I made on various boats, I consider myself to be incredibly lucky. A few typhoons and one hurricane gave us some real scares (stories for another time), but generally, we made the runs with very few issues. I had confidence on the builders of the boat (having watched them and sometimes helping them). I had great confidence in our Officers and Nav guys. Some of them were a little quirky but then they probably thought the same about A-gangers too. But we always operated the boat with the confidence that comes from being as ready as possible.

Having said that, I can only imagine the terror of lying in your rack and suddenly, with no warning, feeling the boat come hard upon a large sea mount. You can’t see anything, all you can hear is the noise from the collision, feel the uncontrolled stopping motion and the out of control nature of such a hit. I apologize to the crew members that were on board that day because my description only comes from a mixture of memories of operating the boat and an imagination that can’t correctly describe what you felt.

I will not post the gruesome pictures that are plastered all over the internet. As I said, having built the boat, I can feel myself hand over handing the ballast tank and thinking that it was incredibly strong. I know we had to do some hull cuts at one point and I can remember clearly what it took for us to cut through the skin of the shark. I can also remember the fact that the precious air need to conduct an emergency blow is partially contained in those same ballast tanks. I have ridden the boat a number of times from the depths on the cushion of that air and remembered how thankful to know that it was there.

All of us had heard stories about the Thresher and her death ride. The thought of losing that air for any reason was one of my greatest nightmares. Every time I did a rig for sea, this was one of my most stringent tasks. No errors allowed and hand check everything that could be hand checked. If I close my eyes, I can still see the gages on the BCP hoping that 4500 PSI would be enough.

The fact that the crew was able to hold it together long enough to get her back to the surface and then back to port is the greatest example of submarine training I can possibly think of. I remain proud of all submariners for their day to day bravery. This crew demonstrated that what may have seem improbable was indeed possible. It would be an honor and a privilege to serve with any of you guys on any boat anytime.

RIP Joey.

God Bless the Crew of the USS San Francisco

MM2/SS Big Mac

(AKA Mister Mac)

December 12, 2011

The Flowers of The Forest ^Reply

Holy Loch, Leadership, Submarine, US Navy • Tags: Cold War, Flowers of the Forest, Guam, holy loch, scotland, Soviet Union, submarine, Submarine Tender

In the misty legends of Scotland, there are many songs that are interwoven with the victories and defeats of her native sons in glorious conflicts. The great pipes blew violently across the field as part of the offensive tactics of the Chiefs.

You can almost feel them pierce the air of a cold Scottish morning while lines of kilted warriors come racing towards each other. The louder the noise, the more it covers the sound of axes crashing into metal and bone. The cries of the mortally wounded are covered with the bleating of the air rushing through the reeds until the last sword is swung and the battle is done.

In the end, it is the music alone that remains. Lives end. Legends are often the only survivors of a grand melee. Around the campfires at night, men tell tales of the way the fight travelled form one end of the field to another. Who won is often determined by who had the best version that would last through antiquity and be recorded by a poet or scribe. The main goal was to create a lasting enough memory to justify their brave sacrifices and try to calm a mother’s broken heart.

The Flowers of the Forest is a memorial song derived from one of the greatest and noblest defeats Scotland ever suffered, the Battle of Flodden Field. Some sources claim that over 10,000 Scottish souls were lost including many of the nobles of the auld Scotland.

The song has been used again and again over the years to honor and commemorate the lives of men fallen in battle from across the British Isles. Besides Amazing Grace, it will always be one of the most memorable of laments to those who have served under the Union Jack.

As a younger man, I was part of another great force that fought a different kind of war. Our greatest goal was to never use the weapons that we had at our disposal. More importantly, we wanted to make sure the other guy knew that he would pay an unimaginable price if he ever used his.

The Cold War

The longest and most expensive war in modern history was the shadow war that started in 1945 barely a few days after the end of World War 2. The Soviets had secretly integrated spies throughout the unsuspecting Western Countries and solidified their hold over the border countries. In a series of steps, each side ramped up their defensive and offensive postures and systems. The launch of Sputnik added a new dimension of threat and resulted in the birth of the strategic nuclear missile submarine programs for both sides.

The battles lasted until 1991

In December of that year, the Soviet Union gives up its last gasp of life and on Christmas Day 1991, the Hammer and Sickle was lowered over the Kremlin for the last time.

In the twenty years since that fateful day, many changes have occurred on both sides

A different kind of war has emerged for a new generation and the old generation has begun to quietly take their place in the Forest. There is no greater reminder to the men of that age than the rise of a new kind of “Flower” in the shape of monuments to glorious days of the past.

http://www.esryle.com/coblinks/links/MUSEUMS.html

While I still think I am young at heart, nothing ages you quicker than seeing the sail of a boat you served on placed on a hill side with markers and monuments all around it.

Nothing brings back the memories faster than seeing that cold metal symbol forever landlocked instead of plowing through the oceans protecting both her crew and the nation she served.

I am grateful for the chance to see her one more time and bring back the memories of red lights and flank speed runs and angles and dangles. I am filled with emotion for those who have slowly passed into the great beyond, some known and others only found in a surprise announcement from a friend on a submarine page or Facebook.

Thanks to all those who cared for and supported their brothers on Tenders, shore facilities and Dry docks in far away lands or here at home. Your service was a great contribution to the peace that was maintained.

Thanks to the men who defied logic and manned the boats that plied the ocean’s deep. Your sacrifice will never be fully recognized but we live in a better place because of it. If you do not belong to USSVI, I would encourage you to do so today. This great organization is keeping the memory of our brothers alive and helping to make a difference for the future.

It is a shame that there is no national recognition of those Flowers of the Forest who helped to win that war.

I want to personally thank all of the ones who remain and especially all of those who have passed.

Twenty years ago this month,

all of your efforts resulted in a great victory.

God Bless You.

Mister Mac

Note: Every war fought by the United States, was honored by a medal issued to those members authorized and who displayed honorable service. The Cold War has never been officially recognized for this type of honor. While some organizations have created a medal for the time period, it has never been officially recognized by the Federal Government.

November 1, 2011

How did this thing get so far out of alignment? ^Reply

Leadership, Lean, Submarine, US Navy • Tags: shipyard, submarine

Like many submariners, I spent a few weeks in one shipyard or another helping to fix wear and tear issues. As an Auxiliaryman (A-Ganger) I quickly found that there is a special kind of hell reserved for us in a shipyard. Since our equipment and systems run the length of the boat, our work could be almost anywhere on any given day. Auxiliary Division was responsible for air systems, trim and drain systems, ventilation systems, service air systems (high and low pressure), hydraulics (internal and external) the diesel on some boats and certainly anything associated with masts and antennas.

That of course is just a short list. In the shipyard we also gained ownership of the temporary services and equipment that would allow work to be done on the major ones. The passages and hatches quickly became clogged with lines and hoses that provided many of these services. While necessary, they merely added to the already cramped atmosphere of a submarine. On my list of “Happy Things” ridding the boat of all this extra crap at the end of a yard period will always stand as one of my happiest.

The reason I used to equate shipyards with hell had to do with the type of work we had to do and the location of much of it. Since our equipment was “auxiliary” it frequently was located in places very much out of the way. This required one of two things… either you found the smallest guy in the division for certain jobs or you had to remove the deck plates. Worse yet, you had to remove the framing for the deck plates in order to do serious work. The overcrowded conditions got even worse at that point since inevitably you would not only have to work below where they had previously been, but on the other side which would now require special rigging.

The yard period could last months (even a year or more under some circumstances) which saw the changes of many of the crew members before reassembling the boat. Even if you didn’t have that much change, remembering where everything was before and where the parts had been stored for safety was always a miserable ordeal at the end of the period. Deck plates were a particular bedevilment for all of those reasons. You not only had to remember where the plates went, you had to have the right frames in the right places. Even then, you often faced one of the toughest challenges. The bolts.

The bolts holding the plates in place were critical for not only safety but helped to keep the plates from becoming noise generators during subsurface operations. The deck plates needed to be complete aligned in order to make sure all of the holes could be used. But I swear, shipyard gremlins must come on board every boat during their yard time and carefully realign each and every deck plate so that it would never again fit the original designer’s plans. I have never been able to figure out how three of the four holes could be aligned so well that the bolts almost threaded themselves in place, but the fourth? He would be so far out of alignment you would swear you had the wrong plate.

The San Francisco (my middle boat) was the worst. I know Newport News did a fine job on initial installation because I distinctly remember removing all of the bolts in the machinery room with what seemed at the time as relative ease. Being on two previous boats, I remembered the nightmare of plate and support arrangement so we had devised a careful map to reassemble them. We even had a special locker designated to hold critical parts. I was so proud of my foresight, I was sure we would have an easy transition back to being an active boat. After all, it was only going to be a few short months anyway. What could possibly go wrong?

The months went fairly quickly and we were able to fix almost all of the major issues with relative ease. The word finally came that it was time to put things back together and prepare for our sea trials. A few of us went to the Machinery room and prepared to put our plan into action. It all seemed so simple. And then we began.

Did you know that after a submarine is built it goes through a series of sea trials? (any self respecting bubblehead is shaking his head up and down). Did you also know that between the end of building to the first shipyard, that boat will execute wild turns to the right and left, entire a number of storms on the surface and below and take excursions to test depth a number of times? And did you know that the dimensions of the boat can change ever so slightly over the course of a few years of these operations?

Yea, neither did we. The San Francisco has now entered the Twilight Zone. Things like three of four deckplate screwholes aligning with a dead fourth are not only possible, they seem to be mandatory. Frames that used to be flush now ride at awkward angles creating potential sound shorts which could reveal our position at a critical time. Those bags of screws? The locker they were carefully placed in was ordered to be emptied on one of the days you weren’t there and Fireman Jones followed the instructions to the “T”.

Now there comes a bit of pressure. All of the other work is done, the Captain would like to get to sea, and you are holding up the progress with loose and misaligned deckplates. This is where creativity takes over. The whole gang plus the Chief end up in the room. Substitute crews are found (thank goodness the Olympia was across the pier and not going to sea for a few weeks). Sledge hammers and grinders modify the alignment and soon the plates are back in place, ready to fight another day.

Of course all of us but Fireman Jones would eventually transfer before the next shipyard period. Then the hellish cycle would start all over again. Sometimes when I see that a relatively new boat is being decommissioned before one that is much older, I have a theory why that happens. Frankly, I think it’s the deckplates.

The fundamentals of any structure rely a lot on the “deckplates” for support and utility. When the deckplates are so far out of alignment sometimes, you really do need some over the top methods to get them back into a good place. I think the same can be said about the countries leadership right about now. When you have gaps that are too large in the deckplates, important stuff will fall through the gaps. Somehow we need to get the plates back where they are suppose to be. Any ideas?

Have a great week.

Mister Mac

October 26, 2011

Target Rich Environment ^Reply

Change, Communication, Congress, Leadership, Preparedness, Submarine, Underwater Technology, US Navy • Tags: Leadership, Leadership Submarine, Living on the edge, Maru, submarine, Top gun

Google the phrase “Target Rich Environment”

and you will get about 5 million hits.

One of my favorite quotes comes from a feel good movie released in 1986

Warning: PG 13 applies, if you are easily offended,

skip past the quoted area

“Top Gun”

Maverick: This is what I call a target-rich environment.
Goose: You live your life between your legs, Mav.
Maverick: Goose, even you could get laid in a place like this.
Goose: Hell, I’d be happy to just find a girl that would talk dirty to me.

The Urban Dictionary defines the phrase as: A combat situation in which an attacker, normally equipped with a superior weapons system, is presented with a large number of highly desirable, poorly defended and high-value targets all at once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October of 1944 must have felt like that for the

US Navy submarine forces in the Pacific.

^{USS Jack Feb 14 1944 sank four tankers in one day}

1944 had been an awful year for the Japanese on the whole.

New subs were joining the fleet and saturated the Pacific. This was no small task considering the size of the Pacific and the challenges of long range submarine patrols. But superior technology added to the manufacturing base of the United States coupled to produce killing machines that would ultimately add to the sinking of 1,152 ship (about 55 percent of all tonnage in the Pacific war) for a loss of 52 submarines.

US Submarines spent 11,700 days on war patrols and fired almost 6100 torpedoes. The earlier problems with the Mark 14’s had been solved and successful attacks mounted day by day. In October, 185 successful attacks were carried out. The single most productive day for the fleet was October 24, 1944 when 20 successful attacks were delivered.

The Japanese felt the strangulation and late in the war, the sea north and east of Luzon became known as the “Sea of the Devil”

In Singapore in 1944 it was said that “one could walk from Singapore to Tokyo on American periscopes.

From William P. Gruner’s book “U.S.Pacific Submarines in World War II:

“Cutting the Japanese Jugular”

“Japanese shipping routes spanned the Pacific from the Gilbert Islands in the east to the Malay Peninsula in the west, and from the Kuriles in the north to the Dutch East Indies in the south. This ocean traffic was the life blood of Japan’s war effort for she had few natural resources and was dependent upon imports of oil, coal, iron, food and other materials for her war effort. Consequently, it was essential that the same Japanese ships that distributed food, fuel, war materials and troops to the many scattered Japanese outposts carry raw materials back to the Empire.

Cold statistics on ship sinking’s do not describe the plight of the Japanese outposts when guns, ammunition, tanks, fuel and food failed to arrive. Devastating, too, was the loss of thousands of troop reinforcements when they went down with the transports sunk by our submarines.

These losses were serious, but a far more serious loss brought about by our submarines was the failure of the Japanese merchant marine to provide the Japanese home islands with critical war materials. They blanketed the areas around the Japanese home islands and outposts throughout the Pacific.

They were active off Indonesia, the Philippines, the Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline and Mariana Islands, New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies, and the western Aleutians. They quickly began sinking Japan’s merchant fleet, and prevented it from supplying their far-flung empire with arms, fuel, food and troops. “

Lifeboats

Submarines also became the lifeboats of the Navy for a number of rescue missions. Most Americans can remember the famous event where a young pilot named Bush was rescued from a certain death near Chichi Jima. But during October 1944 the Narwhal returned from a special mission to Negros Island, rescuing 6 men and women and 14 children. She will forever be remembered entering Brisbane Harbor flying 12 clean white diapers from her signal halyard. Talk about a clean sweep!

The maximum number of subs during the war was 288. This force was an important reason the Japanese war machine was being ground to a halt by October of 1944. Although the war would continue for another 10 months, the increasing use of submarines crippled the ability of the Japanese to stop the forward movement of the United States and Allied forces.

How would we fare in today’s environment?

What would a target rich environment look like if we were the target?

One factor of course is the technological advances over the course of the last 55 years. Nuclear power means submarines can patrol farther, longer, faster, deeper and with more deadly accuracy than her earlier counterparts. The array of weapons available to a Virginia class boat (or almost any active boat in this day and age) makes the boat a deadly killing machine like almost no other. Torpedoes with extended rages, thinking power, and vastly improved speed and maneuverability increase the chances that an enemy will be successfully engaged. Sonar technology is so far advanced from the early days that it makes hiding almost impossible.

Even the men who serve on board the newest submarines have added new dimensions to the weapon. Better educated and trained in the arts of submarine warfare, these modern warriors represent some of the best the Navy and nation have to offer.

Recently however, an attack has been mounted that even the best technology has been unable to overcome

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/07/Slashing-Defense-Makes-America-Less-Safe

Despite a world that is actually growing more dangerous by the hour, the very existence of a strong submarine force could be under scrutiny by groups who have no idea of the importance of maintaining a strong force and the capability to quickly respond to dynamic changes in the global environment.

That opposing force are the people who created the economic mess we are in today: Congress and other elected officials from the executive branch. Instead of looking at our ships and submarines as an investment for the future safety of the Republic, they see a target rich environment. Foolish and short sighted decisions have created an economic tsunami which threatens to disrupt our country and send shock waves through the rest of the global economy. In a just world, the perpetrators of these crimes would be in jail already but instead they meander along with their pensions intact and their privately issued benefits beyond the reach of justice.

Page after page leading to reams of documentation exist to show that all of the elected officials of the past twenty years have played a role in the destruction of what was once the strongest economy on the planet. The saddest thing is that the worst offenders seem to be the least touchable. The Barney Franks and Nancy Pelosi’s of the world seem to go on and on despite their malfeasance.

At the risk of being put on some watch list, I can assure you that it would greatly please me if every American citizen considered the unique privileges of all members of Congress past and present as part of a new “Target Rich Environment”

I have a question: What job on the planet will let you continue to serve with no recriminations for wrong doing? What job on the planet makes you immune to the people who pay you? What job on the planet lets you collect a pension that no one else can get, medical benefits that no one else can get, and post job perks that no one else can get?

Why do we allow this?

Probably because most of the rest of us have settled into complacency. The danger of complacency is that someone out there has a bullet with our name on it. Whether it is a trade war bullet or an actual bullet, other countries who despise our past are waiting for the day when they can exact some sort of vengeance on us. It is only a matter of time if you look at the life span of civilization.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/scn-sub.htm

(This is a long read but highlights the threat in a much better way than I can)

The capability to build ships, planes and submarines is gradually being lost. Newer technology requires more sophisticated means to produce them. More sophistication requires more educated and trained workforces and designers. We have already lost much of our shipbuilding industry and become more and more dependent on foreign entities to carry our burdens. We have limited our ability to ramp up quickly in either energy or defense due to the siren songs of “Peace in our time”. Right this very moment in time, we stand once again at a crossroads where America’s future can go one way or another.

While we once again whittle away at one of our greatest national assets, our potential opponents are gearing up for the next conflict. “Let he who has ears hear.” If the Arab spring completes its vicious cycle and takes out Saudi Arabia, the end game is not good for those who are currently dependent on their oil and good will. All of Europe and Japan are intricately linked to the current energy cycle. How long will those countries last without oil? Their economies would be a wreck in short order and they may find themselves unable to stop sales of weapons and technology to the new Arab powers (not to mention the Chinese and a resurgent Russia.) Think it couldn’t happen?

Who would have thought a year ago that a rabble rousing group of poorly armed protestors would topple Mubarak and Gadhafi?

The real question is, do we continue on this path of stripping our defenses or do we regroup and hold the government’s feet to the fire? Personally, I could live without a number of useless government agencies that exist for no other reason than to fill patronage jobs. I would really like to see the playing field leveled where organized labor no longer has any part of government and teachers. God only knows we don’t need another library dedicated to the memory of people like John Murtha. If dead politicians want to be remembered, they should be remembered for actually fixing the problems not causing more.

I believe if we don’t stop the decay, in some future October within our lifetime someone will be writing in Chinese or some other language describing the target rich environment they found themselves in…

surrounded by sinking ships

with the red white and blue flags

slowly submerging for the last time.

I’m getting too old to do much good in this new age but I can still aim pretty well. I’m just afraid that my meager supply of ammunition won’t hold out long against tanks and I am darn certain it won’t do a dang thing to bring down Chinese Predators (built courtesy of our technology).

Mister Mac

And who exactly do you think will come to liberate us?

October 25, 2011

Taffy 3 – Courage Beyond Measure ⁹

Communication, Leadership, Submarine, US Navy • Tags: freedom of the seas, Japan, Leadership, Leadership Submarine, submarine

In the annals of US Naval history, there are a number of instances that demonstrate the courage and determination of a committed group of dedicated officers and men.

The one that stands out most in many people’s opinions is the battle which occurred on October 25th 1994. On this day, a small group of scrappy warriors took on a force many times its size and contributed to one of the greatest naval victories of all time.

By October of 1944, the Japanese were becoming more and more desperate to slow down or stop the advancing juggernaut that the US Navy had become in the Pacific. From the ashes of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, a resurgent United States used its massive industrial capability to produce a fleet second to none in the world. The men of Pennsylvania, Kansas, California, and the other forty eight states were indoctrinated into a life as a bluejacket and sent to support the rising tide of ships, submarines and planes. Admiral Nimitz had a large pool of resources to draw from in order to support the steady drive to liberate the Philippines and the pathway to Tokyo.

The Japanese had captured the Philippines in the early part of the war and had made many preparations to repel any invaders. The raw materials and supplies from the entire Pacific rim were vital to Japan’s future and every inch of territory had to be defended at any cost. This determination was the direct cause for the creation of an almost suicidal attack called the Sho-go plan (Operation Victory). The attack would have three prongs, North, Center, and South. The North group was actually a decoy to lure the third fleet away from the center and allow a heavy force of Japanese surface ships to disrupt the landings at Leyte Gulf. Unfortunately, Admiral Halsey did not know that at the time.

The actual attack started with American submarines discovering the center fleet approaching the gulf on the 23rd. The USS Darter and Dace intercepted the center force in the Palawan Passage.

Admiral Kurita had failed to place destroyers in an anti-submarine posture ahead of his group of heavy ships. The Darter sent torpedoes into Admiral Kurita’s flagship the heavy cruiser Atago sinking it. Dace was successful in torpedoing two heavy cruisers sinking the Takoa and severely damaging the Maya which was forced to withdraw.

Despite the damage to some of his ships, Kurita moved forward. Meanwhile, the Darter and Dace faced a new problem. In the aftermath of the battle, the Darter went aground. Heroic efforts on the parts of both crews failed to release her from her prison and a decision was made to scuttle her.

After picking up the crew, the Dace waited nearby for the expected explosions from the charges meant to destroy Darter. The charges failed and a decision was made to return and use the deck guns to finish the job. While on the surface, radar spotted an incoming plane. All hands were ordered below and Dace barely escaped the explosions that followed. The plane, seeing an escaping submarine, chose to attack the remaining boat. The attack finished what Dace had started.

The central force was attacked by American airpower and sustained a number of hits. Their response was to turn back on their original approach. Halsey’s scouts had found the Northern force and he made a decision that will stand as a textbook case of strategic thinking for generations to come. Feeling that the center force was beaten and knowing that the southern force was being chewed up by his own old battleships and auxiliary attack units, he decided to keep his fast battleships and carriers together as a group and destroy the northern fleet. The decision earned his maneuver the nickname of “The Battle of Bull’s Run”

The decision left only a small force of escort carriers and destroyers to cover the beachhead from any further naval attacks. Admiral Kurita still had four battleships, six heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and eleven destroyers. Facing that attack, Rear Admiral Sprague had 16 escort carriers and their destroyers. Taffy 3 which only included six small carriers, three destroyers and four destroyer escorts immediately turned east to confront the overwhelming force. The Battle of Samar had begun.

Knowing that the men on shore would be slaughtered if nothing was done, Sprague charged at the superior force with his small group and proceeded to sail his way into history. The tiny force was battered by the battleships and cruisers and many American lives were lost this day.

In the end, their fearless determination convinced the Japanese that there must be a larger force on its way and they retreated homewards. On this day, the Japanese Fleet ceased to exist as an offensive unit. Halsey had destroyed most of the northern fleet, the southern fleet was in ruins and the center force was harassed all the way home.

The lessons learned from the action were many. A determined force with a highly skilled and motivated crew can overcome incredible odds with the right leadership. The sacrifices of those men in the face of overwhelming odds will remain a hallmark of the American Spirit.

Leadership means making tough decisions. Sometimes those decisions will be less than optimal. The way to decrease the chances of being wrong means using the training, skills and experience combined with as accurate information as is available.

Never forget the main objectives. While Halsey felt his role was not a defensive one, the sacrifices of Sprague’s men could have cost the invasion of the Philippines and extended the war for an indeterminate period of time. Not to mention the senseless loss of men and equipment.

I can only imagine what it would have been like to be one of the men on any of Taffy 3’s ships. Knowing that they were being thrown into a meat grinder that could ultimately destroy them all must have been unnerving to say the least. But in every after action report, only one common theme emerged. The men of Taffy 3 stayed at their stations to the last. As a result, the tide was turned. God Bless their memory.

Mister Mac

October 5, 2011

Goin’ to the Chapel and We’re Gonna Get Married – Part Three ⁶

Change, Leadership, Submarine • Tags: Chapel, congress, gay ceremonys, Pearl Harbor, Same Sex weddings, Sub Base, submarine

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/01/first-same-sex-marriage-being-celebrated-saturday-at-west-points-cadet-chapel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Internal+-+Politics+-+Text%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Oh happy day, break out the bubbly, the Nation’s first gay marriage at West Point. I can barely contain my joy.

Oh well. They can explain it to the big Guy themselves when the time comes. I am now officially done with worrying about traditions.

Go Navy. Beat Army.

Mister Mac

I had no idea that we would eventually become a trend setter. First, the novelty VP Joe “Gotcha” Biden comes out and supports gay marriage. Or was it just Joe “Coming Out?” Next, the Obaminator is forced to stop prevarication and admit that his “evolving days” are finally over. Andrew Sullivan is practically slobbering over himself despite the actual lack of commitment by team Oblama. Wow… even liberal Maureen Dowd bitch slaps the old boy for his floppy moves this week.

Now, one of the Mean Spirited Republicans and his Bully friends try to stick up for God and the Bible by introducing legislation to keep Military Base Chapels free from violating the very words and beliefs they have held up for hundreds of years:

Why is this even an issue?

“U.S. Navy chaplains are getting new duties on land: performing same-sex marriages.

The chaplains will receive training to conduct the civil unions once the Department of Defense ends its ban on gays in the military, Navy officials said Monday.

Military chapels and catering facilities would become available for sex-same unions, the memo said.

“If the base is located in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, then base facilities may normally be used to celebrate the marriage,” read a memo from the chief of Navy chaplains.

Under the new training, any chaplains whose religious beliefs did not include gay marriage will not be required to conduct the ceremonies.

The Pentagon is slowly implementing its repeal of the 17-year ban on gays in the military. The new policy should go into effect some time this summer.

But a Missouri Congressman says the new guidelines for the Navy violate a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

“While a state may legalize same sex marriage, federal property and federal employees, like Navy chaplains, should not be used to perform marriages that are not recognized by federal law,” wrote Todd Akin (R-Mo.)

Chaplains are among the first group of service members to receive training on the new policy. “

I see. We can’t afford to improve military facilities including health care and housing. We are struggling to figure out how to deal with Veterans with PTSD and homelessness. Yet this stupidly useless program to support a vocal minority of NON CHRISTIANS is stealing the money we so desperately need???????

Sodom and Gomorrah never had it so good.

So this past week, an attempt to make things a little right was started:

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/226583-house-lawmakers-ban-gay-marriage-on-military-bases-in-defense-bill-

“The measure, which prevents “marriage or marriage-like ceremonies” between same-sex couples from taking place at American military bases, was approved by a 37 to 24 vote along party lines.

Republican panel members also approved language to protect military personnel from reprisals for expressing “their moral principles and religious beliefs… concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality.”

That amendment, sponsored by Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) was approved by a straight party-line vote of 36 to 25.

Wait just a minute… Are you telling me that it might take an Act Of Congress to protect people who express something in public that is based on their core beliefs?????????

Mister Mac

I have only two regrets about my wedding more than 31 years ago. The first is that I didn’t get married in my dress blues. The second is that we didn’t get married in a Navy Chapel. I have to be up front and admit that during my tours of duty, I was not always faithful about going to the chapel. I did pretty well in Boot Camp and A school but as I went through a round of schools at New London, Charleston, and Pearl before arriving on the George-fish, I either went to civilian churches or just plain didn’t go.

I did go to services on board (mostly around the holidays) but they weren’t very well attended and sometimes it was just too easy to catch some sleep on the one day you probably wouldn’t have drills or field days. Plus, there is something about battle stations missile on Christmas Eve that sort of knocks the spiritual right out of you. Rumor had it that the XO planned it to take people’s minds off the fact that we were on Patrol for Christmas AGAIN and all the fake holly in the world couldn’t replace some of the sadness of being separated from family and friends.

But the one Chapel that I did hold near to my heart was the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base Chapel nestled in among the buildings that made up the center of the upper base. The galley was across the street so it was kind of a Sunday ritual when I was in port and living on base. Later, when I came back to Hawaii with my new wife, we would use that Chapel as a place to go to try and continue to grow spiritually. We were not 100% attenders but I probably spent more time there than in any other Chapel in all of my military service (except maybe Norfolk Naval Base).

Anyone who has ever been to the Chapel knows the story behind how it was built. It had its beginnings with the arrival of the first Navy Chaplain assigned to the submarine base LCDR Thomas H Reilly. He arrived in the middle of World War 2 (November 1943). The base had no chapel so LCDR Reilly had to conduct a daily mass in the base library (Bldg. 654). Sunday Mass was held at Sharkey Theater which was an open air theater at the time.

The Chaplain saw how crowded the services had become and at first requested a Quonset Hut which was turned down. Disappointed but not defeated, Chaplain Reilly then did something that made him a true submariner: he had the Chapel constructed without authorization. He enlisted the help of a number of people and built the little Chapel on the site that it still stands. Rumor had it at the time that many of the materials for the Chapel were “redirected” from other projects and on September 10, 1944 the Chapel was dedicated to all the submariners who died in Word War 2.

The original colored glass windows were replaced in 1959 by panels fashioned after the original templates. From inside the Chapel a small submarine can be seen in the lower portion of each window. The bell in the tower came from the USS Argonaut (SS-166. The crew of the Argonaut donated her bell before leaving on her third war patrol. She never returned.

All hands were lost in a battle action off the coast of Rabaul on January 10th 1943. The bell still tolls for them and all of the boats that did so much to win the war.

For me, the little Chapel was and always will be

Hallowed Ground for submariners.

Fifty-Two Submarines never returned home

On Friday September 30th 2011, Defense Department officials announced that in conjunction with the ending of Don’t ask, Don’t Tell, Military Chaplains would now be allowed to conduct weddings in Military installations (including Chapels).

Spring is here, The sky is blue
(whoa-whoa-whoa)
Birds all sing As if they knew
Today’s the day We’ll say I do
And we’ll never be lonely anymore
Because we’re Going to the Chapel of Love

Because of actions taken by the ACLU, LAMBDA, and Governor Neil Abercrombie, Civil unions for same sex couples will be allowed in Hawaii starting January 1, 2012. How exciting for them.

Goin’ to the chapel and we’re Gonna get married
Goin’ to the chapel and we’re Gonna get married
Gee, I really love you and we’re Gonna get married
Goin’ to the chapel of love

How long will it be before we have our first ceremony between two sailors in that little chapel?

Bells will ring, The sun will shine

(whoa-whoa-whoa) I’ll be his and He’ll be mine

We’ll love until – The end of time

And we’ll never be lonely anymore

Because we’re Goin’ to the chapel and we’re Gonna get married

Goin’ to the chapel and we’re Gonna get married

Gee, I really love you and we’re Gonna get married

Goin’ to the chapel of love

Those who follow me regularly know that I am mostly an advocate of changes that are happening in the world. I don’t think its possible to turn back the hands of time on many things so I try and look for the positive.

But I do have one request: If it’s at all humanly possible, can we ask that the Sub Base Chapel Pearl Harbor which has so much history and was dedicated to the memory of so many heroes be forever off limits to weddings that were not legal at the time it was dedicated.

I think its only fair.

By the way, congratulations to the Catholic Chapel at West Point. Its nice to see that somebody is courageous enough to stick to their beliefs in this whirlwind of political correctness.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/no-same-sex-weddings-west-points-catholic-chapel-says-military-archdiocese

Aloha

Mister Mac

http://theleansubmariner.com/2011/10/05/goin-to-the-chapel-and-were-gonna-get-married/

October 4, 2011

The Quality of the Weld ²

Built In Quality, Leadership, Submarine • Tags: submarine, USS Ohio, Welding

Being a former submariner, I have long had an interest in welding and the quality of welds. When you are riding a ship designed to sink that was built by the lowest bidder, proper and secure welds seem to be pretty important. The hulls of nuclear submarines are made out of a special steel which requiresvery demanding quality requirements. Plus, the internal welds throughout the boat are critical for not only structural integrity but for sound control as well. Nothing like a pipe run failing at just the wrong time to transmit sound into the enemy’s ears.

Submarines were not always welded of course. Early boats were riveted which allowed for them to achieve a mostly water tight condition but that came at a price of depth limitations. I can only imagine being in one of the dozens of boats built before 1934 that were riveted. In 1934 the Cuttlefish, the first submarine ordered by the U.S. Navy since 1918, is delivered. Cuttlefish is also the first welded submarine and the first submarine built in Groton for the Navy. (According to Electric Boat’s history log.)

I found a pretty good website about submarines that goes into some pretty lengthy details about assembling the hull. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Nuclear-Submarine.html I am going to assume the Chinese actually already found this web site and I am sure enough details have been left out to make it merely entertaining for the average submarine enthusiast. For me, it looks pretty cool.

Needless to say, the quality of the welds are pretty important. The boat must be strong enough to withstand any challenge that the engineers can calculate. The safety of the crew plus the unintended consequences from a nuke boat coming apart at the wrong time is nothing short of catastrophic. From the article:

“When the steel plates are cut and rolled to form the hull, they are inspected to ensure that all dimensions are accurate to within one sixteenth of an inch (0.16 cm); smaller parts may need to be accurate to within one ten-thousandth of an inch (0.00025 cm) or less. Proper welding of all steel components is inspected with x rays. Pipes are inspected by filling them with helium and checking for leaks. Every instrument is tested to ensure it works properly. In particular, the nuclear reactor undergoes stringent tests to ensure that it is safe. As a result of these precautions, the Naval Reactors program is considered to have the best safety record of any nuclear power program.”

Probably most notable in the annals of sub building were the early problems exhibited on the Ohio. From an article in Time magazine in 1981:

“The Ohio’s construction is a seven-year ordeal of mismanagement. Certain components were made from understrength steel, and the replacement cost was nearly $1 million. The sub contains 117,000 especially important welds; 2,772 were botched. Rewelding cost $2.6 million.”
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949215,00.html#ixzz1Zft9pT7V

I wish I had known that before begging for orders on board the first Trident.

Many things can influence the strength of welds and the material around them: the welding method, the amount and concentration of energy input, the weldability of the base material, filler material, and flux material, the design of the joint, and the interactions between all these factors. Even the environment around the welders can play a role. If the metal is too cold, unexpected failures can and probably will occur.

Our country is in need of a good welder these days. It’s a pretty tough job to bind together such diverse materials in such a way that they can stand the stresses and strains of being a part of a very complex world.

I pledge allegiance to the flag… of the United States of America…

You have to create the right conditions, search for the correct way to bond them as well as use the right methods. The different materials require special attention and that can be complex when you are joining them together.

and to the Republic for which it stands,

Failing to recognize their unique needs will only lead to failure. But in all cases, you need something really strong to bind them together

one nation under God,

The welder must have the right skills and a keen eye. If he only looks at one side of things all the time, his weld job will fail. He must see all sides and find a way to create the right bead in order for his work to withstand the test of time. The ultimate goal is to create a strong enough bond that will surpass the individual strength of the materials being bonded without destroying the materials in the process.

indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.

I was sent to weld class once when I was very new to submarines. It was probably just a place to keep me busy during off crew but I gave it my best shot. Maybe it was my lack of experience or just my inability to see all of the complexities required to be successful. Who knows, maybe I just wasn’t mature enough to see the importance of the work I was being trained to do (Waikiki was not that far away and as soon as you finished, off you went to the boat that would take you to freedom). I will freely admit here and now that they gave me a passing grade just to get rid of me. I really sucked at it. For the rest of my career, I let the people who knew what they were doing weld.

Too many lives depend on having someone

who knows what they were doing.

Our country is cracked wide open right now. We need someone who has the right “welding” skills to try and bring it back together. Too many lives both here and around the world depend on it

Anybody know a really good welder?

Mister Mac

September 19, 2011

Life is simple… you’re either qualified or you’re not ⁴

Motivation, Submarine, Uncategorized • Tags: congress, Dink, Leadership, Leadership Submarine, Non-Qual, Qualifid, submarine

I don’t know when qualification cards became part of submarine life. I know they were there when I first came aboard the George Washington. I remember Chief John telling me very specifically that the card was as important as any piece of paper I ever held so I better not lose it. Each week, I would dutifully bring it to him so he could check off my progress. I learned pretty quickly that if you got all you “grape” sigs done first, you would have a lot of really hard ones left at the end. Chief showed me how to approach people and how to learn the systems. I am forever grateful to him for that.

Back in those days, you got your ship’s card and your watch station cards. The ship’s card was mostly about knowledge and the watch card was about knowledge and skills. Being an A-Ganger, my watch cards were pretty important because many of the tasks we had were pretty dangerous. If we lined up a system incorrectly, it could cause a problem with any of the key life giving systems on board such as ventilation, trim and drain systems. You learned pretty quickly to do most tasks with very little supervision and sometimes in less than favorable conditions. Even the mundane tasks like blowing sanitary tanks and shooting the trash disposal unit were pretty important since incorrect operations could have pretty bad consequences.

As you progress in a submarine, the quals get harder. More technical knowledge and skills are needed for the really complicated stuff including the weapons systems, navigational systems and of course the reactor control. I suppose that is why I always thought of submariners as the best of the best since every person had their own role but also had to know everyone elses. The higher you go, the more qualification and testing. By the time you reach Captain, you have achieved some remarkable things.

So let’s see if I got it all right: Standards in knowledge and skills related to your job, testing and proving all the way through the ranks, the higher you go, the more complex the tasks and knowledge so the harder the quals.

So can anybody explain to me why the person we elect to be the President of the whole United States and tentative leader of the free world doesn’t even have to be qualified enough to operate the ice cream machine on a 688 class submarine before we hand them the keys to the whole deal?

Yep, that’s right. No qual system, no qual card, nobody to check them out for a signature, not even a requirement to read or write a common sentence no less do the math. Basically, if you have enough money, enough friends with money, and enough clever speeches, you get the biggest and most important job where you routinely impact the life of just about everyone on the planet.

I think I know what the problem is though. The same people who keep electing the “leaders” we have are by and large not qualified either. Their only qualification is that they have to be able to find the correct place to vote (unless of course they live in Chicago or Philadelphia where you don’t actually need to be alive to vote).

Yep, life is pretty simple. You are either qualified or you aren’t.

Would somebody please call the White House and Congress and tell them they are all Dink? They have until November 2012 to prove the opposite.

August 26, 2011

In Its Path ³

Preparedness, Uncategorized • Tags: Hurricane, SSN 711, submarine

One of my least favorite memories of the USS San Francisco was the stop we made in Guam in 1982. In an earlier blog, I talked about the first part of the visit where the wives came to visit. But in the middle of the stay, two things happened that made it a very bad memory. The first thing that happened is probably still classified so let me just say that during a routine evolution, sea water was found in a high pressure air line. You don’t need to know a lot about submarines or high pressure air lines to know that its probably not a very good thing to find sea water in them.

When 4500 pounds of pressurized air rapidly squeeze through pipes in any amount of volume, anything that is carried along with that air becomes like a carving knife on the surfaces they come into contact with. That air is used for a number of things inside the boat but one of the most important things is the emergency blow system that can rapidly return a boat to the surface in an emergency. Salt water in that system can also cause a very highly corrosive effect so it was important to get this taken care of as quickly as possible.

The second thing that happened was the approach of one of Guam’s typhoons. The wives were gathered up and sent back to Hawaii and we got to work trying to fix the boat. Normally, typhoons and submarines have a mutually compatible agreement… they come and we go under them. It has worked well for most subs for years. You still feel some of the effects but as long as you drive anywhere but where the typhoon is, you are pretty safe.

But if your emergency blow system is out of commission (as well as some other pretty important equipment) you will not be diving anywhere. If you can’t get it fixed you will be buttoned up next to the safest pier you can find and pray the storm surge doesn’t get you. Even though the lines are tied up pretty well, any appreciable surge would probably snap them like ribbons. All of the other ships were leaving so we would be on our own.

Auxiliary Division and others worked feverishly around the clock with the help of the tender guys and we did some pretty creative things to try and empty any traces of salt water from the HP air lines. Flush after flush with testing that continues to reveal the extent of the contamination. All the while, we were being fed information about the location of the typhoon as it got closer and closer. I can never remember being so tired in my life after we finally managed to get the all clear just in time to clear the port.

I think we were too tired to be afraid. But as Irene closes down on the east coast tonight, I can imagine how many people are feeling. We all know that hurricanes can come at any time. We get complacent and are willing to take the risk because of the joy of living close to the water and all its adventures. But no one can ever be fully prepared for Mother Nature’s fury in a way that will completely shelter them.

Prayers go out to all. Listen to the advice of the emergency workers. And we will see you all on the other side next week.

Mister Mac

1968 is often called one of the most pivotal years in the second half of the 20th century.

The year never did get much better.

The loss of the USS Scorpion was of special interest to me even though I had no inkling that I would ever become a submariner.

The year came and went.

The one magazine I really liked back in the day was Newsweek

Like so many, I lost my innocence in so many ways in the late sixties.

“and that’s the news for tonight. Good night America, where ever you are.”

Mister Mac

Share this:

Like this:

RIP Joey.

God Bless the Crew of the USS San Francisco

MM2/SS Big Mac

(AKA Mister Mac)

Share this:

Like this:

The Cold War

The battles lasted until 1991

In the twenty years since that fateful day, many changes have occurred on both sides

It is a shame that there is no national recognition of those Flowers of the Forest who helped to win that war.

I want to personally thank all of the ones who remain and especially all of those who have passed.

Twenty years ago this month,

all of your efforts resulted in a great victory.

God Bless You.

Mister Mac

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Google the phrase “Target Rich Environment”

and you will get about 5 million hits.

One of my favorite quotes comes from a feel good movie released in 1986

Warning: PG 13 applies, if you are easily offended,

skip past the quoted area

“Top Gun”

October of 1944 must have felt like that for the

US Navy submarine forces in the Pacific.

1944 had been an awful year for the Japanese on the whole.

The Japanese felt the strangulation and late in the war, the sea north and east of Luzon became known as the “Sea of the Devil”

In Singapore in 1944 it was said that “one could walk from Singapore to Tokyo on American periscopes.

“Cutting the Japanese Jugular”

Lifeboats

How would we fare in today’s environment?

What would a target rich environment look like if we were the target?

Recently however, an attack has been mounted that even the best technology has been unable to overcome

At the risk of being put on some watch list, I can assure you that it would greatly please me if every American citizen considered the unique privileges of all members of Congress past and present as part of a new “Target Rich Environment”

Why do we allow this?

Who would have thought a year ago that a rabble rousing group of poorly armed protestors would topple Mubarak and Gadhafi?

I believe if we don’t stop the decay, in some future October within our lifetime someone will be writing in Chinese or some other language describing the target rich environment they found themselves in…

surrounded by sinking ships

with the red white and blue flags

slowly submerging for the last time.

And who exactly do you think will come to liberate us?

Share this:

Like this:

In the annals of US Naval history, there are a number of instances that demonstrate the courage and determination of a committed group of dedicated officers and men.

Share this:

Like this:

Go Navy. Beat Army.

Mister Mac

Mister Mac

For me, the little Chapel was and always will be

Hallowed Ground for submariners.

Fifty-Two Submarines never returned home

Because of actions taken by the ACLU, LAMBDA, and Governor Neil Abercrombie, Civil unions for same sex couples will be allowed in Hawaii starting January 1, 2012. How exciting for them.

Bells will ring, The sun will shine

We’ll love until – The end of time

And we’ll never be lonely anymore

Because we’re Goin’ to the chapel and we’re Gonna get married

Goin’ to the chapel and we’re Gonna get married

Gee, I really love you and we’re Gonna get married

Goin’ to the chapel of love

By the way, congratulations to the Catholic Chapel at West Point. Its nice to see that somebody is courageous enough to stick to their beliefs in this whirlwind of political correctness.

Aloha

Share this:

Like this:

Our country is cracked wide open right now. We need someone who has the right “welding” skills to try and bring it back together. Too many lives both here and around the world depend on it

Anybody know a really good welder?

Mister Mac

Share this: