Tag Archives: USS San Francisco

Our Homeless Days are Over 10

Uncategorized • Tags: , ,

For my regular readers, I must apologize about the lack of new content recently. Work has been very busy and we have spent most of our free time doing all the chores needed to prove to the bank that we shouldn’t remain homeless. Considering how many of my brother and sister veterans remain homeless, I consider my self to be very blessed.

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We have moved about twenty times in the past 32 years which is pretty incredible if you think about how many moves that truly is. I think the worst period was somewhere in the middle when we moved from Seattle to Hawaii to Scotland and on to Norfolk VA in less than 4 years.

Our new house is in the country with a rolling hill setting and a little pond in the corner. I suppose its not much compared to some, but for us it is a great chance to start over for hopefully the last time. Angus the dog has been for one visit and we are hoping he adjusts to the stairs.

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He had never even seen stairs in the inside of a house prior to where we are staying now so it came as a bit of a shock.

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Did I mention we are in the country?  During one of our early visits, we saw a ten point buck run across the lower end of the lot. A few days ago when I went to let the locksmith in the house I got there just in time to see the blue heron fly away from the pond. I also stopped at the nearby hardware store for a few of what I am sure will be many supplies and met the local security guy named Bob.

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 Bob is a brindle bulldog and very laid back. I think we are going to get along just fine.

Next door were a few bison and the male seemed somewhat upset that the other two were not stampeding. By the time I left, they were.

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Lots of work to do. The pool is closed for the winter and we are putting a new coat of paint and fresh carpets inside. But we are both excited about the possibilities. I will finally have enough wall space to put up all the plaques and pictures from all those years sailing the seven seas. We even have a zombie room which is a lot more fortified than I had hoped it would be.

One of the plaques will be from my days thirty years ago on the USS San Francisco (SSN 711). I am proud of all my boats but she will always have my best memories overall.

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Great crew, great ship. But as I read the news this morning, I saw she is in Korea helping monitor the crazy guy up in Pyongyang. God be with you guys as you sail in a ship that was built with dedicated hands. She has been maintained and repaired through many troubled times. I hope you don’t have to do anything other than just monitor. But I also know you will do your job with integrity and pride.

Me, I will be picking up some more supplies this weekend under Bob’s watchful eye. I’ll say a few prayers too. I am looking forward to country life and will not take kindly to anyone who screws that up.

Mister Mac

They Never Lost Their Will to Win–The Battle of Cape Esperance 2

American History, US Navy, USMC, World War 2 • Tags: , , , , ,

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The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the Sea Battle of Savo Island, took place on 11–12 October 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy. The battle was the second of four major surface engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between Savo Island and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

From August to early October, the Japanese had made numerous attempts to dislodge the force of Marines from Guadalcanal and the surrounding islands. Their overwhelming naval and air presence made life difficult on the islands, in the seas surrounding the islands, and in the air. The Marines at that time were undersupplied and had quickly learned that the weather and mosquitos were as formidable an enemy as the persistent Japanese. Causalities mounted daily and the issue was in doubt many times.

What made the situation worse was the nightly bombardment from the Japanese fleet.

The Japanese sent ships down the “Slot” on a nightly basis and made sure that the airfield and surrounding areas were bombarded with deadly accuracy and frequency. It wasn’t until late September that TF 64 led by Admiral Norman Scott on the USS San Francisco offered a serious countermeasure to the attacks. The scrappy group of cruisers and destroyers took on the new challenge and finally gave the Japanese a barrier to success in the night seas around the islands. That mission came with a heavy cost though for the Americans.

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The USS San Francisco was a well- built warship of the New Orleans Class. Weighing in at around 10,000 tons, she carried a full range of weapons including eight inch and five inch batteries.

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After the losses at Pearl Harbor of the main line of Battleships, the cruisers were the main surface ships left to carry the attack to the enemy. They proved their worth in the months to come as they battled a persistent enemy.

“On 7 October 1942, TF 64 departed from Espiritu Santo, the New Hebrides, and moved back into the Solomons to cover Allied reinforcements and to intercept similar operations by the Japanese. On 11 October, at about 1615, the ships commenced a run northward from Rennel Island, to intercept an enemy force of two cruisers and six destroyers reported heading for Guadalcanal from the Buin-Faisi, Bougainville Island area. The force continued north to approach Savo Island in The Slot from the southwest.

By 2330, when the warships were approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) northwest of Savo Island, they turned to make a further search of the area. A few minutes after setting the new course, radar indicated unidentified ships to the west, several thousand yards distant.

At about 2345, the Battle of Cape Esperance began.

Initial confusion caused both sides to momentarily check their fire in fear of hitting their own ships. Then, the battle was reopened and continued until 0020 on 12 October, when surviving Japanese ships retired toward the Shortland Islands. Salt Lake City, Boise, Duncan and Farenholt, had been damaged. Later, Duncan went down. Furutaka and a destroyer had been sunk during the surface action.” Two more enemy destroyers were sunk on 12 October by Marine planes from Henderson Field. After the engagement, TF 64 retired to Espiritu Santo.”

From that night on, the Japanese no longer owned the night. The sacrifices of so many men and ships paved the way towards ultimate victory in the South Pacific. Admiral Scott and the crews of TF 64 would not have long to celebrate their victories. The coming battles in November would bring the main action at Guadalcanal to a horrific climax under the night skies of Iron Bottom Sound.

Dedicated to the brave men  of TF 64 who fought under the most challenging conditions and never lost their will to win.

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Mister Mac

600 Ships – The Path to Victory started on the 711 3

American History, Cold War, Freedom, Submarine, US Navy, White House • Tags: , , , ,

After the upheavals in the Navy caused by the end of the Vietnam conflict, you can imagine how discouraged many people who wore the uniform were by the time the Carter years were at the three and a half year point. Blend in the miserable economy, high unemployment, interest rates never before seen and you can understand that the country in general was ready for a long stretch of misery.

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The fleet was limping along with limited growth and some of the key programs that were in progress (Trident and the Los Angeles Class submarines) were behind schedule, over budget and on the congressional radar for supposed savings. The entire military was in a sorry state and maintenance and upkeep programs on all types of equipment were falling away.

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Any hopes that the Navy would gain support by having the first Naval Academy graduate as President were swiftly dashed as the nation realized that Carter did not agree that communism was our greatest chief enemy. His policies were really directed to the arms race and support of NATO policies. The real vision for the Navy was to become nothing more than a bus service to troops that would be sent to Europe in case of an event in the central European countries.  According to Nathan Miller, noted historian and writer “ Naval strategists charged with this plan meant the surrender of the Pacific to the Soviets without a fight. “The Naval equivalent of the Maginot Line has been constructed,” declared Navy Secretary Graham Claytor, Jr.” From Nathan Miller’s The US Navy, A History.

History is not kind to the remaining part of the Carter administration as the Middle east proved to be too surprising and too confusing for the hapless administration to deal with. The fall of the Shah in Iran, the rise of fundamentalist Muslim groups in his place, the invasion of Afghanistan and perceived weakness of the US in almost ever corner of the world destroyed most of the remaining credibility the United States had on the world stage. Much too late in the game, the affects of cutting the fleets growth was being felt all around the world.

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Modern war ships are not built in a day. The logistics and planning for these vessels in peacetime are influenced by a great number of factors including politics. Vessels during that era were forced to undergo lengthy deployments with cutbacks in training and preparedness. Breakdowns and lack of crewmembers stretched the already meager resources to the breaking point as Carter was obsessed with the Iranian hostage situation. Morale was at a breaking point and so was the equipment. Neglect is a strategy that only pious old fools think will be successful.

Then came Reagan

Immediately after the inauguration, plans were revealed that would change the Navy back to a three ocean Navy, capable of defending the nation, ensuring freedom of movement in the world’s oceans, and check the growth of the Iranians and other rogue states that would challenge global peace. In the words of the Ronald Reagan, the vow was made to never again be humiliated by the Iranians or anyone else.

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The pre-commissioning unit for the Los Angeles Class Fast Attack was informed that their commissioning ceremony in April of 1981 had just taken on a new significance.

Instead of the usual commissioning that would be viewed by Navy officials and family, the whole world was about to be treated to the ceremony. Two important guests were coming and the new location would be at the aircraft carrier piers in Norfolk Virginia in order to house the press for a special announcement.

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John Lehman, Reagan’s new Secretary of the Navy and Casper Weinberger, Secretary of Defense would bear witness to this proud new ship’s introduction to the fleet. While there, they would announce the most ambitious and costly peacetime buildup of the military and the Navy in the nation’s history. Nearly 500 billion dollars was announced that would be used to build the Navy back to a three ocean Navy of six hundred ships by 1989.

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As a crew member on the ship, I can assure you it was a powerful day.

The arrival of President Reagan in the white house reassured a nation that a new day had come. We would not just drift off into the night as another country without direction and purpose. The enemies who vowed to destroy us would have to face a protracted struggle with a determined nation and a Navy that was once again on the rise. I was proud to be in my dress blues that day. I can assure you that most that I stay in touch with from that time frame agree. Every year on July 11, you will see us in the submarine chat rooms and Facebook wishing each other a happy 711 day.

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Many will say that the Cold War ended for any number of reasons.

My fervent belief is that the end of the Cold War started on that day in April 1981 topside on the deck of the USS San Francisco.

At one  point in the ceremony, the Executive Officer is directed to bring the ship to life. The crew then runs across the brows, down the hatches and up the sail as the ship’s whistle blows. On that day, as we ran, we represented the hundreds of thousands that would follow us in all the uniforms of the services. America was back and we were going to retake our rightful place in the world. This was the turning point that spelled the beginning of the end for the Soviets and the Cold War.

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This country has the resources to defend itself and protect and serve other nations that are not so blessed. We have the capacity to build the best ships (Like the San Francisco SSN 711 which is in its 32nd year of operations). When we have the right leadership, we can overcome any attack and any adversary. Most importantly, we have the right people to man those ships and face dangers from every quarter.

My prayer each day is that the Spirit of Ronald Reagan will speak louder than the people who want to surrender our moral imperative and authority. To assume that other nations will do well by us by out of the goodness of their hearts is ludicrous and flies in the face of history.

When I wish you a happy 711 day, it is with the wish that we do remember the goal of using whatever means needed to defend and protect this great land. The thought of living in a land of delusional fools who believe in the good will of our enemies is too hard to accept.

God Bless America, God Bless the United States Navy, and God Bless the men who have served in and on the USS San Francisco SSN 711.

Mister Mac

SSN 711 2

Submarine, US Navy • Tags: , , , , , ,

Reblogged from theleansubmariner:

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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.

Read more… 798 more words

As much as today (April 24) is a day of remembering the great things about the 711 Boat, I thought is was good to also reblog one of the earlier blogs about the heroic crew that saved her (and the one who gave his all).

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Submarine, Teamwork, US Navy • Tags: , ,

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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

Big Mac in TR SSN 711

(AKA Mister Mac)

Mutiny? Not in my Navy… 2

Preparedness, Submarine, US Navy • Tags: ,

To the best of my memory (and a search on Google) there has never been a mutiny on board a US Navy submarine. If there ever has been one, I am sure that one of my faithful fact checking readers will be reaching out to me. That’s cool. I hope I am not wrong since it is a really unique thing to be able to say about a force you have been a proud member of. I know there were quite a few folks that were disturbed when Crimson Tide came out for that reason but I never took the movie seriously for SOOOO many reasons. Not the least of which was Gene Hackman’s little pooch in his stateroom.

If you think about it, the absence of a mutiny in our sub forces is as much a statement about our character as anything else. First, you are putting your hands into the lives of a few people every time you dive below the waves. Everybody has to trust that no one in charge of any of the water tight integrity issues has taken any shortcuts. Even the most mundane rig for dive items must be accounted for and verified. An example of that is what happened one night before we got underway right after the shipyard period for new construction was finished on the San Francisco (SSN 711).

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The DCA and I were completing our rig for dive procedures which included the verification of the Emergency Blow system. We had hand checked every valve forward and were finishing up in shaft alley. It had been a really long day and it was close to midnight. The last check that we had was the stowage of the valve hand wheels in their proper place in the overhead. The DCA was a very thorough guy and wanted to make sure they were rigged so that they would not fall out of the overhead at the wrong time. As he checked the last one, he slipped a bit and lost his footing. The reason he slipped was because the valve was supposed to be pinned in place but was a defective pin. That valve hand wheel escaped from its holder, through his fingers and directly onto the top of my foot about 10 feet below the Lieutenant.

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At 32 feet per second squared, it did not have much time to reach full velocity at ten feet. The weight was enough though to have a serious impact on my right foot (right behind the place where the steel toe stopped. I am kind of a pain wimp so the blinding and searing feeling I had right at that moment reduced me to a sobbing mess. Now in my defense, we had been working twenty hour days in preparation for the dive and I was a little burned out but frankly, I fell backwards pretty quickly and only remember being strapped in the stretcher and dragged thru the engine room.

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When we got to the after escape trunk, it was a little crowded. Someone had made the decision back in shaft alley to remove my foot ware. I had my arms strapped in the stretcher which was actually a good thing since Tisdale was guiding the stretcher and used my now naked foot to clean off any dirt that may have been on the sides of the chamber going up. It kind of made it hurt worse. I got a fast ride to the Naval Hospital and my wife broke a few laws getting down to be by my side. Despite my best efforts (and Tisdale’s help) nothing was actually broken. I returned to the ship and made the dive.

We trust each other to do the right thing. If not, we die. So it really is a mark of pride that we have made so many thousands of dives in all kinds of conditions and wars (Hot and Cold) without a single mutiny.

Other Navies have not been so successful in achieving 100%

The end of World War 1 in late 1918 found the German Navy in a very peculiar position. On land, the German Army had been stretched to its limits and the arrival of the Americans changed the balance of power immensely. The German Navy was still a credible force in many ways and even in the later part of the war, submarines were still able to have some influence. In my research about Mutinies, this story was particularly interesting. From uboat.net:

http://uboat.net/history/wwi/part6.htm

“In November 1918, SM U 135 (Kptlt. Johannes Spieß) was given what can only be called the most peculiar U-boat mission of all times: actions against ships of its own navy. Together with the 4th Torpedo boat Half-Flotilla, SM U 135 ended a mutiny aboard two German battleships (SMS Thüringen and SMS Helgoland) with the threat of torpedoing the ships. But mutiny was still spreading amongst German ships and even the ace of aces, Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere, returning from his first and last patrol with the new U-cruiser SM U 139, where he was very nearly killed by his last victim *, was forced to hand over his command to the mutineers.

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The strange mission of SM U 135, however, was the last U-boat action of the war. From late November 1918 until April 1919, according to armistice conditions, the 176 operational U-boats ** were handed over to Britain and interned in Harwich, partly under abasing conditions for the Germans: The White Ensign had to be hoisted on top of the Kaiser’s Ensign as if the boats were taken as prizes by the Royal Navy and the British sailors looted the boats, stealing all loose equipment they could lay hands on. The U-boats, all in all representing a value of about 207 million Gold Mark, rusted in port until they were dispersed among the allies ***, used for tests and later scrapped. Many nations, among them the USA and Japan, took advantage of the high technological standard of the German boats and built new classes of submarines after their German models – although the copies were never as good and as successful as the originals. In the Treaty of Versailles, which by the whole of Germany was regarded as extremely unjust, the defeated, diminished and humiliated German Empire was prohibited to build or possess U-boats in its minute fleet, which was reduced to a shadow of its former self.”

I am not sure how I would feel if I was a German U Boat commander. On the one hand, you have been trained all of your life to follow orders. But at that point in the war, the Kaiser had proven himself to be a man with limited understanding of the consequences of his actions. The mutineers at that time were “infected” with the disease of communism and saw a justifiable reason to overthrow a government that had so foolishly plunged a nation into war and now disastrous defeat.

I am sure it can’t have been easy. Their guys were some of the bravest and some of the best submariners in the world. So here is the question:

At what point does patriotism and loyalty towards a cause that has proven itself so vile that you feel the need to react?

Does the Constitution still need to be followed? If the leader of the country does not follow the same rules he wishes others to follow, how long is it before people say enough? Where will we find men and women brave enough to say enough?

Just a question. Is it November yet?

Mister Mac

With the way things are going right now, I really wish we had another escape trunk to get out of when the boat starts going down.

Angles and Dangles 1

Leadership, Preparedness, Submarine, US Navy • Tags: , ,

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I think every sub guy has his favorite boat and as I have indicated before, my favorite was the USS San Francisco (SSN 711).

Maybe it was because I was on the pre-com crew and saw her come to life. Maybe it was just the combination of characters that served on her (many of us for four years). Maybe it was the way she was configured to carry conventional weapons and act as a true hunter killer. But whatever the reason, she was just an awesome boat.

C _ 711 Fleet Week 1981

Like any submarine, we drilled and prepared for any number of routine and emergency operations. I loved being in the control room and I especially loved being the Chief of the Watch. Everything around you is carefully rehearsed and its like a symphony of activity where each instrument adds something to the spirit of the evolutions. Even seemingly routine evolutions like snorkeling have a touch of excitement as you remember that you are on a moving boat under water in a sea that could contain any number of surprises.

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USS Hartford

Any failure of any of the numerous safety devices could send the boat on an unexpected depth excursion.

A stuck induction valve could result in thousands of pounds suddenly rushing down into the ventilation system resulting in a disastrous outcome. In many cases, the ability of the crew is the only thing that spells the difference between survival and death.  The halls of submarine history in the cold war are filled with stories of recovering from the unexpected. Even the San Francisco survived an almost unimaginable tragedy.

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It was not surprising though that the Navy kept her alive after the event that nearly sank her. It is a testament to the shipyard who built her and the men who have maintained her all these 30 plus years. The clip below is a recent visit with some civilians that show her importance even today:

 

USS San Francisco SSN 711 30 years and beyond

One of the exercises the visitors got to experience was something called angles and dangles.

These events help the submarine and her crew to practice for a number of casualty responses. They also serve another key purpose besides testing the ship and crew. They are used to shake out the things which are not stowed for sea.

Stowed for sea

Everything on a submarine has its place. Every big thing has a proper way to be stowed. The best way to test whether or not the crew properly did its job is to subject the boat to twenty degree excursions (both up and down). High speed turns also cause the boat to do some pretty unusual things. Anything that is improperly secured will be dislodged and cause a good deal of embarrassment to the division and individuals who took short cuts or didn’t do the right thing. Fleshing out these imperfections is a tradition as old as submarines.

Discovery at the wrong time can be fatal

As embarrassing as it is for a heavy tool or piece of equipment to go flying during angles and dangles, imagine what it would be like for that to happen in the heat of the chase? Sound transmits very well through the water and even a dropping hammer can warn the enemy of your presence. The results can be devastating in times of critical national danger.

The Primaries

I hear a lot of people complain about how the Republicans are tearing into each other during the current primary process. There may be some excesses but truthfully, I want there to be an honest vetting of all of the candidates. You can bet that any loose ends will come undone during the actual election and its just too important that all of the flaws and weaknesses are revealed now. There needs to be a solid alternative offered if the country is to get past the current regime.

Sit back and enjoy the ride. If you need to go to your rack,

don’t forget your speed strap.

Mister Mac

ORO EN PAZ, FIERRO EN GEURRA

You want me to do WHAT sir? 1

Leadership, Submarine • Tags: , , , ,

Most of us remember Newton’s First Law of Motion:

An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

A 688 class submarine operating submerged has a displacement of about 6900 tons. So it goes without saying that if it is motion, it will take some effort to stop it. If it is going really fast, it will take a bit longer. Even maneuvering on the surface at a slower speed dictates paying attention to Newton’s First Law. Underneath the surface, the consequences can become much more serious much quicker since you really can’t see anything in front of you (other than what sonar and your updated charts may have told you).

So it takes a great deal of faith and trust on the part of the planes men and the Dive Team when the Captain comes into the control room and orders the Officer of the Deck to take a twenty degree down angle and ring up all ahead full. It takes even more faith to respond when he says right full rudder. (Don’t try this at home by the way).

You can feel the boat starting to shake a bit as it responds to the increase in throttle. Your heart beats a little faster as you see the trim angle respond to the maneuver. You try to plant your feet on the rests in front of you as you push the yoke of the control planes  forward.  Faster and faster with each second and all around you are the small items that weren’t stowed for sea, rolling like marbles on a steep hill racing to reach the bottom. Time ticks by and the digital indicators are starting to whirl faster and faster. Without even thinking about it, you start to hope that something will be done to overcome Newton’s First Law. You know that the only something in this case is the man standing (or leaning in this case) over by the Officer of the Deck chomping on an unlit cigar.

He orders full rise on both planes and the boat shudders to respond. It’s right about then you realize that what seemed like a long time was less than a few minutes and you start to breath as the depth gage slowly turns positive.

Is it just because you were ordered to do it that you responded? Maybe to an extent. You would probably do it whether you fully trusted the guy or not, but if there is trust, all of the things that needed to be done before that dive were done in a way you had faith that they were done.

I was lucky to have some great Commanding Officers. Almost all were at the least very good, but a few stick out in my mind as great. Commander Bill Previty was one of those guys. He came on the San Francisco during the second part of my tour there and from the moment he got there the mood of the boat was lifted. It was obvious by his mannerisms and his presence that this was a skipper you wanted to go to sea with and probably to war as well. No offence to the previous captain who commissioned the ship, they were just different.

What makes a great leader? Why would you be so willing to do the things needed to shake out a submarine?

I am sure most people have their own answers but mine are pretty simple. First, I need to trust the guy. His training and background need to be such that I know when the unthinkable happens, he is not going to lose his cool. Next, he needs to be consistent in the routine. That means that in the day to day activities, he is not going to let things dangle or put to hard of a rope line around them.

We all have an expectation of what our leaders should be. Firm but fair. Criticize in private and praise in public. Remember that you are leading men not children. Give each man his due respect no matter what station he is in life. Remember that each man plays a role in the team and is valuable for his contribution. See the possibilities in people not their weakest points. And for heaven’s sakes if there are weak points, help the person with real encouragement not cynical badgering. In short, that person should be someone like Bill Previty.

Most of us have had leaders of the other sort as well. I always used to think that sundowners were abused as kids and it was the only way they knew to do what they called “leadership”. Everything is a crisis, every small affront is personal, only a few select people would be in their inner circle and everything was always the fault of some junior officer who had somehow failed to live up to their expectation. The crew were generally miserable and performed as best they could if only not to take a beating for failing to hit the marks the old guy set. The request for transfer box is always full and the Chaplain is kept busy on overtime.

Because the second type of leader often plays people against each other, trust is always in short supply. People are reluctant to stick their heads out of their holes for fear of getting them chopped off. Creativity is squelched and rewards are few and far between. Why in the world would anyone think this is the most effective way to lead? Experience has shown that if that person holds the reins of leadership so tightly, when the situation gets out of control, they do not have the tools or the support to survive the storm. In most cases when that happens, their response is to beat harder.

There is a third type of leader and I think they are the most dangerous of all. This type is the one who always has his eye on the escape hatch. They are already planning for their next promotion so they hate anything and anyone who would keep them from reaching their goal. The current assignment is really nothing more than a necessary stepping stone so they really don’t make much effort to get to know the men. Problems are for the other guy and delegation is not only an artful dodge, it is a mandatory skill.

With the third type of leader, most issues won’t surface until long after they are gone and the problems have festered into a huge blazing sore. Moral is completely shot, trusted leaders are betrayed by his ambition, and if something does go wrong, he is quick to offer up a human sacrifice. If there are conflicts on his own staff, it is easier to just “let them work it out” among themselves. The sad thing is that they seldom do. This type of leader also tries to surround themselves with people who will make him look better. But they quickly learn that there is no reciprocity for their contributions.

When the tough assignments come in, the third type of leader will often quickly volunteer if their name will be prominent. But when things get sticky, they have already groomed the senior staff to understand that they were innocent and someone on their staff had hidden the problems from them too.

If you are smart you will learn to survive both type two and type three. If you are even smarter than that, you will learn never to trust them and develop skills to work around them in order to get the job done. If you are lucky, you will get a chance to serve with one of the Previty’s of the world. I would have then and still would today fallow that man anywhere he wanted to go.

Mark Twain once said “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too can become great.”

Thanks Captain Previty.

Mister Mac