Update 7/5/2008:

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From DefenseLink:

More Than 1,100 Troops in Iraq to Re-enlist in Independence Day Ceremony
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2008 – More than 1,100 servicemembers stationed in Iraq will celebrate the nation’s birthday tomorrow by re-enlisting, the senior enlisted leader for Multinational Force Iraq said today.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin L. Hill said 1,157 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines will re-enlist at the Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory, in Baghdad. This may be the largest re-enlistment ceremony since the all-volunteer force began in 1973, Hill said via phone from Baghdad.

This is becoming an annual blockbuster event for the command. Last year, 588 servicemembers re-enlisted.

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments we have made in security on the ground as well as proud of all of our great warriors for the work they are doing since they arrived in theater,” Hill said. “We recognize the sacrifices they make and the sacrifices their families and communities make as they serve in Iraq.”

These servicemembers know the cost of war and they are still re-enlisting, Hill said. Some serve in “the most austere conditions — meaning they are in patrol bases and combat outposts,” he noted. Some of the re-enlisting servicemembers are in places where the troops “hot-bunk it” — that is, they take turns using limited sleeping space — and burn human waste because they lack plumbing. Others are based in more comfortable surroundings.

The vast majority of the servicemembers tell Hill and others that they are re-enlisting because “they are doing what they joined the military to do,” he said.

“If they joined to be a rifleman, they’re doing it in combat,” the sergeant major said. “If they joined to fix helicopters, they’re doing it and doing it in combat.”

Often in years past, he said, some warriors probably felt they weren’t doing what they joined the military to do, he said.

“Now, since we’ve been fighting this global war on terrorism … these warriors are doing what they joined to do,” he explained. “They can see the fruit of their labor and see the fruit of the sacrifices of those who have gone before them. It makes them feel good about what they are doing.”

The ceremony will be broadcast on the Pentagon Channel, Hill said. Multinational Force Iraq Commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus will preside. Hill and Petraeus will speak at the ceremony, then Petraeus will administer the oath of enlistment.

A 50-gun salute will honor of the nation’s birthday, and then all will sing “God Bless America.” The ceremony will end with a medley of service songs.

All components of the military are represented in the ceremony. Officials said 738 active-duty soldiers, 188 National Guard soldiers, and 122 Army Reserve soldiers are re-enlisting, along with 54 Marines, 39 sailors and 16 airmen.

“…to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America…”

Commitment in capital letters, with 1,100 raised right hands taking an solemn oath.

Update 7/4/2008 later in the day: Early this AM, when posted, this was what was to be. Today, it is now part of history and 115 more service members came to the event, for a total 0f 1215 re-enlistees in the combat zone, while the Nation is at war, while many of use are preparing for friends and family to come over and sit without worry, to watch fireworks displays. Wow…just wow. How can we thank them?

On the 4th of July, 2008, a ceremony will be held at 2PM at the Navy Memorial to honor our independence. The Memorial’s bell will be stuck 13 times.

But…the commemoration is actually larger than that.   On every Naval and Coast Guard vessel, their Ship’s Bells will also be struck 13 times.

One strike for each of the original states.

The Official Announcement from the website:

 

CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                                                                     

Contacts:        Taylor Kiland                                                      Lisa Zusman

                        TKiland@NavyMemorial.org                            LisaZ@LindaRothPR.com

                        The United States Navy Memorial                    Linda Roth Associates, LLC

                        (202) 380-0718                                                     (703) 417-2700

                                                                                                     

U. S. Navy Memorial Lets Freedom Ring

Bell Ceremony and Film screenings Mark Fourth of July

                       

WHAT:          “Let Freedom Ring,” an Independence Day Bell Ringing Ceremony.  “Let Freedom Ring” is a nationwide program in which bells across the country are rung thirteen times at exactly 2:00 PM in honor of the thirteen original states that approved the Declaration of Independence.

                       

Every Independence Day, at the appointed hour, four young descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence will tap Philadelphia’s famous Liberty Bell, setting off the chimes of freedom from bells throughout the country.  The “Let Freedom Ring” event has grown nationwide, and participating bells now include Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Arlington National Cemetery, and thousands of churches, synagogues, state capitals, and government institutions across the country.  In addition, every ship of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine participates.

 

Directly across the street from the National Archives, the United States Navy Memorial’s bell is the closest one to the original signed copy of the Declaration of Independence.

                       

The Navy Memorial will also show high-definition episodes of Hero Ships, a series produced by Lou Reda Productions for History International, in the newly renovated Burke Theatre.

                       

WHO:             Thirteen young people will be chosen from among the Navy Memorial’s visitors to participate in this patriotic ceremony.  Each will strike the bell once to represent one of the original states.

                       

WHEN:          Friday, July 4

                        11:00 AM Screening of Hero Ship: USS Constitution

                        1:00 PM Screening of Hero Ship: USS Nautilus

                        2:00 PM Bell Ringing Ceremony                               

3:00 PM Screening of Hero Ship: USS Hornet

                       

WHERE:       United States Navy Memorial

                        701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

                        Washington, DC 20004

                       

COST:            Free and open to the public

                       

CONTACT:  (202) 737-2300 or www.navymemorial.org.

                       

Lou Reda Productions is internationally recognized as one of the nation’s outstanding documentary filmmakers, producing programs of the highest quality for cable and network television. To learn more about Reda go to www.redafilms.com.  Executive Producers are Lou and Scott Reda.

                                                                                                     

History Channel International gives viewers a global perspective with original programming that makes a world of difference.  Executive Producer is Mike Stiller.

 

The United States Navy Memorial honors the men and women of the United States Navy – past, present and future.  The outdoor plaza features a “Granite Sea” map of the world, towering masts with signal flags, fountain pools and waterfalls and The Lone Sailor© statue.  Adjacent to the outdoor plaza is the Naval Heritage Center, where visitors can find educational displays about the contributions of the members of the Sea Services (Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine).  The Navy Memorial is celebrating the Year of Navy Medicine.

Required reading: Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 116 and Eagle1’s “How to aim ship’s guns (Part III).”
BT

Not all who make contributions wear a uniform. Today, my thanks to a Department of the Navy civil servant who labored long into the nights and on weekends, so sailors could better prepare for battles at sea.

Allen Stennett was his name. I belive I have the name right phonetically, but I may not have it spelled correctly. Allan worked for “Code 2″ at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Pt Hueneme Division (PHD), Fleet Combat Direction Systems Support Activity (FCDSSA) on the Fleet Combat Training Center, Atlantic (FCTCL), Code 2 was the Programming Department, largely composed of civilian personnel. Allen was assigned to the Battle Force Tactical Trainer (BFTT) project in the 1993 - 1995 time frame whan I walked the halls of FCDSSA. At the time, the project had stretched the limits of the workforce, for it was not merely a programming challenge, but a systems design project, using some of the then newest off the shelf technology of the VME card chassis and single board computers. In addition to absorbing that challenge and attacking it with an aggressive approach, the BFTT Team, added a digital voice capability (we now have it on our desktops called VOIP) to simulate radio circuits, within the program. In addition to being “interesting” at those levels, Capt Kahler, the program manager, had managed to convince many other program managers that much of what was needed for the project already existed in developed work, and this project could knit together all that software to the financial benefit of the taxpayers. That, of course, was an unheard of practice, beacuse it would require the sharing of the rice in each bowl in DC for he projects affected, and therefore sharing power.

Allen was a major playing, under the radar, in the early stages of the develpment of BFTT. He worked on the database issues and on more than one occasion, his name came up for developing some software tools to manage the inputs from other commands and agencies, that helped the project make the rapid advancements it did under the program management of Capt Herb Kahler, USN.

It was often I would be walking the halls at the end of the day to catch up on last minute things before getting my last things done, that Allen would still be at his desk. I would check in with him regulalry, and finally one late day, I told him how much I appreciated his extra efforts and how he needed to get home to his family, for his committment to the taxpayers was a regular working schedule, not the 24/7 I had. Besides, I told him his work was being tracked like a regular schedule, and future progam managers would wonder why they couldn’t attain the same production rates as BFTT demonstrated, because he was skewing the numbers.

I just wanted to put the name of a hard working, dedicated Civil Servant on the record, as a counter to the numerous slights, slams, not so complimentary names and jokes about those who’s pay check come from the US Treasury, but don’t wear the uniform. They, too, are part of the success of the US Military, and in this case, the US Navy.

The date of the event 20 years ago slipped by, but it is a moment in the history of the US Navy worth keeping in mind: 4/12/1988, the day the Crew of the USS SAMUEL B ROBERTS (FFG-58) tangled with an Iranian mine and came out winners.

I found my way to a story in the Mayport Mirror of the 20th anniversary ceremony held at Bath Iron Works in Portland, Maine by backtracking search engine hits on this blog:

USS Samuel B. Roberts Honors Ship’s Past

From USS Samuel B. Roberts

USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) joined former shipmates in remembering a blast in the ship’s history.

On April 14, 1988, Sammy B. was rocked by a mine blast while underway in the Persian Gulf. USS Samuel B. Roberts Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Wally Lovely, and five other crew members traveled to Portland, Maine on April 11 to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the mine blast. The weekend of remembrance included a welcoming reception, a presentation from Bath Iron Works Corporation, the company that built Sammy B., and concluded with a ceremonial dinner in downtown Portland.
[…]

Noted in the text of the article:

Retired Capt. Paul X. Rinn, the first commanding officer of Sammy B., was in command during the mine incident. He gave accounts of the heroism, loyalty, and devotion to duty which he saw firsthand. Rinn referenced a brief he received from Naval Sea Systems Command who determined that the mine blast “should have sunk the ship in less than thirty minutes.”

He ended his remarks by stating that “the ship would have sunk had it not been for the expertise and hard work of the members of BIW, and the dedication and determination of the crew.”

Words worth considering about professional ship builders, team work and training. If you haven’t read the “long form” of this comment, then you have missed a well done documentation of the entire history of this fateful day by Brad Peniston. Get your hands on a copy of “No Higher Honor” and settle down for an engaging read.

In the meantime, BZ to the Captain and Crew of the Sammie B who spilled their blood and sweat to bring her home and the BIW workers who put her back to sea.

Required reading: Eagle1 on aiming the ship’s guns and Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 112!
BT

Memorial Day, 2008. I’m going to take a moment to talk about a man who never had a ship named after him, but he is someone I knew, no longer with us, who served, so this is my memorial to him.

CDR David Martin, USN. I met CDR Martin 4/4/1977 as part of my check in process aboard my first command assigned as ship’s company. He was the Executive Officer of USS MILWAUKEE (AOR-2). He was an 1110 (Surface Warfare Officer) working for a captain who was a submariner.  As we sat in his stateroom/office in the after superstructure and he scanned my service record (it was pretty thin back then), he said “Great! You’ve been to Legal School!”  I don’t recall a lot more of the conversation, but it was a Monday, I had sort of dropped into their lap on short notice, but, they had a need for a Combat Information Officer (CICO), as ENS Ralston was leaving soon, and I was it.

Dave was tall and thin. Bald on top, a smoker, and a seeming no nonsense guy. I recall is that in the about 18 months I served with him, I never heard him raise his voice. What he directed to be done just was. The one time I did see him upset was when the “trolls” (his term for the shore establishment) had screwed us over. I don’t recall what it was they did, but, given his temperament it had to have been something of great significance. That lesson stays with me, as a model of leadership that did not have to be shrill, profane or abusive to have a well run organization.

He got things done, with out directing. He took everything in stride and flexed to keep the organization running. To add to this story, the MILWAUKEE being what she was, was manned with a significant number of experienced crew members, to include many limited duty officers and warrant officers. That made his job easier, but he certainly was a major element in setting the command attitude.

I think the second week I was aboard, we went underway in the VACAPES OPAREA to conduct replenishment operations with a CVN. CDR Martin had indicated I would be assigned to the collateral position as Helicopter Control Officer (HCO), which, in this case, meant I was the “airport supervisor.” I worked from the control tower, located between the two helo hangers. It was an interior spaces, equipped with the controls for the traffic light to indicate deck status, radios and internal communications circuits and room for three people comfortably. It was about 3AM one morning when Dave knocked on my door and told me it was time to start learning. We headed up to the helo tower and it was so dark, all that you cold see was the scene on the flight deck, illuminated by red flood lights. There was no moon and it was overcast, so everything else around us was pitch black. That began my time as the person sitting in the tower and coordinating the movement of the twin rotored CH-46 SeaKnights for two years. I assume, and I never thought to ask, Dave had been responsible before that, but I might be mistaken. Hours later, well after the sun had risen and the clouds had cleared, I had seen my first of many major ammo moving evolutions of my career. I was on my way to being the person responsible for ensuring the safe and efficient execution of many more event such as this.

As Public Affairs Officer and Legal Officer, I spent many hours in CDR Martin’s office going over issues from Courts Martial proceeding, administrative separations, Captain’s Mast (Article 15) and Hometown News Release stories. He was fair minded and through, but not a micromanager. He had a dry sense of humor and did regularly refer to the trolls on the beach. Along with just business came much subtle career counseling.

Being but a young married Ensign, and having one car, Dave indicated he would be happy to pick me up and bring me home. In my inexperience, I certainly noted the economy, but failed to understand, before saying yes to the offer, that I would be working the XO’s hours. That, actually, didn’t come to be a conscious thought until much later on. Anyway, Dave’s house was in the Princess Anne Plaza area of Virginia Beach, and I was in the Pembroke vicinity, not far from the mall in an apartment. The other car pooler, who always rode shotgun, was LCDR Leo Pivonka, the Ship’s First LT. I was relegated to the rear seat, and was able to listen in on the many discussions between two very experienced officers had regarding a variety of topics, mostly dealing with the operation of the ship. That was an education you couldn’t have paid for, then or now.

The XO and First LT always worked beyond the end of the work day, but the advantage was more work got done, and you still got home about the same time. If you left around 4PM, you sat on I-64 and/or the Virginia Beach “Expressway” in traffic, and you got home in about an hour. If you waited until about 4:45 to 5PM to leave the Norfolk Base, you pretty much drove straight home in about 30 minutes (it was 18 miles to my door). Dave taught me that, not by telling me, but showing me during our time inport.

Dave left during our Med Cruise and was relieved by CDR Al Leightly. I recall he left and went to the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), but he may have gone to the Propulsion Examination Board (PEB) first. After he departed, he continued to mentor me along, now in a more obvious format, via letters, providing guidance in response to my questions.

As Dave approached his retirement, he went for his final physical exam. While having and EKG, they noted he had a minor heart attack. A few days later, three days from retirement, CDR Martin passed away in his sleep. He left behind his wonderful wife, Mame and two teenage sons.

CDR Martin also left an indelible mark on me. How to lead was the deepest one, and throughout my career, I constantly would consider the model he presented for me as to how to approach the next challenge, particularly while I was in my XO job.

The only other piece of Dave’s career I can remember is him telling me he had been the Navigator for the USS NORTHHAMPTON (CC-1). I thought he was a graduate of King’s Point, but a check with them doesn’t show him as a student at the Merchant Marine Academy.

Not all those who served have ship’s named after them, yet they all are part of the engine of freedom. CDR Dave Martin is one of them.

And he said, when the lines were singled: “You did everything I’d do, but 30 seconds later.”

It is a real statement made to me, after morring at Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, VA for an offload of ordnance.

about 45 minutes earlier, Captain Maixner asked “Have you ever taken one (SPRUANCE Class DD) to the pier without tugs?”

What brought this stroy back from the memory banks is the current events…of how one can sit and listen to someone for 20+ years, then decide what is being said is depicable…

More later…work calls…but…it is a good story about life aboard a Navy vessel…

Check this out!

So..Legos aren’t just for making little squarish castles any more, huh?

Required reading: Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 109 (whew! that’s a lot of blogging!) and The Big Squeeze at Eagle1’s Sunday Ship History series.
BT
I’m behind, but…having fun with mental challenges or making data tell a story.

Speaking of stories, the past few weeks have driven home a point that not all our heros have had ships named after them. Sure, that’s obvious, but I will begin to devote some time to pulling together some other material, something like the series that launched Matt Burden’s Black Five blog with the “Someone You Should Know” posts.

I have ordered Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II”, spurred on by the post in March by SteelJaw Scribe about the almost loss of USS FRANKLIN (CV-13). I am in contact with the son of a man who’s father died that fateful day and did his share to save some of his shipmates.

In the interim, here’s a link to a past Monday Maritime Matters, for those of you who came to class late:

CDR George Rentz, USN, Chaplin Corps is a hero worth reading about this day. He went down with the ship, so other might have a chance to survive.

Required reading: Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 108 and Eagle 1’s link to the US Naval Institutes’s “Americans at War” interview series.
BT

Today’s subject:

ADM Jesse Oldendorf, USNBorn February 16th, 1887, he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1909.Jesse Oldendorf was a man who achieved something other surface officers never got to do: He went toe to toe in a night action, battleship to battleship.

Born February 16th, 1887, he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1909. From the Microworks site, some background of this battle tested officer:

Oldendorf made pre-WWI cruises in cruisers and destroyers, commanded the armed guard of a freighter and was officer aboard a transport. Both of the latter ships sank. Then he was engineering officer aboard the cruiser Seattle, and exec of the transport Patricia. Land assignments in Pittsburgh and Baltimore followed, as did an assignment as flag secretary to three successive commanders, Special Service Squadron.

Was aide to three commandants of the navy, and CO of the destroyer Decatur (DD-341). Was navigation officer of battleship New York and taught navigation at the Naval Academy. Commanded cruiser Houston until September 1941, then went to the staff of the Naval War College. In February 1942, he was assigned to command the Aruba-Curacao sector in the Caribbean, a vital chokepoint of coastal and tanker traffic, in the rank of Rear-Admiral. In August 1942, he was moved to the Trinidad sector. He remained in the anti-submarine business when transfered to Argentia, Newfoundland, as Commander, Western Atlantic convoy escorts, from May to December 1943.

He appeared in the Pacific in January 1944 as commander, Cruiser Division Four, flagship Louisville, and supported the landings in the Marshalls, Palaus, Marianas, and Leyte Gulf. There, he led his bombardment force to intercept the enemy’s Southern Force and annihilated the Japanese with minimal losses to his own force. He then commanded his units on a sweep following the Southern Force.

On the night of 24 October, 1944, he led a battle force into the Surigao Strait to “cross the tee” of the approaching Japanese Southern Force in the early morning hours of 25 October.

His capital units were the phoenixes of the US Navy (West Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee, California, and Pennsylvania, all but the Mississippi having been sunk or damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor) who took their fury to the Japanese battleships and escorts, besting them in a night battle (which was specialty of the Japanese at the beginning of WWII), sounding defeating them in detail, while supporting forces from PT boats, to subs and destroyers and cruisers, that harassed and channeled the enemy to their destruction.

ASW, amphibious landing support by gunfire, and ship to ship slug fests. What a life, what a career.

ADM Oldendorf retired in 1948 at the rank of Admiral (four stars), and passed away April 27th, 1974.

And the vessel that carried his name to sea:

USS OLENDORF (DD-972)Commissioned March 4th, 1978, USS OLDENDORF (DD-972) was the 10th hull of the SPRUANCE Class of destroyers. Initially homeported in Everett, WA, she later was re-assigned to the forward deployed homeport of Yokosuka, Japan. in 1991, she changed her homeport to San Diego, CA. OLDENDORF deployed to the Pacific theater, the Indian Ocean and the Perisan Gulf, as well as performing duties in drug interdiction operations off South America.

USS OLDENDORF (DD-972) was decommissioned June 20th, 2003 and was sunk as a gunnery target by the USS RUSSEL (DDG-59) in 2005.

Staff Sergeant Matthew Maupin’s remains are coming home to Cincinnati’s Lunken Airport on Saturday, April 26th. The Critical Hour blog has a request for those wishing to honor Matt to line the route to the Union Township Civic Center holding lighted candles. SSGT Maupin was the soldier captured in Iraq in 2004 and was recently found dead. Details of the route for tomorrow, Saturday 4/26/2008 are here. A condolence page to leave a note to Matt’s parents is also available.

SteelJaw Scribe reminds us of the final airlift out of Vietnam in 1975: Operation Frequent Wind in his ongoing excellent “Flight Deck Friday” series.

CDR Salamander’s “Fullbore Friday” chronicles reminds of how one man from Hollywood served his nation well crossing the beaches at Normandy on day one and then further into Europe. The man is Charles Durning.

“Rounds Out!” on Townhall reminds of “Climate Change” with a painting depicting a cooler time in history.

Yid with a Lid presents the speech BhO might have given, had he been at the Reed Sea when Moses parted the waters en route the Promised Land.