Part I, Part II, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII Part IX

I recall the weather was exceptional. Clear skies and gentle low swells, as we forged our way north, communicating “the old fashioned way,” semaphore, flashing light (Morse Code) and flag hoists. The stuff a WWII movie is made of. When tactical manuvering is done this way, and the crews do that well, it’s pretty impressive to see many thousands of tons of steel dance across the waves in unison, or planned staging of their movements in an aquatic ripple effect.

Traffic was light and we came across one ship of significance, a Soviet merchant ship. “Back in the day,” every Soviet vessel that sailed was a mobile intelligence gathering platform. This encouter became a point of focus for our boring, but important transit. The BIDDLE was dispatched out ahead to keep tabs on her, and the SARATOGA and thge other ships were maneuvered to stay a good distance away, but if you can see a ship, then it can see you. That’s a good rule to aply in such situations, especially bright sunny days with no clouds at all.

Back to the background:

The BIDDLE fell behind out Battle Group, much to the chargrin of our CSO, CDR Nurthen. The rest of us had kept small bags with a few days worth of clothes and our toothbrushes…

To close this line of the story, we all entered the Med, the BIDDLE late, and a few days later, my staff moved to our flagship, the BIDDLE. The CO of the BIDDLE was under the operational command of the Commodore, even though he had a higher “lineal number.” Friction became a part of life, as each man tried to fence off their territory.

Upon our embarkation on the cruiser, which was tasked as the anti-air warfare commander (AAWC) for the Battle Group, we found ourselves, as the ASWC, routinelt in EMCON “A,” as the cruiser would be dispatched down a threat axis in radar and radio silence to ambush the incoming enemy aircraft. We had normally ridden aboard destroyers before, and this didn’t impact us much, except to lose a SONAR from the inner ASW screen. As a side note, one of the normal duties of the ASWC was to also be assigned to be the Screen Commander (SC), responsible for planning and executing the screen of these big deck ships with the destroyers and frigates assigned. Now the problem is we are our on station, only able to listen to the radio circuits, but could not respond. Needless to say, it really put a crimp in our style. It didn’t help any that the BG Watch Officers would try to get ahold of us, and get angry when we didn’t answer there calls.

The “INCHOP” reports were filed, briefings from the 6th Fleet and supporting staffs were made. We then joined up with the SARATOGA BG and “swapped” escorts. It was an odd cruise, for the CORAL SEA would remain in the Med and show off the new thingy I understood to be (possibly) affectionately termed “The Lawn Dart.” It was the first operational deployment of the F/A-18, and therefore a good time to parade the new birds around the shores of our allies, more than likely to let them know we were going to use it, so they should get on board and buy some, too. I found out later, foreign navies (and I’m sure other services) don’t take it too well when you try to sell them something you aren’t planning on using yourself. The F-20 Tigershark aricraft comes to mind in this example.

Anyhow, we “worked up” with one carrier, then swapped out on deployment. We didn’t move the escorts exactly between battle groups, and some discussion followed, ending with a decision to leave BIDDLE with the CORAL SEA in the Med, and the SCOTT (DDG-995) coming with us to the North Arabian Sea (NAS)/Indian Ocean. It sort of balanced the firepower overall. That decision was crucial at another level. Here were two crews, with gear packed for deployment. Once for a winter Med cruise, the other for the Indian Ocean climes. It wasn’t just a bite for the operational issues, but also for the “civies” loaded by the crews for liberty, as well.

And back at the 20 years ago coral:

The Soviet ship didn’t seem to take any interest in us, as they should have. It steamed on it’s way, with out deviating from it’s course. Not unusual for a regular merchant vessel, but definitely strange for a Soviet flagged ship of any category.

A few days after we sailed from DGAR, towards a point in the ocaen south of the Arabian Penninsula, were were given orders to head to the Red Sea and prepare for a northen transit of the Suez Canal….

Coming to a cute new bookstore near you: Brainwashing of the young and the helpless:

Why Mommy is a Democrat from the Little Democrats website. How wonderful!

Having spent a lot of years being directly of indirectly invloved in training, in and out of the Navy, I know that many groups try to get in the loop early in life, for it is the time when we are extremely effective sponges. All education at that level is worthy of being carefully chosen, for it is the foundation building time.

There are some interesting reactions already blogged about, such as this one: Sean Gleeson’s Blog and at Peer Review.

Enjoy!

HT to a young consevative looking forward to entering the Marines!

Thanks to Little Green Footballs for the Open Thread!

They have finally done it in Taiwan using genetic engineering to “install” jellyfish bioluminescense genes in pigs.

This could spawn a whole series of applications. Kids could have a GITD pig as a pet, so when parents venture in the tried and true admonistion of “this place looks like a pigsty!” would be far more applicatble. In the meantime, the GITD pig would provide a night light function for the child.

Sailors of all types might enjoy a GITD pig, so as to remind them (in the case of Capt Lex) the glow in the carrier’s wake as they make night traps, or (in the case of Chapomatic) the glow of the boiluming plankton in the periscope while underwater, or (in the case of CDR Salamander) the green shine of the UNREP ship’s bow wave following the outline of the ship as you get gas and ammo at night….

And, there are many other applications. Maybe GITD hampsters would be a better idea if you are trying to get into the novelty market…

HT to Little Green Footballs.

From www.dictionary.com

con·ver·gence (kn-vûrjns)
n.

1. The process of coming together or the state of having come together toward a common point.

That one definition is what I think I need for the following discussion.

The support for the Global War on Terror is slumping. I have an idea on how to get support form a broad cross section of the country, if not maybe the world. It is a summation of the current issues we are facing and comes from the headlines. All that is needed now is to figure out how to pull it together.

My first point of reference is the recent issues brought on by the New York Times disclosure of the NSA conducting electronic monitoring. The general impression is President Bush has ordered the surveilance of regular American citizens. This, in fact, if it were the case, would most certainly not be Constitutional, and everyone would agree. That’s not the real case, but in order to find out what the al-Qaida operatives are up to, the monitoring has involved American citizens, who are at the other end of the phone call. Now, the mood of some people, mostly on the left side of the political spectrum, seems to be that protection from this monitoring should be afforded to the terrorists. This would now confer the same rights we have as Americans upon foriegn nationals, making the application of the Constitutional right of the 4th Amendment universal. As of yesterday, certainly CAIR and the ACLU are making their acceptance of this view an issue by filing a suit to prevent the President form directing this surveillance be conducted.

Step 1: Leverage off this view of the left that terrorists are defacto American citizens. Place this note on the large easel in the front of the conference room.

Next stop: Megan’s Law. This is the Federal law that requires sex offenders to register with local law ebnforcement and provide their address. Put that on the lagre sheet in the front of the room.

Why is this a point to consider? For several years, and most recently, there is an almost psychotic reaction in the form of hatred to the presense of sex offenders. If we can harness this emotion, and focus it towards the terrorists, then we will have some real “will of the people” to go after the perpetrators, regardless of the expense. Soccer moms, and just about every body else really hates these people and therefore, they are a unifying force in the community.

The most recent case in the news to illustrate this point is the sentencing of Mark Hulett by Judge Cashman in Vermont. The reaction in the media and on the radio and TV shows will let you know an overwhelming majority of people are truly upset.

Get yourself a copy of Loretta Napoleoni’s Insurgent Iraq. This book is centered on discussing al Zarqawi, currently thought to be the leading al Queda commander in Iraq. Lots of interesting stuff in there, most of it in the first few chapters of the book tend to keep repeating that the Jews displaced the Palestinians, and those who came into Jordan then made it hard for the Jordanians, and that’s why al Zarquawi became a terrorist., but I digress….

In the paperback edition from Seven Stories Press, on page 31, there is an interesint tidbit of useful information: al Zarquawi was in prison for drug possession and sexual assault. There you have it: the head AQ guy is a sexual offender. Before you say so what?, go back to my first point: The ACLU would have us treat non-US citizens as our own, remember? Toss in the fact that the US Supreme Court has become accustomed to looking to foreign courts and laws to make decisions for US cases.

Here’s the strategy: based on those two points raised above, and that al Zarqawi, under US law, would be designated a sexual offender, leverage off the push to treat all persons of the world as if they had rights under the Constitution. It should not be selective, just when it’s convinient for the foriegner’s to claim protection, but it should be universal. In this instance, then the criminal acts committed should also be on the table. After all, isn’t that what the ACLU has been tryiing to get for the detainees at Guantanamo Bay for the last several years, access to our court system?

There you have it. Current events and what the desires of the liberals are asking for can be used to now shine a light on who one of the main terrorist is, and therefore bring the rage against him, which will help end the fight in Iraq.

Just some idle thinking.

Update 1/19/2006: Consider the information in this article about the marked increase in “honor killings” among the Palestinians:

Palestinian feminist Abu Dayyeh Shamas claims that: “Men feel they have lost their dignity and that they can somehow restore it by upholding the family’s honour. We’ve noticed recent cases are much more violent in nature; attempts to kill, rape, incest. There is an incredible amount of incest.” One women’s group reported over 400 cases of incest in the West Bank alone in 2002.

Rape and incest, both crimes make a sex offender of the prepetrator, and the volience in Israel attests to the Palestinians propensity towards terrorism, and the opening paragraph of the article links the terrorism with the sexual crimes:

When Israel began erecting a separation barrier in late 2003 to protect its citizens from the seemingly endless procession of suicide bombers, Palestinian society responded by redirecting its destructive urges inward. All revolutions are said ultimately to turn upon themselves and devour their own children. And, when suicide bombing became an increasingly difficult means of enhancing family prestige, Palestinians shifted the focus onto their female offspring to restore the balance.

A sad statment on the human condition.

Side note: I have called things like this to the attention to NOW in posts gone by, but, somehow, there is no ruffled feathers in their camp. I would have thought their feelings for the oppressed women would certainly draw their outrage for all women, not just the culturally elite ones. NOW drops the ball again (and again, and again…)

Thanks to Little Green Footballs for the Open Thread!

Part I, Part III,Part IV, Part V, Part VI,
Part VII, Part VIII

Part IX

Needless to say, I was rather disappointed. I mean, get all the way to about 13 degress south of the equator in the Indian Ocean, and you can’t even get a chance to have a beer, and see if the Exchange has any T Shirts to prove you were there.

Back the stateroom, back into khakis, and head aft about a 1/3rd the length of the ship, then up 7 decks via “ladders.” In the Navy, ladders are mostly very steep stairs, not vertical ladders like you might think, but some actually are, usually in the out of the way places, not were there is normal people traffic.

(returning to the build up to the main story line – here’s more back ground)
So, we hauled our stuff to the MONOGAHELA (AO-178) and let that ship’s company decide where to put us. The staterooms are huge on those ships, as they have so much space above the area they needed for tanks for fuel. Most officers on the ship already had two man rooms by themselves, so we fit in well, for last minute visitors. Steve was left to getting our gear hauled to Combat Information Center (CIC), and OSCS Koch went to work getting our Joint Operational Tactical Systems (JOTS) HP-9020 computers set up and patched into the radio circuits for LINK 14 data. Controlled chaos was the mood, but, the hosts took care of us.

We sailed on time, and settled in for a long planned 6 month, but actual 7 month deployment, not expecting a lot besides boring holes in the waters of the North Arabian Sea, letting Iran know we were there….

The MONOGAHELA did not man the CIC full time. They really didn’t need to. With no weapons, and being counted on to just deliver fuel and some cargo, the bridge watch could generally handle the radio traffic and radar watches along with their tasks. They did man up for us, and several Boatswain’s Mates (BMs) were provided, along with the Operations Specialists (OSs) to support us. We found out they had cross trained their senior BMs to be CIC supervisors and they were very proficient at their duties.

We steamed east, and rendezvoused with the USS CAPODANNO out of Newport, RI, the JESSE L BROWN out of Charleston, SC and USS JACK WILLIAMS from Mayport, FL. A few days later, we received a message fro BIDDLE that repairs were completed and she was getting underway, with “excess SOA” authorized. For transits out of local op areas, we had a top speed limit (on over all average speed) for the ship’s movement, which helped plan logistics for fuel delivery, at sea and to forward shore stations. SOA means “speed of advance.” 16 kts was the normal limit. BIDDLE would be steaming about 2/3rds of the way to the Straits of Gibralter at close to her top speed.

About a day out of our arrival at the entrance to the Mediterranean, the BIDDLE caught up to use late in the day. We packed up our gear, short essentials, and palletized it for highline transfer. BIDDLE came alongside MONOGAHELA just before sunset to commence alongside replenishment at sea (RAS), and our pallets were sent over. The master plan was for us to be heloed over in the morning, to embark on the planned flagship for our staff.

Fast forward: It’s about 5 AM local time, and I’m one watch. BIDDLE calls us frantically on one of the circuits, reporting white smoke in one of her shaft alleys. Shaft Ally is the last space in the ship where the shafting from the ships turbines then penetrates the hull, heading out to the struts and the propeller. White smoke in there is a bad thing. The response is for the Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) to direct the shaft be stopped ASAP, and then to lock the shaft in place. The net reslut of this action is like dropping a large sea anchor, for the blades of the affected prop are being pulled almost sideways thru the water and not turning. BIDDLE’s max speed in this condition was several knots slower than we had to go to arrive in the Med on time to reported to COMSIXTHFLT. I notified the Commodore and the Ops Boss. Planning went into affect for what to do until BIDDLE caught up, since our records and publications were over there.

The affect on the Staff was not too bad professionally, as the MONOGAHELA’s library would have publications we could use, but the biggest impact was the Chief Staff Officer, Bill Nurthen, has also send his clothes over, except for a single change of them. Well, you can imagine his angst, but also how were were able to play on this to get under his skin for the rest of the cruise….

Later that morning, the OPREP (operational report) from the BIDDLE made it’s way to use, and listed the cause of the loss of all oil in the main shaft bearing as sabotage. Someone had uncapped the drain line, and big machinery, which in many cases actually relies on the oil as a medium to carry heat off the movig parts as much as it being a lubricant, does stuff like get hot and the glows red, and then breaks or catches on fire.

Shortly after this message came out, the Battle Group Staff lawyer sent one back, letting the BIDDLE know the reported was to read, or any subsequent reports to list sabotage as “malicious destruction.” That’s the term used when it’s one of your own people who causes the damage.

(back to the story)
So was sailed by late afternoon, the SARATOGA, SCOTT, JACK WILLIAMs, BROWN, CAPODANNO and MONOGAHELA all in formation. We left in strict EMCOM “A.” That means no, I mean no, radio communications and all radars were turned off. Once clear of the harbor, our orders were to proceed NNE at top speed in EMCOM. We didn’t even know were we were going, except a point south of the Arabian peninsula.

More to come…

Scary story, but gives new meaning to the old axiom of never take the same path twice.

It seems the bad guys have come up with a creative solution to get at our helo assets, to include special attention being paid to MedEvac helos.

From the Telegraph, here’s an article on Aerial IEDs.

The new home-made weapons, known to the Americans as “aerial improvised explosive devices” have been used on numerous occasions.

“The enemy is adaptive. They makes changes in the way they fight, they respond to new flying tactics,” Brig Edward Sinclair, a US army aviation commander, told Defense News, which first revealed the new threat.

HT to Van Impe in a Open Thread comment over on Little Green Footballs.

Thanks to The Military Outpost for the link!

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for the Open Post!

Ally Hilger has produced a movie, which has finally begun to make it’s way into the movie theaters.

The movie, “Proud,” is the story of the USS MASON (DE-529) is now out and playing in small engagements around the country. It’s now playing in Atlanta, GA. A link to the schdeule page is here…

My interest in this story began with my friendship with Ben Garrison, who was a Radioman on the MASON during the war. As a result of this aquaintance, I have come to know of the the 761st Tank Battalion and the “Triple Nickel” 555th Parachute Regiment, in addition to the well known story of the Tuskegee Airman of the 99th Fighter Squadron. I did some blogging on it last spring, encapsulating some of the history of the beginnings of desegregation in the US Military.

We have come a long way…

Thanks to Little Green Footballs for the Open Thread!

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for the Open Post!

The new record is 85, set 12/05/2005 at Lake Wales, FL.

An you thought Naval Aviators® were the pre-eminent formation flyers…

Notes from the website on what was hanging there in the sky:

The 85 way was completed in 9 minutes and 46 seconds from the time Chris left the plane until the last legal grip was taken on Annie. We held it for 17 seconds.

Taking the height measurements from the canopies down the center line and heights of those individuals the formation was about 276′ tall give or take a foot or two. The formation was 175′ wide since there was about a foot between each person’s canopy.

According to the Sunday/Monday weigh ins (and Chris wearing 90 pounds) the people on the 85 way made it weigh 17,552 pounds

Get more info on this World Record here…

Here’s the preceeding work for an 81-way diamond:

I as sat watching the first two hours of Season 5 of the Fox series “24,” I thought there is one difference between that and reading the blogvel “Rythyms” by Capt Lex:

At least you know for sure when the next episode of 24 is coming on…

One doesn’t come with exceptionally loud (and appropriate) sound effects…

Other than that, both are action packed and worth every minute.

BTW, Rythyms XLII is posted!

Update: Thanks to an astute commenter at Little Green Footballs, there is a list of rules when operating in or near former Special Agent Jack Bauer…

Over at Plain as the Nose on Your Face, we have these truthful Bauerisms:

We feel it is high time that everyone learned a bit more about the man entrusted to safeguard our national security:

* When in Jack Bauer’s presence, Chuck Norris urinates sitting down.
* Jack Bauer can squeeze through spaces that would make a spider claustrophobic.
* Tired of the incessant whining and complaining, Jack Bauer found the dogs and let them right back in.
* Jack Bauer’s saliva is bullet-proof.
* After receiving repeated roundhouse kicks to the head from Chuck Norris, Jack Bauer was heard to ask,”Can you go a bit lower? I was crammed in an air conditioning duct between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and my back is killing me.”
* Jack Bauer can eat five times his body weight in terrorists.
* Concerned that his dog would break under interrogation, Jack Bauer snapped his neck and turned him into the bag which he still carries to this day.
* Jack Bauer has the ability to smell sounds.
* Ancient peoples sacrificed virgins to Jack Bauer in anticipation of his birth.
* The only thing elephants used to fear was mice. Until they hurt one of Jack Bauer’s friends.

And…thanks once more to Little Green Footballs for the Open Threads, that are the cause of so much fun and information from all over the world!

This was published in the local paper on New Year’s Day, but not listed in the Pearls Before Swine cartoon archives.