In defense of LCS: The skipper’s own words
November 30th, 2009 | leadership Life at Sea Maritime operations Science and technology Ships Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Cmdr. Don Gabrielson, the Blue Crew commissioning skipper of the littoral combat ship Freedom, gave a spirited defense of LCS in November at an SNA event outside Washington // John Sheppard / Navy
There are defense programs more controversial than the Navy’s littoral combat ship, but not many. The smaller, faster, modular ships represent a break from U.S. Navy convention in almost every way, and they have had skeptics and critics from the beginning. LCS has its champions too, and few are as outspoken or as passionate as the first captain of the first LCS, Cmdr. Don Gabrielson.
Gabrielson, who commanded the littoral combat ship Freedom’s Blue Crew after the ship was commissioned last November, gave a spirited defense of LCS in mid-November at the Surface Navy Association’s annual communications forum at the Army-Navy Country Club. But he spoke only to a small audience of SNA members and reporters, so Scoop Deck asked for a copy of his remarks that everyone online could read and discuss. We recommend getting another cup of coffee, clicking on through to the jump, and taking a close look at Gabrielson’s take on LCS. Then let’s hear what you think in the comments.
Polar icebreaker links
November 30th, 2009 | Foreign navies Maritime operations merchant ships Pirates Royal Navy Science and technology Ships Submarines | Posted by Phil Ewing
The icebreaker Polar Sea cleared a channel through the Arctic ice so vessels could pass through, much as today's links break through the online clutter to bring you the latest // Coast Guard
Ice-crushin’, channel clearin’, back-and-forth rockin’, long voyage takin’, high visibility links, breaking a path to you for the latest stories and updates on the Web:
- Pirate attack: Somali hijackers have seized a Greek oil tanker, the Maran Centaurus, bound for New Orleans with a full cargo. Last word was that a Greek frigate is shadowing the vessel.
- Fleet in decline: The Russian navy is looking at a dramatic drop in the number of ships it can field by 2015, when it will have to mothball many of its ex-Soviet warships, a retired Russian admiral says.
- Fleet in ascent:The Russians have to replace all those old ships with something, right? As Scoop Deck told you in August, the Russians want to buy a version of the French Navy’s Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, so the Mistral itself is visiting St. Petersburg this week so the Russian brass can take a look.
- PSPs for sailors: No, not for American sailors, unfortunately. Students at the Royal Navy’s HMS Collingwood college in Hampshire, England, will be getting Playstation Portables for help with their “studies.”
- LCS trinkets: Would you like a crystal paperweight inlaid with an image of the second littoral combat ship, Independence? Well you can buy ‘em now, to help support the ship’s commissioning in Mobile, Ala., Jan. 16
- Online connections: Sailors from a Chicago suburb use social networking to stay connected, even though they’re thousands of miles apart.
- Innovator remembered: The WaPo memorialized an engineer who played a central role in the development of submarine-launched missiles.
Cyber-citizens back SEALs
November 27th, 2009 | SEALs The Middle East | Posted by Andrew Scutro
AP
In the social media world, there’s growing disbelief over the detainee abuse allegations against three Navy SEALs, which came to light this week. The three were charged in connection with the alleged abuse of the purported mastermind of the 2004 ambush in Fallujah, in which four contractors from Blackwater were hanged and burned. After the news broke on Tuesday, more than 14,000 people have rallied to support them. How? Where? Facebook, of course.
Congratulations to the Haley crew
November 24th, 2009 | Coast Guard | Posted by Susan Schept
The crew of the medium endurance cutter Alex Haley. PA1 Sara Francis/Coast Guard
As the Coast Guard’s mission heats up in the Arctic Ocean, the service is testing to see which boats it can use in the rough, icy waters. During the region’s brief summer, the Coast Guard sent the medium endurance cutter Alex Haley on patrol. For their 21 days above the Arctic Circle, the ship’s crew received the Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal on Nov. 20 in Kodiak, Alaska. They are the only medium endurance cutter in the fleet to have earned the medal. A hearty congratulations from Scoop Deck.
Of course the fighter jets make you look cool, man
November 23rd, 2009 | Aviation Blogs Science and technology The Middle East | Posted by Phil Ewing
American F/A-18 Hornets, like this one over Afghanistan belonging to VFA 113, the "Stingers," are evidently a popular addition to portraits in Kabul // Cmdr. Erik Etz / Navy
One of Scoop Deck’s favorite non-naval bloggers is the user-experience researcher Jan Chipchase, a globe-trotting explorer of how people and cultures interact with technology. Classic example: On a trip to Kabul, Chipchase discovered that the latest trend for young men is to commission heavily edited portraits of themselves. We’re not just talking about a few touch-ups — these guys give themselves machine guns (they look like Soviet-era PKs) put lions at their feet, and, oh yes, call in air support. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters hover nearby and for top cover, flights of Navy F/A-18 Hornets streak overhead. Check ‘em out.
This year’s Navy Thanksgiving load-out
November 23rd, 2009 | Chow Life at Sea Morale The deckplates The Middle East The Pacific | Posted by Phil Ewing
CS3 Elizabeth Yuncker served apple pie for a strike group's worth of plates aboard the carrier Theodore Roosevelt at Thanksgiving in 2004. This year sailors Navy-wide will eat 17,000 pies, according to NavSup // Navy
You can start to tell from the thinning crowds along the elegant boulevards here in the National Capital Region (and in the Christmas music that has already reared its ugly head downstairs in the Cafeteria of Excellence) that the holidays are nigh. This week, Americans will travel home to give thanks for flightless birds; the Packers and the Lions; and the new high-performance PT uniform — on sale Friday!
Many people, however, won’t get to spend Thanksgiving at home. As of Monday, there were 109 ships on deployment somewhere in the world, and their supply departments are gearing up for one of the biggest at-sea eating days of the year. How big? Here’s how much Turkey Day fare sailors across the world will consume this year, according to information from Naval Supply Systems Command:
Roasted pepper and tomato soup – 8,000 gals
Corn chowder – 48,158 gals
Shrimp cocktail – 25,000 lbs
Roast turkey – 64,000 lbs
Baked ham – 26,000 lbs
Scalloped sweet potatoes – 29,000 lbs
Mashed potatoes – 61,000 lbs
Corn bread stuffing – 52,000 lbs
Gravy – 19,000 gals
Green bean casserole -20,000 lbs
Corn on the cob – 35,000 lbs
Peas and carrots – 34,000 lbs
Cranberry sauce – 16,000 lbs
Egg nog – 3,000 gals
Assorted pies – 17,000 pies (pumpkin, cherry crisp, apple and pecan) plus assorted cakes
Seabee links
November 23rd, 2009 | Aviation Foreign navies Maritime operations Photos Seabees Ships Submarines The Middle East | Posted by Phil Ewing
Much as these Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 helped build a camp in Iraq, so too do today's links build better understanding of current events // MC1 Carmichael Yepez / Navy
Heavy equipment operatin’, expeditionary base constructin’, nail hammerin’, toothpick chewin’, buildin’, fightin’ links, bringing you updates and info even to the most austere forward settings:
- The crew of the amphibious transport dock New York gets on national TV; companies put out press releases so people will know their products are involved with it somehow. The captain of its sister ship, the Green Bay? He gets to go on “Good Day Wisconsin.”
- This giant Navy-assembled smoke tube has got to be the craziest bong ever built.
- The unfortunate crew of a Russian Kilo-class diesel-electric attack sub needed some embarrassing help getting back to its homeport in the Baltic Sea.
- Speaking of Russian — and Chinese — submarines, just how quiet are they compared to each other and compared to American boats? The answer is here.
- Speaking of submarines, the fast-attack sub Texas is almost back from its trip to the North Pole, which caused consternation among some Canadians because it wasn’t clear whether the U.S. cleared the trip with Ottawa.
- How long does it take a Navy flight deck to start melting under the heat from a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey? About 10 minutes.
BU 1 Robert Mitchell, left, and BU1 Wesley Johnson, both of the 31st Seabee Readiness Group, made a final check of a Seabee mascot destined for the new Seabee Museum // James Cencer / Navy
A name for DDG 1002
November 20th, 2009 | Blogs Chiefs Historical Science and technology Ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
What should the third Zumwalt-class destroyer be named? // Northrop Grumman
Maybe it’s that a three-hull class of advanced ships raises the stakes. Maybe it’s that there will be so many Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that they all start to blend together. Or maybe it’s that, with 51 more littoral combat ships that will carry only names of “medium-sized town names” (for now, anyway) people are worried they’re running out of ships to name for heroes.
Whatever the reason, people have been going after the as-yet unnamed third and last Zumwalt-class destroyer, DDG 1002, with name suggestions. Not just any Navy ship — DDG 1002.
An early one was “Robert A. Heinlein,” for the science fiction author. But one Navy Times reader rejected that and instead recommended “Ernest E. Evans,” for the legendary captain of the destroyer Johnston. The latest recommendation, according to an email making the rounds on a particularly salty distribution list, is “Delbert D. Black,” for the first master chief petty officer of the Navy.
Scoop Deck was cc’d on that email, which pointed to this blog post laying out the whole case. The Navy has plenty of ships named for chiefs of naval operations, writes blogger Chris Garett, but it needs to start according the same honor to its MCPONs, starting with Black.
What do you think? Would you pick Heinlein, Evans or Black for DDG 1002, or a different name altogether?
Another winter, another LCS gets set to join the fleet
November 20th, 2009 | Maritime operations Photos Ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
The littoral combat ship Independence pulled out for its acceptance trials, now finished, from Mobile, Ala. // Navy
After a long and winding technical journey that began in June with the main engine light-off, then initial delays, then included blazing speed, otherworldly photos and flooding in the jet-drive room, the littoral combat ship Independence got to its latest milestone this week. The ship finished its acceptance trials Thursday, which included a full-power run at a wave-scorching 45 knots.
A team from the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey was aboard for the demonstrations, and its inspectors now are going over their findings to determine whether they’ll recommend that the Navy accept the ship. We’ll be watching for that, as well as for new images from the Navy that show whether being aboard still makes you feel like you’re wrapped up in a monstrous burrito.
If all goes well, the Navy plans to commission the ship Jan. 16
High-seas rescue
November 19th, 2009 | Maritime operations merchant ships Pirates The Middle East | Posted by Phil Ewing
Sailors from the cruiser Chosin rescued three fishermen clinging to a piece of wood this week in the Gulf of Aden // MC1 Scott Taylor / Navy
The Navy’s new slogan may have gotten a mixed reception internally, but there are three Yemeni fishermen, at least, who would probably agree it really is a global force for good. The cruiser Chosin spotted the men on Tuesday clinging to a piece of wood in the Gulf of Aden, and sent a launch to fish them out of the water.
But it wasn’t as though these guys went for a swim and let their boat float away. According to this statement from 5th Fleet, they told the crew of the Chosin they’d been hijacked:
According to the fishermen, they were left stranded in the water after 12 suspected pirates hijacked their vessel. The fishermen also said that the pirates gave them an ultimatum to either jump overboard with only a wooden plank as a flotation device or be killed.
After surviving for three days with only a few bottles of water, a passing merchant vessel spotted them in the water. The merchant vessel notified coalition forces and a Chosin rescue team picked up the stranded fishermen.
Sounds unpleasant, although forcing a crew to jump overboard seems more like something from the Boy’s Book of Pirates than a tactic used by modern outlaws off the coast of Somalia. Today’s pirates make their living by ransoming hostages, so doesn’t it seem odd they’d want these guys off their boat?