A day aboard Truman — Cat 3 is down!
March 30th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers leadership Life at Sea Navy The deckplates | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
HT2 Anthony Picillo and his team stands in front of the 10-foot hydraulic line that shut down Cat 3 — but for only two hours, thanks to the ship’s metal shop. (Photo by Lance M. Bacon)
1930
Catapult 3 is down. Heat and vibration cracked a hydraulic line that wraps around steam lines. The failure is not even visible to the naked eye, but is quick to announce its presence when the line ramps up to 3,000 psi.
The squadrons are short on time. Every pilot has to conduct the required traps and touch-and-gos prior to sunrise, when training will take a significant shift. Pri Fly needs every catapult up and running.
They turn to the sailors in the ship’s metal shop.
A day aboard Truman — the Strike Group
March 30th, 2010 | Navy | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
CSG-10′s staff operations officer tells Scoop Deck, “We do maintenance on a ship very well. But we often forget to conduct maintenance on ourselves, both personally and professionally.” (Photo by Lance M. Bacon)
1530
Scoop Deck has a good interview with Capt. Tom Dearborn, staff operations officer for Carrier Strike Group 10. The heart of our discussion is on the forthcoming deployment, in which Truman will be joined by four U.S. warships and the German destroyer Hessen.
A day aboard Truman — the CAG
March 30th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers leadership Life at Sea Maritime operations Navy Officers Ships | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
Capt. Jay “Spock” Bynum talks with Scoop Deck as closed circuit TV gives live feed of an F/A-18 trap over his shoulder. (Photos by Lance M. Bacon)
1630
Scoop Deck is in the office of Capt. Jay “Spock” Bynum. This is a pretty cool meeting – some 20 years ago, Spock and I were aboard Independence as she kicked off Operation Desert Shield. I was with the Marine Detachment and he was a lieutenant with the VFA-113 Stingers. Small world.
Spock has since traded his bars for birds and now heads “The Battle Axe,” aka Carrier Air Wing 3. Established July 1, 1938, it is one of the two oldest carrier air wings in continuous commission (This is the wing that hammered the Japanese carrier Soryu in the battle of Midway, fought over Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, and participated in the first carrier strikes against Tokyo.)
Today, he has more than 1,700 people and some 80 aircraft preparing for operations in Afghanistan and the Arabian Gulf.
But whether a pilot in World War II or Enduring Freedom, Spock says all Navy pilots are united in one event that will shoot your blood pressure into triple digits faster than a n AIM 7Sparrow.
A day aboard Truman — The flight deck
March 30th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers Chiefs Life at Sea Maritime operations Navy The deckplates | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
ABCS (AW/SW) Ernest Taylor (left) gives Scoop Deck a full tour of the flight deck during flight ops (Photos by Lance M. Bacon)
1445
Scoop Deck has hooked up with ABCS (AW/SW) Ernest Taylor, the safety LCPO. We spend the next 45 minutes traversing the flight deck – 4.5 acres of controlled chaos.
A day aboard Truman — Ready Room 7
March 30th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers Life at Sea Maritime operations Navy Officers | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
The view from the Mini Boss’ seat in Pri Fly as Rockhound launches from catapult 1. (Photo by Lance M. Bacon)
1400
Scoop Deck has copped a squat in Ready Room 7, home of the VFA-105 Gunslingers, based out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. This F/A-18E Super Hornet squadron boasts a storied history, and a number of “nuggets” – junior pilots on their first operational deployment.
A day aboard Truman — arrival
March 30th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers Life at Sea Navy Ships | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
1200
We’re boarding the C2-A Greyhound COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) that will take us to the ship. Flight time will be about an hour. Last week, Scoop Deck wrote about the first-class treatment inherent to flights with the Chief of Naval Operations. This isn’t quite the same. The cabin is hot, cramped and wreaks of hydraulic fuel and exhaust.
And I love it.
When you care enough to send the very best
March 29th, 2010 | Ballistic missile defense Foreign navies Maritime operations Military Sealift Command North Korea The Pacific | Posted by Phil Ewing
The destroyer Curtis Wilbur -- one of four U.S. ships sent to assist the South Korean search and rescue operation -- is one of two of the ships equipped with ballistic missile defense capability. // MCSN Anthony Martinez / Navy
Maybe it means absolutely nothing. Maybe it’s an unsubtle message: Of the vessels U.S. commanders sent in answer to South Korea’s request for help after their patrol ship Cheonan sank last week, three are Aegis warships and of those, two are ballistic missile defense-capable.
Responding to the South Korean sinking are the BMD cruiser Shiloh; the destroyers Curtis Wilbur — which is BMD-equipped — and Lassen; and the Military Sealift Command salvage ship Salvor, which is carrying a team from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1. South Korean commanders want to try to salvage the Cheoan so they can be certain about what happened to it — did it have an accident? Did it strike a mine? Was it hit by a torpedo? What they find will probably determine a lot of important decisions in the Western Pacific.
As part of that, maybe the U.S. message was, ‘hey, South Korea, we just happened to have these ships participating nearby in a multi-national exercise, so you’re welcome to use them to help look for your missing guys.” Or maybe the message was, “hey, North Korea, we’re sending out three front-line battle force vessels, two of which can track and kill ballistic missiles, so let’s everybody just cool out, all right?”
One convenient thing about seapower is that American commanders could send both those messages at once, if they wanted, and without saying a word.
Attack sub New Mexico commissioned
March 27th, 2010 | Navy Submarines | Posted by Lance Bacon
The crew brings New Mexico to life March 27. (Photos by Lance M. Bacon)
NORFOLK, Va. – The Navy commissioned the world’s most advanced submarine Saturday as the $2.3 billion attack sub New Mexico was brought to life four months ahead of schedule.
Scoop Deck joined the sub’s crew of 134 officers and sailors, as well as nearly 3,000 guests, family members and shipbuilders on Pier 14. Some 100 citizens from the sub’s namesake state also made the journey, and the University of New Mexico ROTC served as color guard.
Rear Adm. Cecil Haney, director of the Submarine Warfare Division, ordered the crew to maintain the proud heritage of the name “New Mexico.” He commented not only on the battleship’s six battle stars but also honored the Navajo code talkers’ legacy and the tireless work done at Los Alamos.
But without question, the most moving moment came when retired CWO-3 George Smith, a World War II veteran who served aboard the battleship New Mexico, set the first watch with a sharp salute.
Somewhere beneath the pomp and circumstance that saturates such a ceremony, there lurked the undeniable understanding that much is riding on the Virginia program. In an era marked by cost overruns and late delays, the Navy now faces a shipbuilding shortfall as many legacy systems retire, and the new ballistic missile submarines look to devour up to half of the budget for a 14-year period.
The Virginia program remains a highlight amid the heartache. Though not without its issues, Northrop Grumman Shipyard in partnership with General Dynamics Electric Boat did produce New Mexico in 381 fewer days than sister ship North Carolina. The program now shifts all ahead full to kick out two subs a year. This will enable the attack sub force to stay above the required 48-ship fleet through 2028 – but there is no room for error.
Vice Adm. John Donnelly, commander of Submarine Forces, spoke of the Navy’s strong legacy of selecting the best people and building the best ships to carry out the mission. He called the Virginia-class sub an “investment by American tax payers in an uncertain world to protect the freedoms we cherish, and the principles and values which define us.”
Turning to Cmdr. Mark A. Prokopius, he said “I expect a great deal of you and your crew. Lead them well.”
The path between the seas
March 26th, 2010 | Maritime operations The Pacific | Posted by Phil Ewing
The Freedom cruised under the Panama Canal's Centennial Bridge this week during its transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific. // Lt. Ed Early / Navy
The Gold Crew of the littoral combat ship Freedom joined the Order of the Ditch this week when it made its first transit through the Panama Canal, en route to the ship’s homeport of San Diego. By all early accounts it was much more pleasant than the last time the ship went through a canal.
ISAF: Enough of all this nice stuff
March 26th, 2010 | Chow individual augmentees leadership Morale The Middle East | Posted by Phil Ewing
Only God knows why: Rock-men such as American badass Kid Rock, here performing in Kabul, won't be seen as often in today's Afghanistan, where commanders are cutting back on USO performances. // Staff Sgt. Luis Valdespino Jr / Marine Corps
If you’re headed for Afghanistan, or you’re already there, get ready to say goodbye to Orange Julius. The Jules, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen and other Morale, Welfare and Recreation spots across the ‘Stan are going away, so U.S. and international forces there can focus on fightin’.
That was the word this week from ISAF Command Sgt Maj. Michael T. Hall, who put up a blog post saying there’re going to be some changes around Afghanistan: “This is a war zone — not an amusement park,” he wrote, with shades of George C. Scott’s initial headquarters tour in “Patton.” So the fun food is going away, there’ll be fewer USO appearances, and ISAF will focus only on “essentials.”
If it hasn’t died already, this probably means the end of the famous boardwalk at Kandahar Air Field. (Shame: Great, surreal memories of that place.) No word on whether this affects the Canadian Forces’ beloved Tim Hortons, although, let’s be honest, if they took Timmies away, Canada would pull out of NATO.
It’s also not clear how much the new austerity measures will affect to the already-austere provincial reconstruction teams where most sailors serve, but it’s a cinch that Seabees in places like Kabul and Kandahar will see their smoothie consumption drop off to nothing. If you’re over there — or you’re back from there — what do you think about the new No-Funistan?