Love and the Navy
February 9th, 2012 | Blues Liberty Navy Valentine's Day | Posted by Bill McMichael
This year’s Valentine’s Day will be particularly special for all the couples reunited in Norfolk this week after the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group’s return from that insanely long 10 1/2-month deployment. But since it falls on a Tuesday, those with duty, as well as many of us working stiffs, are more likely to take our significant other out for that romantic dinner on Saturday night, and perhaps follow up with some (overpriced, but you gotta do it, right?) flowers on the Big Day.
It won’t be so great for those whose loved ones are still deployed. Veteran Navy couples know how to stay in touch and keep the fires burning. But for those newbies in need of a suggestion or two, here are some great tips. It’s Navy wife-oriented, but there are some solid ideas for husbands on the home front too. Just use the ol’ imagination.
In another time and place, most of the Navy was not married. And thinking about sailors and lovers brought to mind the best-ever blues song — couldn’t recall another, actually — about sailors and lovers in one of those other times and places. It was written and recorded in 1932 by Lonnie Johnson. Great tune, sad ending. But hey — it’s the blues!
The lyrics:
Boys, you ever heard that tale ’bout Winnie the Wailer?
She fell in love with that redhead sailor.
Boy, he made her fall, and she fell hard.
Then he left poor Winnie flat in the navy yard.
Cryin’ boo hoo hoo,
She said, “Boo hoo hoo.”
Now she moaned all day,
And she wailed all night.
Because that sailor man didn’t do her right.
Yeah man. [spoken]
Then she traveled ’round,
From ‘Frisco to China.
She met a guy way over in Asia Minor.
He got a kiss on that very first trip.
He promised her that ride on that battle ship.
She cried, “Boo hoo hoo,
I’ll get even with you.
She says, “Now you may smile,
Then you may frown,
But I can’t let you keep poor Winnie down.”
Do it again. [spoken]
Then she met sailor man named Popeye the Skipper.
When she was mean, boy how he used to whip her.
He loved ta fight ‘n, and she was tough.
He had to leave her ’cause she plays too rough.
Ship ahoy,
Ah, ship ahoy.
She knows her Qs,
And she knows her Ps.
Now poor Winnie sails them seven seas.
Ah, swing it. [spoken]
I do believe. [spoken words]
Now then she met a sailor man, he knowed the ocean.
He fell in love with her, give her his devotion.
He says, “I put a many a gal on the spot,
Ah, but Minnie you got me tied in that sailor’s knot.”
I said, “I’ll get even with you,
Ah, I’ll get even with you.”
Now boy one day the hearse stop,
At poor Winnie’s door,
And now she can’t wail no more.
Down Under, memories of another ‘Pearl Harbor’
November 25th, 2011 | Australia Historical Liberty Navy The Pacific | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
No doubt the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor stands out as a critical turning point in our nation’s history. Next month, we mark the 70th anniversary, and the nation will join countless veterans and service members in recalling the sacrifice from that day and the amazing generation that stepped up and answered the nation’s call.
Such pivotal moments are shared by U.S. allies including the Australians, who are strengthening their ties and military relationship with the United States that goes back 60 years to World War II with an alliance that’s remained solid – and popular among U.S. sailors and Marines who get to visit the remote island continent. Most recently, President Barack Obama announced a new rotation of Marines and Air Force units to Australian military training bases that will also see more U.S. ships visiting in Darwin, in the Northern Territory, and likely other liberty ports Down Under.
At the USS Peary memorial in Darwin, Australia, President Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard pay respects to the 91 sailors who perished when the city was bombed in 1942. (AP photo)
Like our Pearl Harbor, the Aussies, too, had a pivotal moment during World War II when 260 Japanese fighters and dive bombers attacked Darwin, home to several key bases and communications stations, on Feb. 19, 1942. Although the Australian military was in the thick of the larger war, this was the first attack on Australian soil. Thick dark plumes of smoke rose over the city from oil storage tanks struck in the attack as soldiers and sailors manned anti-aircraft guns. Two Royal Australian Navy shipswere crippled in the harbor as the hulls exploded. The attack killed as many as 252 troops and local civilians and left hundreds wounded. The bombing of Darwin remains a dark day in that nation’s history. Australia recently announced a new national day of observance to mark the attack.
The enemy aircraft that day also struck the USS Peary as it sat in Darwin’s harbor, off the Timor Sea, killing 91 sailors. On his recent visit, Obama laid a wreath at a memorial dedicated to the Peary, a site anchored by one of the ship’s four-inch guns recovered after the attack. The president met Tony Duke, whose late father, Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Melvin Duke, had survived the attack, received the Purple Heart medal and later had his remains buried at the wreckage site. His son provides a poignant recollection of his father and how he learned what he went through on that fateful day.
Saving lives this summer
May 20th, 2011 | Liberty Marine Corps Mishaps Naval Safety Center Navy Personnel Safety | Posted by Bill McMichael
Announcements of annual safety campaigns may for many go in one ear and out the other, but the Naval Safety Center’s summer campaign, which officially begins Memorial Day weekend, is an opportunity for Navy leaders to hit the deckplates and hammer home the message that it’s possible to have fun without taking life-threatening risks. Last summer was the Navy’s safest on record. Still, 14 sailors and 14 Marines lost their lives in motor vehicle and recreational mishaps. That was a big improvement over the five-year average of 44 total off-duty deaths each summer. But still …
Leaders can find all sorts of useful materials with which to reinforce the message here.
“Live to play, play to live.” Here’s to a safe summer!
Getting safer
March 29th, 2011 | Class A mishaps Liberty Naval aviation Naval Safety Center Navy Personnel Photos Physical training Privately owned vehicles Safety Shore duty Statistics | Posted by Bill McMichael
Officials have to be encouraged at the trend toward a safer on- and off-duty Navy, indicated by near-mid-year Naval Safety Center statistics. We type those words with a big “knock on wood,” of course. But with the fiscal year — which began Oct. 1 — nearly halfway gone, it’s looking like the Navy is shaping up, safety-wise — at least in terms of major mishaps, and on- and off-duty deaths.
Check the trends for the fiscal year through March 23, referred to in the following as “at this point”:
Sailors assigned to the amphibious assault ship Makin Island attend a holiday safety brief in the Harborside Gym at Naval Base San Diego on Nov. 24, 2010. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jason Perry
Class A afloat mishaps: two this year compared to four a year ago. The rate, per 100 ships per year, has dropped from 2.72 to 1.41. The rate for all of FY 2010 was 1.62.
Class A flight mishaps are down slightly, from four at this point last year to the current total of three. There were seven in all of 2010 — a rate per 100,000 flight hours of 0.78. Compare that to a 10-year average of 14.1 Class A flight mishaps annually, and a rate of 1.37.
Class A ashore on-duty mishaps: none this year compared to one at this point last year, with a rate per 100,000 persons per year of 0.00 compared to 0.60 at this point last fiscal year. There was only one such mishap in FY 2010, but nine in FY 2009.
Total Class A on-duty mishaps are down for the year, at this point compared to last year, but already half of the FY 2010 total. There’ve been nine to date compared to 14 last year at this point; the current rate is 5.55, running slightly ahead of the FY 2010 rate of 5.18.
Physical training fatalities: Still at one, as we reported in March, compared for five at this point last fiscal year. The rate, per 100,000 persons per year, is 0.62; it was 3.02 at this point last year. The 10-year average is 4.9 deaths and a rate of 1.25.
On-duty fatalities are way down: There’ve been three so far this fiscal year compared to 11 at the same point last year, when the rate per 100,000 persons per year was 6.65 compared to the current 1.85. In all of FY 2010, the rate was 4.32.
It’s in the area of private motor vehicle deaths that must be especially encouraging to Navy officials, however. Traditionally the biggest off-duty killer of military personnel — from fiscal years 2001-2008, nearly 67 sailors died annually in PMV mishaps — the fiscal year total to date is eight, compared to 12 at this point last year. At that rate, the fiscal year total would be but half of FY 2010′s 32 deaths.
Four-wheel PMV deaths are down sharply as well: the year-to-date total is three, or half of last year’s year-to-date total. The current rate per 100,000 persons per year of 1.85 is well below both the FY 2010 rate of 5.18 and the 10-year average of 9.27. Motorcycle deaths are also down: four this year so far, vice five last year, compared to 13 for all of FY 2010.
Off-duty and recreational fatalities — which do not include vehicle-related mishaps — are running even: three deaths last year and this year, to this point. The overall trend is positive, however; the current rate per 100,000 persons per year is 1.85, while the 10-year average is 4.47 — 17.4 deaths per year.
The only negative statistic, in fact, is in the category of Class A on-duty motor vehicle mishaps. There’ve been two so far this fiscal year vice none during FY 2010, period. The rate this year to date is 1.23 per 100,000 persons per year; the 10-year average is 0.58.
The sliding PMV numbers look good. But a continued focus will be needed to keep them that way. Summer approaches, when vacation and leisure time mean more off-duty travel time and increased risk, officials say.
Gulf Czar (aka SecNav): No easy answers
July 2nd, 2010 | Liberty Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus met with politicians and people in Biloxi, Miss., this week as a part of his new job as gulf czar. // MC2 Kevin O'Brien / Navy
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has been on a public tour of the Gulf Coast states all week in his new capacity as the Obama administration’s “Captain Marvel” charged with masterminding the region’s recovery. So far, he’s met with politicians, convened some town-hall meetings, and viewed skimming and oil-cleaning. Today he’s got a phone discussion scheduled with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, he’ll tour a beach in Pensacola and, a little later, he’ll fly back to Washington.
All right, so Mabus didn’t have some kind of nuclear-powered oil-leak-plugging-and-economy-revitalizing machine up his sleeve. But he did confirm what many of us have suspected: This thing will take a long time, and his work can’t even really get started until the leak is capped, reported our corporate colleagues at the Montgomery Advertiser.
And the paper had another interesting item, which could dovetail with Mabus’ day job:
Senate Democrats Barbara Boxer of California and Bill Nelson of Florida recently urged Obama to beef up the Navy’s role in the region, saying the Navy could coordinate “rapid response teams” from among a host of federal agencies. “Responding to this spill is a massive undertaking, and we strongly believe that further enhancing the Navy’s role at this time will be effective and productive as you move to protect the Gulf’s critical coastal economy,” the senators wrote in a June 20 letter to Obama.
How about it? Does Mabus’ role as gulf czar make it a natural matter for even more Navy participation, via “response teams” or some other way?
Patriotic pic of the week
May 28th, 2010 | Liberty Navy Photos Ships | Posted by Lance Bacon
Photo by Peter Morgan
The amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima kicked off New York City’s 23rd Annual Fleet Week as it made its way down the Hudson River and past the Statue of Liberty on Wednesday. Fort Hamilton’s four-gun battery fired an 11-gun salute to honor the participating ships. Sailors and Marines manning the rails then saluted as they passed the site of the World Trade Center.
Navy leadership’s official blog cleared to engage
April 22nd, 2010 | Blogs Liberty Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
"General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your blogging stations! The release of blog posts has been authorized. This is not a drill!" // MC3 Walter Wayman / Navy
Sometimes things happen that you never thought you’d see in your lifetime — Deep Throat’s identity revealed; Fidel Castro out of power (effectively) and now, an official, no-foolin’, Big Navy blog. Longtime Scoop Deck readers may remember that we told you about Navy Live, as it’s called, not long after the Deck itself was first stood up, back when the Navy’s official blog was just a shell and had a single post that said “test.” Well, it’s back, with a debut post by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and pix and links and everything.
Discussion of … important matters confronting the Navy and Marine Corps is the purpose behind creation of this blog. It will provide an opportunity for the senior leadership of the secretariat and the Navy to communicate directly with both the Navy and the public at large, without having to resort to the formality of a naval message or press release. Through the blog, we have the opportunity to begin a conversation in plain language about issues of the day and what the Navy and Marine Corps are doing about them, as well as solicit constructive feedback on our thoughts and policies. I look forward to our conversations!
There’s a comments page and everything, so you’ll be able to fire right back at SecNav and his top lieutenants as they add more posts. We have a comments page, too, which you should use to say how you think Navy leadership should use Navy Live. We’re through the looking glass here, people!
Liberty in New Zealand? Strewth! Well, maybe.
April 14th, 2010 | Environment Liberty Life at Sea nuclear weapons The Pacific Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
The New Zealand frigate Te Mana escorted the carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf in 2008. Although the U.S. and Royal New Zealand Navies work together, American warships are forbidden in New Zealand. // MC2 N. Brett Morton / Navy
If you’re serving out in the Pacific and you’ve always wanted to see Middle Earth New Zealand on a port visit, your chances could be improving — maybe. U.S. warships have been banned from The Land In The Long White Cloud since 1986, when lawmakers there decided no nuclear-powered ships, or ships carrying nuclear weapons, would be welcome. The U.S. fleet hasn’t carried tactical nukes for years, but it’s politically convenient in several countries across the Pacific to pretend they do — and, to be fair, American credibility in these matters is not that good.
One of the architects of New Zealand’s anti-nuke policy, however, says that times have changed:
Sir Geoffrey Palmer, who was deputy prime minister during… the nuclear-free debate in the 1980s, says a lot of water has gone under the bridge since the controversial legislation led to New Zealand’s exclusion from the Anzus military alliance with Australia and the US. Changes to US nuclear policy in the 1990s, Friday’s milestone deal to reduce Russian and US stockpiles of nuclear weapons and this week’s shift in US military posture means old objections to ship visits no longer apply, Palmer says.
This is a big deal in New Zealand, so not everyone agrees. The current prime minister, John Key, said he didn’t ask Vice President Joe Biden about ship visits when he was in Washington recently, and powerful Kiwi anti-nuke advocates have said they fear Palmer’s remarks mean the anti-nuke strictures are under threat. From the way it sounds, the Navy and nuke ban still enjoys a lot of support.
Still, if Palmer’s comments mean some factions in Wellington might have less of a problem with American port calls, that might mean a new exotic place to visit for the sailors of tomorrow.
Low end v. high end and fleet of tomorrow
February 4th, 2010 | leadership Liberty Ships Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Navy Undersecretary Bob Work pointed out this week that for the cost of one destroyer, you can get a whole Riverine Squadron. This is RivRon 2, in Iraq, in 2007 // Navy
Our high-end colleague Antonie Boessenkool has a must-read story about some of the remarks that Navy Undersecretary Bob Work has been making this week out in San Diego, on his views of the Navy’s future budget and strategy needs. Take this gem, for example:
“The bottom line is, the [irregular warfare] stuff doesn’t cost a lot,” Work said. “You can buy a riverine [naval boat] squadron for a lot cheaper than you can buy a DDG-51 [destroyer]. … If you look at the increasing capacity for irregular warfare that we’ve had since 2006, it’s very, very impressive.”
But the fight for budget dollars will get tougher in future years as the U.S. government turns its attention to deficit reduction, Work said. The worst-case scenario is that that could change the nature of the Navy fleet, but that’s at least a far-off possibility….
“The whole competitive dynamic in the naval competition for the last 100 years has been based on a dominant Navy, a global Navy,” he said. “And if we lose that … then regional powers could actually start to say, ‘OK, I’ll take you out. I’ll actually get into a competition with you.’ We don’t want to do that, so I think the debate will be, at what point do you have to say we just can’t keep a global Navy? We’re not there yet.”
And that’s not all — wait’ll you read the historical context Work gave for the Navy’s enduring shipbuilding woes:
“Quite frankly, the Department of the Navy lost its technical authority in the ’90s. We lost too many professionals and we didn’t have a disciplined requirements process. It became more a thing where you could hang as many requirements on a specific ship as you wanted rather than a disciplined process” involving tradeoffs in requirements.
“We lost the ability to tell when our programs were really in trouble, because we didn’t have the right [amount] of oversight,” he said. “We lost the expertise to say, ‘We’re now in trouble. How do we fix it?’
Check out the full story here.
Can the Great Green Fleet sail in time?
October 15th, 2009 | Liberty Science and technology Ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus wants more ships with "hybrid" propulsion systems like the Makin Island's for his "Great Green Fleet" by 2016 // MC2 Jon Husman/ Navy
Scoop Deck was disappointed Wednesday to learn that, although Navy Secretary Ray Mabus wants the Navy to field an all-sustainably powered carrier strike group by 2016, plans do not call for the ships to be painted green. Perhaps it’s just as well, because the “Great Green Fleet” must overcome any number of other challenges before it can put to sea in seven years.
Mabus’ goal is for a strike group that comprises ships and aircraft fueled by no foreign oil — the subs and carrier would be nuclear; the ships would have hybrid powerplants or use alternative fuel; and all the aircraft would use alternative fuel. Today, the Navy has no ships that use marine bio-diesel, just one “hybrid” ship and no aircraft that fly with bio-JP5.
Engineers have taken some early steps: The Navy will test a hybrid Arleigh Burke propulsion system in a laboratory next year, and engineers hope than an bio-fuel-powered F/A-18 “Green Hornet” also will fly next year.
What do you think: Can the Navy build the “green fleet” in time?