Ensign Seeks Release from Subs on Religious Grounds
November 5th, 2010 | Naval Academy Navy nuclear weapons Officers Submarines | Posted by Sam Fellman
Would you push the button and launch a nuclear missile, if ordered to?
By the time Ensign Michael Izbicki was asked this question in a routine psychological screening at nuclear power school, he had had a religious awakening. He had read the book, Choosing Against War: A Christian View, and had embraced pacifistic Quaker beliefs after periods of intense study and reflection.
Izbicki — a 24-year-old Naval Academy graduate, who holds a master’s degree in computer science from John Hopkins University — answered no, he wouldn’t push the red button.
The Navy, however, rejected two of his requests for an honorable discourage as a conscientious objector. Izbicki, having passed nuke school, is now training to be a submariner at Naval Submarine School in Groton, Conn., while appealing not to be a submariner.
He lives in St. Francis House, a pacifist Christian community in New London, Conn. He rejected promotion to lieutenant junior grade “to reduce his connection to the Navy as much as possible,” and is willing to pay the Navy back for his eduction, according to a suit filed on his behalf.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition in federal court seeking Izbicki’s honorable discharge on Wednesday, a development first reported by The Hartford Courant.
The brass argues: Who gets to nuke the North?
October 11th, 2010 | Historical nuclear weapons | Posted by Phil Ewing
A nuclear-armed A-4 Skyhawk, like this one getting ready to take off from the carrier Hancock, was just one item on the menu of strike options available if the U.S. wanted to strike North Korea -- if the Air Force didn't get there first. // NavHistHerCom
This morning’s AP report about the U.S. military’s newly declassified nuclear weapons plans for North Korea is an absolute must read. Did you know the infamous Gen. Douglas MacArthur had a plan to hit the North with 30 to 50 nuclear weapons? That the U.S. has seriously considered nuking the North at least six times since 1976?
And here’s something else: From the beginning, the services were competing amongst each other to see which one of them would get the job of delivering Uncle Sam’s special regards to Kim Il Sung:
Air Force commanders asked for more nuclear-capable F-84G warplanes in the Korea theater “to offset the Navy’s greater and more immediate atomic delivery capability,” the declassified documents show. But one colonel warned against arousing “the Army-Navy suspicion that the Air Force is trying to steal the atomic bomb act” in Korea planning. By the late 1950s, all the services shared in an “era of relative atomic plenty,” as an Air Force memo called it. The number of nuclear warheads in South Korea and nearby Okinawa — in artillery shells, short-range missiles, gravity bombs and other weapons — peaked at about 2,600 in 1967, civilian researchers would later determine.
Most of this isn’t totally new, but it fleshes out some stories we’ve already discussed here on the Deck, including Japan’s secret permission for Navy nuclear weapons and the role the carrier Kitty Hawk played in President Nixon’s aborted attack on the North in 1969.
Kind of amazing to think the human race made it through all those decades of nuclear tension with all our major cities intact. So far.
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.
Traveling with CNO — Trident Training (pt 2)
March 24th, 2010 | leadership Navy nuclear weapons ordnance Submarines | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon took a day trip with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead this week. This is the play-by-play report.
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We are treated to a quick review of A/C repair – a very important facet of sub life. Not only for reasons of comfort, but for the fact that the four units on a sub keep all the equipment cool.
MM1 (SS) Aaron Riedel then gives us the skinny on the “Weapons Team Trainer.” This is where you learn how to fire a torpedo the right way.
There’s more to it than plug and slug. The torpedo is loaded at a 7-degree angle so it doesn’t affect the sonar dome, which is in the front of the boat. The torpedo is launched with water and air, meaning the torpedoman must be proficient with a myriad of hydraulic and electrical components.
With about three of his 11+ years in the Navy at sea, it’s not hard to understand why Riedel is on staff. Maybe the Navy will let him sink a dummy ship one day in thanks. If so, Scoop Deck would love to get in on some of that action.
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Quote of the day: MTCS (SS) Nicholas Davies has been describing how a sub generates its own power, water and oxygen. The only limiting factor, he said, is food. The longest of his 19 patrols lasted 121 days.
We started off with plenty of food. Near the end, all we had was peanut butter and bread. Then we ran out of bread. Not long after that, things were getting ugly.
Sailors fight to stop a leak during the annual Kings Bay Damage Control Olympics, May 21, 2009. (photo by MC1 Kimberly Clifford)
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We’re doing more damage control. This time flooding is the problem – the second most dangerous thing on a sub. The chief says fire is the most dangerous, though some bubbleheads said an empty coffee pot could rank pretty high if it is late in the patrol.
The “Control Trainer” has 14 failures in a flooded space. That’s right – sailors have to fix full-velocity leaks amid rising water levels in a confined space. Sure, there are safety monitors, but if you think this is easy try kissing a broken fire hydrant some time.
Every sub in the command sends 20 people through this training each quarter. Today, the Blue Crew from the boomer Rhode Island is taking the plunge. As the water rises above the deck plate, more failures will occur to add to the chaos.
And the crazy thing is these guys actually get paid for this.
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MM2 (SS) Dwain Martin wins the “wow” factor of the day. He teaches submariners how to seal pipe holes in about five minutes. The strong back application is good for leaks up to 1,500 psi and will last until the sub gets back to port.
But for leaks under 250 degrees and 150 psi, he uses a soft patch – a piece of rubber held in place by a correctly wrapped length of rope.
It’s a $2 solution to keep a $7 billion sub from flooding.
After chow we’ll be back on the plane and en route to Columbia, S.C. to visit the Naval Chaplaincy School at Fort Jackson …
Traveling with CNO — Trident Training
March 24th, 2010 | leadership Navy nuclear weapons ordnance Submarines | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon took a day trip with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead this week. This is the play-by-play report.
Sailors assigned to the guided-missile submarine Florida practice skills controlling the boat in the Ships Control Team Trainer at the Trident Training Facility in Kings Bay, Ga. (photo by MTCS (SS) Nicholas Davies)
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We are in the “Ships Control Trainer,” where the gold crew from the guided-missile sub Florida is being put to the test. The diving officer of the watch is giving direction to sailors manning the helm on his right, which controls minor depth changes and rudder, and the stern on his left, which controls the boat’s angle. To port, the chief of the watch is using weight and ballast to maintain depth and adjust trim.
The simulator can do a 45-degree angle and 39-degree roll, which is more than twice what the crews will normally see. Florida’s crew doesn’t get hit with such extremes, but there is no shortage of alarms sounding nonetheless. The crew remains calm throughout – and under the chief of the boat’s watchful eye.
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Scoop Deck has entered the “Virtual Simulator” with Wyoming’s gold crew. A lieutenant junior grade has a simulator strapped to his head, making him look like X-Men’s Cyclops on steroids.
Junior officers on the boomers and GNs don’t get a lot of time to drive the sub in the open ocean. They may be surfaced 12 hours going out, take a three-month dive, and then get 12 hours coming in. This is the solution.
This virtual reality simulator gives them the practice they need, replicating numerous ports in ever-changing weather conditions. As the navigation team feeds him info, the officer stands in a near-scale sail and does a 360-degree search for virtual contacts. From a tanker in the distance to a fast approaching sailboat, nothing gets past the team.
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Fire, fire, fire!
The training center has a mock-up engineering space for fire training. And we’re not talking about little camp fires – we’re talking about being fully engulfed by heat that pushes you back as your duty pushes you forward. After all, everyone on board a sub is a damage control specialist.
“Most people run from a fire. A submariner runs to the fire,” said MTCS (SS) Nicholas Davies, senior enlisted adviser for the Strategic Weapons Department. “If you run from a fire on a sub, you’ll die.”
Traveling with CNO — Kings Bay
March 24th, 2010 | leadership Navy nuclear weapons Submarines | Posted by Lance Bacon
Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon took a day trip with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead this week. This is the play-by-play report.
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Scoop Deck is aboard Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., where one-half of the nation’s guided-missile and ballistic-missile submarines are based.
We have Lt. j.g. David McCabe at the helm, also known as the steering wheel of a Mod 1 Type A 15-passenger van. He is a very knowledgeable young man, as well he should be having graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in mechanical engineering.
If you are wondering why the Navy has such a brainiac serving as a chauffeur, realize it’s only a temp job. But we were glad he had it. McCabe was a walking fact sheet, spouting off details such as the diameter and length of the Trident II D5 (83 inches and 44 feet, respectively).
Also with us is Lt. Jessica Gandy, one of the CNO’s public affairs officers. In addition to coordinating media access (which is akin to herding cats) she is multi-lingual and is now tackling Swahili.
So, if ever you need to use the phone-a-friend lifeline …
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Our tour of the Trident Training Facility begins. It is a massive complex with more than 12 acres of floor space in which every area on a sub is replicated.
Our tour guide is MTCS (SS) Nicholas Davies, a submariner of 24 years with 19 patrols under his belt. The missile tech serves as the senior enlisted adviser for the Strategic Weapons Department. He has 100 young students under his charge for 159 days, but their training doesn’t stop there.
When the dual-crewed ballistic-missile or guided-missile sub goes out (which is up to 70 percent of the time for any boat), the alternate crew is training in this facility until they swap out in Diego Garcia.
We’re eager to see some of that training …
Nuke deal implications for the Navy
March 15th, 2010 | Ballistic missile defense nuclear weapons Submarines Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
The ballistic missile sub Wyoming sailed toward its home at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. Observers are watching for the effect on boomers of a planned new round of nuclear talks // Lt. Rebecca Rebarich / Navy
Our big-time colleagues at Defense News have a story that says the Kremlin and the White House could be getting close to a new strategic arms reduction deal, and that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could begin talks with her Russian counterparts as early as this week. Here’s an interesting detail:
The New York Times reported March 9 that Obama had been “frustrated” after a February phone call with Medvedev, who told him Moscow wanted to reopen issues that Washington had thought settled, including the missile shield. Russia’s foreign ministry later denied that disagreements over the missile defense system were holding up the negotiations.
Denials notwithstanding, it’s entirely believable that Russia will again make an issue of ballistic missile defense in Europe — for which the Navy will take responsibility next year — as part of a possible need for a ‘U.S.-is-mean-to-us’ storyline for internal domestic consumption. So the question is, will high-level talks this week over nuclear posture have an effect on the surface Navy’s Euro-BMD mission?
Using cruisers and destroyers to protect Europe from Iranian missiles was itself a compromise intended to appease a Russian government unhappy with President Bush’s plan for ground-based missiles. If Russia is still upset, could President Obama make more concessions to get the weapons reductions he wants — which could let the fleet somewhat off the hook? We’ll be watching.
Bonus discussion question: What could the double-whammy of a new nuke deal with Russia and the release of the forever-pending Nuclear Posture Review mean for the Navy’s fleet of SSBNs?
Japan permitted U.S. Navy nukes. And how!
March 10th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers Historical nuclear weapons The Pacific | Posted by Phil Ewing
The carrier Ticonderoga refueling from the oiler Ashtabula in 1966, one year after the Tico accidentally dropped a nuke in the drink. // NavHistHerCom
Here’s a report for the “water = wet” and “sun likely to rise tomorrow” file — the Japanese government this week publicly confirmed for the first time that it permitted visits by U.S. warships carrying nuclear weapons back in the bad old days, despite the official Japanese prohibition on nuclear arms.
The admission is part of a domestic political situation:
The investigation by a government-mandated panel is part of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s campaign to rein in the power of bureaucrats and make his government, which was elected to power last year, more open than that of the long-ruling conservatives, who repeatedly denied the existence of such pacts.
Oh, they existed. Get a load of this: Not only did U.S. warships armed with nuclear weapons regularly call in Japanese ports for decades, they did so before and after deploying for hot-war, no-foolin’ combat missions in Vietnam. Not only that, the Navy lost a nuclear weapon some 80 miles off a Japanese island in 1965, when an A-4 Skyhawk armed with a one-megaton B-43 nuke somehow rolled off the deck of the carrier Ticonderoga. Its pilot was killed. The plane and its weapon sank in an estimated 16,000 feet of water, where the pressure likely crushed the bomb and spread its radioactive innards across the ocean floor, the Japanese government was later told.
The Pentagon didn’t begin to acknowledge any of this happened until the 1980s — and didn’t give real details until 1989 — to keep from owning up to having fielded nukes in Vietnam and cycling them through Japan.
For your reading pleasure, here’s a list of other “broken arrow” incidents.
Bartlett: EMP, carrier-killers and unmanned ships
February 24th, 2010 | Congress nuclear weapons Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Among the questions the CMC, SecNav, and CNO got Wednesday was why the Navy still has manned ships // MC2 Kevin O'Brien / Navy
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., is the top guy in Congress when it comes to electromagnetic pulse attacks. At every hearing where military decision-makers appear, he asks: Aren’t you concerned about EMPs? What are you doing about EMPs? Suppose China hits us with an EMP?
Bartlett didn’t disappoint when Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead and Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway appeared before the House Armed Services Committee today. But he also didn’t just get in an EMP question — he also asked about China’s carrier-killing death-missile, the looming submarine gap, and why the Navy continues to field manned ships.
Here’s what Bartlett said, in his own words:
Report: No more nuke Tomahawks after all
February 22nd, 2010 | nuclear weapons Submarines Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
STS1 Joseph Halikman inspected a training Tomahawk aboard the fast attack sub Newport News. The nuclear versions, already withdrawn from the fleet, are going away completely, according to a report. // EM2 Xander Gamble / Navy
Japan’s Kyodo News Service is reporting that the U.S. has “informally” notified the government of Japan that it’s going to retire the nuclear-capable variant of the Tomahawk cruise missile, “in line with President Barack Obama’s policy to pursue a world free of nuclear weapons, Japanese government sources said Monday.”
As we discussed back in December, this move won’t take much. According to the Pentagon’s nuke-programs report, the Navy — which is responsible for the U.S. nuke-Tomahawk arsenal — decided on its own initiative not to maintain the TLAM-Ns, because it decided on its own it didn’t want them anymore.
Our phriend Ol’ Phib, however, whence came this story, sees a downside:
TLAM-N has certain advantages over a [submarine launched ballistic missile] when it comes to not scaring the vodka out of our Russian friends when you launch it – in addition to other things that the crazy people behind the cypher door can talk to you about.
How about you? Does a world without nuke Tomahawks make you want to break out in a round of Kumbaya, or should the U.S. keep the ball peen hammer next to the sledge in its strategic toolkit?