Combination covers, combined
October 8th, 2009 | Foreign navies Officers Uniforms | Posted by Andrew Scutro
MC1 Tiffani Vanderwyst, Navy
When admirals from 100 different navies gather, they need a place to stack their covers. This was the pile-up outside a meeting of the International Seapower Symposium at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. on Oct. 7. Scoop Deck usually has a sharp eye for detail but this one is a tough nut. Good luck placing more than three on a map.
Is there a separate Facebook for officers?
September 22nd, 2009 | Officers leadership | Posted by Andrew Scutro
Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, has joined the millions who use social media.// MC1 Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst/ Navy
It was only a matter of time. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead has a Facebook page. He also has a Twitter account.
What might have been: Army-Navy in Indianapolis?
September 15th, 2009 | Naval Academy Officers Sports | Posted by Phil Ewing
Midshipmen celebrate after 2006's Army-Navy game in Philadelphia. This year's game will also take place in Philadelphia -- but one city that tried to get it was Indianapolis. // Navy
Scoop Deck was just a wee slip of a blog when it told you about the next few years’ venues for the Army-Navy Game, announced all those months ago, and now here’s an interesting thought experiment: Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk gave a presentation at the school’s Board of Visitors meeting Monday in which he talked about the places the game could’ve gone.
The Naval Academy had proposals from Pittsburgh; Boston; the Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia and — Indianapolis!
Wouldn’t it have been weird for the game to be in land-locked Indianapolis? Sure, Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indy Colts, is a brand new athletic venue, but just think how long would it have taken for the cadets to run there from West Point and all those mids to run from Annapolis. The game has taken place in the Midwest only once: in 1926, when the Midshipmen tied the Black Knights 21-21.
Back to reality: Gladchuk said the Army-Navy game’s later date this year, which makes it almost the only football game on TV that Saturday, could mean double the viewership of a normal year’s game, and consequently more exposure for the Naval Academy and West Point.
“If you’re a college football fan, and you’re looking for a college football game, we’re going to be the only game in town,” he said.
Bill the Goat goes up against America’s finest
August 31st, 2009 | Naval Academy Officers Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Naval Academy mascot Bill the Goat is in this year's national mascot competition, and he needs votes to be able to advance against the other college mascots // MCSN Matthew Ebarb/ Navy
The Naval Academy Midshipmen are starting off their football season with a bang this year — and not just because they’re taking on the pride of Central Ohio for their first game. The Mids’ beloved mascot, Bill the Goat, is taking part in this year’s National Mascot of the Year contest, and he’ll need votes from across the country to compete against other big-time mascots such as Texas Christan University’s Superfrog and the University of Maryland’s dreaded Testudo, the most dangerous turtle in America.
Don’t count ol’ Bill out, though: He has a disagreeable and combative nature, plus he’s in great shape from all that PT. And he has the ear of powerful people.
You can check out Bill’s profile page here, which has a lot of interesting information about him, from height and weight to his pre-game meal (”grass from Army’s end zone”). And you can vote for Bill here, where he’ll be going toe-to-toe with the other foam costumes in the competition.
Is VCNO like an XO but with stars?
July 24th, 2009 | Navy Officers Washington | Posted by Andrew Scutro
Adm. John Harvey Jr. (right) takes command of U.S. Fleet Forces from Adm. Jonathan Greenert (left), with CNO Adm. Gary Roughead on hand.//U.S. Navy
Today, Adm. Jonathan Greenert turned over command of U.S. Fleet Forces to Adm. John Harvey Jr. aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman on the Norfolk waterfront. Harvey comes from the Pentagon where he ran the Navy staff and Greenert goes to the Pentagon to become the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.
Fleet Forces is the mother of all type commands. Headquartered in an old hospital on its own compound in Norfolk it has the mission to “man, train and equip” the fleet. There’s little that doesn’t pass through CFFC.
But what does a Vice CNO do? Is it like being the CNO’s executive officer? His bureaucratic hit man? According to its section in U.S. Code, Title 10, Chapter 505, the No.2 takes on duties assigned by CNO and steps in during an absence of the CNO. They traditionally keep a low profile. A flow chart of the OpNav staff here at Deck headquarters shows a horizontal line running from his box to the JAG, Chief of Information, Inspector General, Office of Legislative Affairs, Naval Safety Center, NCIS and INSURV. Of course there’s also a vertical line running down to a dizzying maze of directors, heads, deputies and advisors.
Two recent CNOs, Adms. Mike Mullen and Jay Johnson had been Vice CNOs.
Chow for the brigade
July 22nd, 2009 | Morale Naval Academy Officers | Posted by Phil Ewing
They may be second-guessing their life choices this summer, but these plebes will have luxurious new dining accommodations in King Hall by their junior year // Shannon O'Connor/Navy
This year’s class of freshmen, or “plebes,” has already begun its its plebe summer at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and it’ll spend a few weeks relaxing, going to amusement parks, and just bumming around until the school year resumes with upperclassmen this fall. When it does, midshipmen will have to deal with some major renovations to the academy’s cafeteria, King Hall, which is soon to undergo a $40 million renovation. The contract for the job was let yesterday.
“Food is a big morale issue — it’s pretty important to everybody, especially young people,” said Naval Academy superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler at a June 8 meeting of the academy’s Board of Visitors.
He also described the antiquated conditions of King Hall’s galley, including some kind of High Steampunk conveyor-belt deep-fat fryer — which, of course, was broken. The mids will have temporary chow facilities until the King Hall renovations are complete in 2011.
A pregnant midshipman graduates: What do you think?
July 21st, 2009 | Naval Academy Officers Personnel Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
A pregnant midshipman was granted a rare waiver in May and permitted to graduate and accept her commission. What do you think? // Navy
People on and off the web are talking about this Naval Academy story from last week: A midshipman was granted a waiver to graduate in May and be commissioned as an ensign, even though she was pregnant at the time.
That’s normally against the rules: No midshipman is permitted to be married or be responsible for a child — including men — during their time in Annapolis. But the midshipman in question applied for and was granted a waiver to graduate May 22, and is now serving in the fleet. Navy officials say the Academy pregnancy policy stands, that this woman was a unique case.
We want to know what you think: Can the Naval Academy continue its no-pregnancies regulation after granting this exception? Should the exception have been granted? What should the Navy have done differently?
It’s take 3 for space shot
July 10th, 2009 | NASA Navy Officers SEALs Science and technology | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
It’s probably a good thing that NASA’s pool of astronauts include quite a few military officers. Who better to understand the “hurry up and wait” lifestyle that is the military?
We told you last month about preparations for the planned June 13 launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, whose seven-member crew of space sailors, including only the second Navy SEAL to ever venture into space, will do a 16-day mission that will haul parts of Japan’s Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station. But hydrogen leaks in a gas vent line leading to the exterior fuel tank forced NASA officials to twice scrub the flight and delay the mission.
Space Shuttle Endeavour sat at Launch Pad 39A Friday as storm clouds loomed overhead. NASA-TV photo
On Friday morning, though, NASA gave the STS-127 mission a “go,” with a scheduled launch time of 7:39 p.m. Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But at this point, NASA says, it looks like weather might be the decider on that evening launch time and date, since the forecast includes scattered thunderstorms throughout the weekend. NASA predicted a 40 percent for conditions good enough to launch on Saturday.
Endeavour’s crew for this planned flight has a strong, multi-service, “purple” representation: Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Army.
Mission specialists including Cmdr. Christopher Cassidy, a Navy SEAL and Afghanistan veteran who will ride Endeavour on his first flight into space if all goes well with the weather and barring any other delays. Again, we say hooyah! Cassidy will follow on the heels of his mentor, retired Capt. William M. Shepherd, the first Navy SEAL to ride a shuttle into space. The Air Force is represented – shuttle commander Mark Polansky is a retired test pilot and veteran of two shuttle missions, STS-98 and STS-116 while mission specialist Dave Wolf[cqgf] is a former flight surgeon. So, too, is the Army, as mission specialist Col. Tim Kopra, a helicopter test pilot, will leave on his first flight and remain on the space station as he swaps out with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will return to Earth with Endeavour’s crew. A Marine will be at the controls when Lt. Col. Doug Hurley, the shuttle pilot, goes on his first spaceflight.
If the weather clears up, once the shuttle takes off, you’ll be able to track each of the day’s work on an interactive site. You also can read about what favorite tokens astronauts will take with them for their space ride. Cassidy is carrying several coins and patches from SEAL units.
You can even reach them on Twitter. Polansky, the mission commander, is “Astro_127.” “We’ll have our L-1 day shuttle systems review and launch weather briefing at 2000 EDT,” he wrote Friday evening. You can track him on MySpace and YouTube.
Let’s hope the weather cooperates.
Squared away or sloppy. You decide.
June 26th, 2009 | Chiefs Officers Personnel The deckplates Uniforms | Posted by Andrew Scutro
U.S. Navy
A year ago, then-Surface Force Master Chief (SW/AW) Michael Schanche put out a message (second item) about a trip to the waterfront in San Diego that left him “professionally embarrassed” for the first time in his career. He expressed dismay at an overall lack of military bearing, courtesies and good appearance.
A year has passed and Navy Times decided to see if anyone got the message. We’ve collected a bucketful of responses, most very thoughtful and expressing the same dismay as Schanche.
We’re wrapping up the project and will publish the results soon. But if you still have thoughts on the issue of “sloppy sailors,” e-mail reporter Andrew Scutro at ascutro@navytimes.com.
Skelton: Let’s keep mil-colleges around
June 19th, 2009 | Naval Academy Officers Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, was piped aboard the carrier Harry S. Truman in 2002 // Navy
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, added his two cents today to a discussion that flared up a few months ago in the mil-blogosphere, about whether America should do away with its service academies and military colleges.
No, Skelton said, in a speech to graduates Friday at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.:
“The military as an institution is sometimes criticized for fostering an anti-intellectual bias. Despite this reputation, I’d like to compliment the Navy for encouraging rather than squelching its big thinkers. It is a service that values big thinkers. However, it is said that the Navy does not like to send people to school. While nobody likes to be away from the fleet or away from operations, taking time for professional military education must be a priority. In fact, the time spent at professional military schools needs to be longer – not shorter.
So l intend to continue my drumbeat urging the Navy and the other services to send more people to war college – both as students and instructors. More officers should have the opportunity to benefit from this grand educational experience,” he said.
The news peg — as we say in the news game — for this entire debate was a column by the military writer Tom Ricks, who argued it’s a waste of time and money to educate officers at places like the Naval Academy, or to try to make senior officers into strategic thinkers at places like the Naval War College.
Galrahn disagreed. So did one current midshipman, who defended the mission of a place like Annapolis. In fact we had a tough time getting Google to cough up a blogger who wrote about Ricks’ suggestion and ended up agreeing with it.
What about you? Could the Navy get a better class of young officer without Annapolis, and a better class of senior officer without the War College or Naval Postgraduate School?