Aloha Dump

West Pac 1999 USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) July 1 – December 29, 1999 I found another green flip notebook this weekend affectionately referred to as a pocket brain. I kept a pocket brain with me all the time to keep notes and to jot down ideas etc. I found one from WestPac 1999, a few deployments before I started keeping an actual journal, complete with the obligatory profane statement on the side, “Eat Shit”. After reading the little notebook in its entirety it was no longer a mystery as to why someone wrote it. We all knew this deployment was doomed when we had to return to port on a Saturday, just 2 days after we cast off all lines and left Pearl Harbor. Let me back up and briefly discuss why leaving on July 1st is a shitty thing to do in the first place, a concept many crew members tried to get across to our sub par Captain. My explanation would have been: “Because 3 days later is Independence Day, asshole.” Leaving so close to July 4th was a metaphorical kick to the crew morale...

I was so happy to read this email my wife sent me concerning the Navy's use of active sonar off the coast of California. I remember how much of a pain in the ass it was to come out to San Diego to do battlegroup operations becuase of the Marine Mammal Active Sonar regulations the Navy had to adopt. In short, whenever a few whales beached themselves, there happened to be a Naval exercise somewhere in the area, perhaps even 2000 nautical miles away. This was unequivocably related and caused by the active sonar operations of the ships and subs, regardless of whether or not the power levels were 100dB or 250dB. I remember one exercise that came to a halt because a pod of dolphins was detected near our boat. 2 U.S. submarines, a Frigate, and a helicopter had to secure active until the dolphins got tired of playing with us. Heaven forbid a humpback get in our path in which case we had to provide right of way, no matter the distance. Oh yeah, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg can suck it too.

The Navy Times ran a story called 4 COs Fired in just 4 Weeks. It is not on their website yet but the 4 individual stories of the COs can be read. Of course, as I write this entry, it seems the NT was a bit premature in writing the story because the USS Helena, a fast-attack submarine out of San Diego, just lost their CO because of "loss of confidence"  What that really means, is that he probably got below averages (or failed) the major annual inspections the boats get- ORSE and TRE. I’m not bothering to spell out the acronym because if you aren’t on a boat you won’t care and if you are on a boat you despise the inspections. But "loss of confidence" can mean so many things. It was one of the reasons my old CO on the USS Los Angles was sacked for in 2001, following a suicide by a first class nuke, the mental health office installing a revolving door for L.A. sailors, and a parse 5 of 13 Chiefs onboard. Hell, even the EDMC (the senior nuke) went AWOL to get away f...

The Navy Safety Center (NSS) is the gestapo equivalent of safety management. I don't pay much attention to them because the weekly harangue of motorcycle safety enforcement has numbed me to the point of apathy. How many times do I need to hear about wearing a gay refelctive vest while I ride? But I digress. I sent the following letter to NSS and it is self-explanatory as to my intent. ------------------------------------------------------------ Research the people, not their actions. STS1(SS) Greg Smith I am writing in response to the article by Jack Dorsey, Off-Base Crashes Proving A Safety Issue For Sailors (Virginian-Pilot, Oct 18, 2006). After reading the consequences for various vehicular infractions- getting a ticket before a holiday weekend (mandatory prepackaging of personal items to send to next of kin), going 1 mph over the posted speed limit (loss of driving privileges for 45 days), and demotions/fines- and analyzing the current social dynamics of military members, it is...

Beween the innocence of infancy and the recklessness of maturity comes the unique specimen of humanity known as the Submariner. Submariners can be found in bars, in arguments, in bed, in debt and intoxicated. They like receiving mail, mid month paychecks, nude pin ups, sympathy, complaining and beer. A Submariners secret ambition is to change places with the Captain for just one trip, to own a brewery and to be loved by everyone in the world. A Submariner is a Sir Galahad in a Japanese brothel, a psychoanalyst with Readers Digest on the table, Don Quixote with a discharge note, the savior of mankind with his back teeth awash, Valentino with a fiver in his pocket and democracy personified in a Red Chinese prison cell. A Submariner is a provider in war and a parasite in peace. No one is subjected to abuse, wrongly accused, so often misunderstood by so many as a Submariner. He has the patience of Job, the honesty of a fool and the heaven sent ability to laugh at himself. When he returns h...

It seems that men in high places still haven't learned to keep their dorks zipped up. Capt. Scott Bawden, Commodore of Submarine Squadron 17 in Bangor, WA, was relieved of commnad after having "lost the confidence" of his boss. If you follow submarine news you will remember that Bawden was the Commodore who axed some of the crew of the USS Columbia after a hazing incident. /hat tip The Stupid Shall be Punished What comes around goes around? It has been quoted by a Chief who knew Bawden that morale will probably get better now that Bawden has been shitcanned. Sounds like a few Commodores I know. But there is more to this story than a guy who perhaps can't do his job anymore. Bawden was busted sleeping with someone elses wife, a Chief's wife, no less, IN HIS OWN command. Will the top brass save a onetime fair-haired boy's career, or will he end up "walking the plank?" What a jackass. It's bad enough that the Officers screw the enlisted, but ...

After playing cat-and-mouse with Russian submarines during the Cold War, it appears that the U.S. will now start playing with China, but in coordinated exercises. How ironic, since a Chinese submarine surfaced near the USS Kitty Hawk last month. Of course it took this long for the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral William Fallon, to confirm it (Navy Times, 11/27/06, p.26). This is a significant event in the world of Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) for a few reasons. First, a submarine surfaced near an aircraft carrier undetected. The carrier is the life blood of the battle group. It must be protected because it has no real defenses of its own to combat an enemy submarine. It does have aircraft that can find them but they are not on the hunt 24/7, only when a suspected threat is imminent. It is up to the ASW capable vessels in the battle group to find enemy submarines and what better tool to use than another submarine. Although the article does not identify what kind of submarine sur...

There are many great submarine Naval heroes in our 108 years history- CDR Slade Cutter , CAPT John Cromwell , ADM Eugene Fluckey , and Commander Howard Gilmore - officers who reshaped the course of a war, held their shipmates in higher regard than themselves, and made decisions that were based on what’s best for the crew. How I wish to be surrounded by such men and not the clueless, incompetent “leaders” that are doing nothing but shaping their fitreps. While at sea, submariners are on a steady diet of shit sandwiches. Inherent to life at sea in the nuclear Navy, the stresses of keeping the water outside of the boat, preventing collisions with other vessels, and the routines of drills, maintenance, and training all contribute to the Dagwood-sized sandwich we are forced to choke down. After 4 years a sailor is supposed to be able to go to shore duty and shake off the rigors of sea duty. It is a time to relax, spend some well deserved time with family, and burn some of that leave that ha...