This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • On Patrol in the Gulf

    No, this isn’t “Navy week” here at TAH.  Well, not unless Jonn forgot to send me a copy of the memo.  (smile)  But this is indeed another nautically-themed article.

    Today our Navy rules the sea.  But lest we forget:  we’re not the only country with competent and capable naval forces.  Our Navy is damned good – but it’s not omnipotent, nor is it omniscient.  Any Navy has its limitations.  And sometimes the other guy is, well, just plain good.

    Recently, the Russian Navy apparently decided to remind us they exist.  They sent naval forces into the Gulf.

    As in, “the Gulf of Mexico”.

    No, I didn’t hear about it at the time.  That was by design on the part of the Russians.  The force they sent to the Gulf reportedly consisted of an Akula-class submarine.

    The Akula apparently was not detected while on patrol in the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s reputed to have operated there, without detection, for about a month.

    An Akula can reportedly carry cruise missiles – the SS-N-21 and the SS-N-27 – with the former having a range of just under 1,900 miles.  Though currently barred from a nuclear role by START-2, that missile is also capable of delivering a 200kT nuclear warhead.

    All of CONUS except for the extreme Pacific Northwest is less than 1,900 miles away from Galveston, TX.

    I have to say I find this a bit disconcerting.  Because history has repeatedly demonstrated – and sometimes taught us the hard way, like in 1941, 1950, 1968, and 2001 – the high cost of being complacent and ignoring potential threats.

    And I can’t see how defense cuts proposed for the next few years will improve the situation, either.

  • A Syria Update

    It’s being reported that Iranian Revolutionary Guard members – posing as “religious pilgrims” – were captured by Syrian rebels ten days ago.  They apparently were there to offer clandestine support for the Assad regime.

    This makes me wonder about a few things.

    1. Would Iran have sent these “pilgrims” had the US not announced support for the Syrian opposition?
    2. Did the Obama Administration even foresee and consider this possibility?
    3. “What we do now, Keemosabe?”

    Oh, and I’d also guess Iran is hedging their bets in Syria too.  I’d be shocked if they aren’t making quiet overtures to some of the more hardline Islamist elements of the Syrian opposition – just in case.

    As I’ve said before:  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this . . . .”

  • “Good Stewardship of Public Funds”

    Remember the recent brouhaha about the recent GSA conference in Las Vegas that cost Uncle Sam $823+k?   Well, that looks to have been chump change.  Another agency has easily topped that.

    Apparently the VA also likes to hold conferences.  As in holding two rather large conferences during the past year, at a total cost of at least $5M.

    Large conferences have a purpose, I guess.  And organizations do derive some benefits from periodic face-to-face meetings.

    But I have a rather hard time understanding how an organization with a backlog of literally over a half-million claims pending action can think that spending $5M annually on conferences is  good stewardship of public funds.  For that same $5M, the VA could have hired 100 additional employees at the GS11 or 12 grade level (including the normal +33% of salary for employer taxes/benefits/retirement) provided they hired locally and didn’t have to pay PCS expenses.

    Priorities here just don’t seem exactly as they should be.

  • I’m Thinkin’ This Ain’t Exactly Career-Enhancing

    My background is Army. As such, I’ve never been to sea – and thus don’t really know much about shipboard operations or life.

    But I’ve just never been able to quite understand out how two ships at sea could manage to run into each other. I mean, ships are not exactly small things; they can typically be seen and sensed from substantial distances.  And there’s generally plenty of room out there for each. Given common use of radar and lookouts, barring intent or electrical/mechanical issues it’s kind of hard for me to see how that could happen – even in the more crowded parts of the sea.

    Yet ships collide sometimes. And such a collision apparently happened recently between a US warship and a oil tanker in the Straits of Hormuz. The USS Porter, a guided missile destroyer, is reported to have collided with the Panamanian-flagged merchant vessel Otowasan a day or two ago. There were no reported injuries or deaths, but the collision is reported to have left a rather substantial hole in the USS Porter’s hull.

    Yeah, the incident occurred at 1AM local, so time-of-day doubtless played a role. And yeah, the Straits of Hormuz are pretty crowded. Still – the two ships couldn’t figure out how to miss each other?

    I’m guessing the USS Porter’s captain has some ‘splainin’ to do about this. And I’m also guessing he probably might want to start thinking about his post-service career plans.

    Navy vets, please weigh in here. How easy is this to avoid, and in how much “deep doo-doo” is the USS Porter’s captain?

  • The MSM: It’s Hard to Be “Green”

    The Mainstream Media (MSM) – geez, you just gotta love that commitment to the environment!

    Reporting is hard work.  It sometimes means you have to do some leg work and fact checking – like background research, follow-ups, calling people, and (gulp!) sometimes even go somewhere and interview sources.

    But all of that takes time.  And all of it –  particularly the background research and travel – can be really bad for the environment.

    So in the spirit of going green, some members of the MSM are truly into “green” reporting, such as low-impact writing and recycling.  It’s critically important to help preserve Mother Earth/Gaia, you know.

    Of course, some old fogies just don’t understand the concept of green reporting.  They have mean, pejorative names for it.  They actually call low-impact writing MSU (“making sh*t up”).  And they call recycling “plagiarism”.  Those bastards!

    Such heartless meanies.  They’ve even made serious trouble for many reporters who were simply trying to save the planet because of those  efforts.  Just look at Janet Cook – who received the Pulitzer Prize for a primo example of low-impact writing – but gave it back, doubtless under duress   Or Christopher Newton, who wrote over 40 stories in the early 2000s of the same type, saving God only knows how many tons of pollution through avoiding travel, phone calls, interviews, and fact-checking.   Or Jason Blair, who did the same at the New York Times.    And there are any number of other, similar incidents throughout the last 30 years or so.  All they were trying to do was reduce the environmental impact of their work.  And they got crucified for trying to save the planet.  Crucified!

    And Blair was also bigtime into saving the planet through recycling.  (Those  unenlightened meanies call it plagiarism, but hey – they”re simply not “thinking green”, remember?)   Blair recycled extensively in his work.  And now we have the current example of Fareed Zakaria, of Time/CNN/Washington Post, who’s just shown everyone he’s truly green by doing the same.  But they – and countless others – paid a heavy price for their work on behalf of all of us.  They got hammered by “the man” when they were simply trying to save the planet!

    Hey, recycling like that really cuts down on the environmental impact of writing a story!  (Just remember not to do too many Google searches.)

    All eventually got called on the carpet for their heroic acts by those mean old fogies who insist on some things they call “accuracy” and “professional standards”.   But we all know that was simply unfair and shortsighted.  After all:  those heroes were simply trying to do whatever they could to save the planet.  What’s a little . . . cutting corners or stretching things when the planet’s future is at stake!

    In fact, they need our help today!  Free Fareed Zakaria!   Free Fareed Zakaria!  Free Fareed Zakaria! Free Fareed . . . .

     

     

    (Just in case anyone missed the obvious:  yes, the above article is definitely sarcasm.  And the idea that the IT industry is bad for the environment is absolute bullshit, too.   The IT industry has been a huge net plus for mankind environmentally, enabling virtually everything to be done with far less use of resources than would be possible otherwise.)

  • Donating to a Charity That “Helps Vets”? Might Want to Check It Out First

    Charitable giving is good.  But there are good charities and there are those who give the word “charity” lip service.  It always pays to check before you send that check.

    For example:  are you thinking of donating to Help Hospitalized Veterans  – or any other organization founded by Roger Chapin?  If so, you might want to read this article first.

    Help Hospitalized Veterans  is pretty efficient at raising money – an average of $40+M a year over 10 years.  But it seems they’re not exactly one of the more effective charities when it comes to putting that money to good use.  In fact, it seems there are quite a number of questionable practices at  Help Hospitalized Veterans, such as

    • $80,000 golf memberships for board members
    • Loans and grants by Help Hospitalized Veterans to other organizations founded by Roger Chapin
    • Only around 35% of donations actually going towards program costs
    • Highly inflated and “spiked” salaries for senior officials, including Roger Chapin and his successor
    • A $2M “golden parachute” retirement for Roger Chapin when he retired from the charity in 2009

    Indeed, this isn’t the time Roger Chapin and Help Hospitalized Veterans have been in the public spotlight.  They were investigated by Congress in 2008 for allegations of mismanagement.

    But this does appear to be the first time they’ve been taken to court.  The state of CA is suing them for financial improprieties as a charitable organization.  The state is seeking the ouster of the current president and several board members – and to recover at least $4.3M that’s alleged to have been misspent.

    I’m not against the head of an organization with annual revenue of $40M+ receiving a good salary.  But I do have a problem with charities using donations as a “cash cow” and skimming big bucks off the top for salaries and perks for their leadership, then spending barely 1/3 of what they take in on actual charitable programs.  And based on what’s been made public to date that’s certainly what seems to have been be going on at Help Hospitalized Veterans – though it has yet to be proven in court.

    Given what’s been discovered at Help Hospitalized Veterans I’d also be wary as hell about giving my money to any other organization founded by Roger Chapin, too.  He’s apparently founded over two dozen other organizations besides Help Hospitalized Veterans.

    Hey, Yon:  if you want to spend time bitching about a charity, you really might want to check these guys out instead of Soldier’s Angels.

  • A Belated Valor Award – With a Backstory

    In the early morning hours of June 13, 1968 – in Kontum Province, South Vietnam – an enemy unit moved into position for a night attack on a US camp.  SGT Frank Spink was on guard duty.  At 3AM, he noticed the enemy night attack about to begin, sounded the alarm, and engaged the enemy.  His actions gave sufficient warning to his unit to allow an effective response and prevent his camp from being overrun.

    His actions also drew the enemy’s full attention, however, and nearly cost SGT Spink his life.  He was severely wounded by enemy rocket fire during the attack.  His life was likely saved by his lieutenant, who rendered immediate aid during the battle.  SGT Spink did, unfortunately, lose an arm due to his wounds.

    For his wounds SGT Spink received a Purple Heart.  He was also recommended for the Silver Star, and apparently the award was approved.  Unfortunately, because of some administrative SNAFU, it was also never presented to SGT Spink.  Nor was SGT Spink aware of it.

    That’s where this story would normally have ended – no presentation, and no story.  Just another deserving but unknown hero denied proper recognition by a regrettable admin SNAFU.

    Except here, years later, someone followed up.

    Everyone in the military gives LTs and ENSs grief.  Much of the time, that’s well-deserved.  Virtually all new officers – particularly non-prior service ones – are naïve as hell.  Some new “butterbars” actually think they know their ass from a hole in the ground the day they’re commissioned.  And a few are really obnoxious and arrogant “pieces of work”.

    But most junior officers know they’re ignorant, and listen to (and learn from) their NCOs.  One thing most junior officers learn quickly from their NCOs is to take care of their troops.  And the good ones remember that for the rest of their lives.

    A few years ago SGT Spink’s former lieutenant was doing research on his old unit.  He came across paperwork for Spink’s Silver Star.

    He got in contact with his former soldier, and thanked him for saving lives that long-ago night.  He found out that Spink had never received his award.

    The former lieutenant and another vet then took action.  And though it took a while, the rest – as they say – is history.  A longstanding SNAFU was finally corrected; a deserving hero was recognized.  Earlier this week, SGT Frank Spink, US Army, was presented his Silver Star. Belatedly, yes – but he received it.

    Kudos, SGT Frank Spink.  Through your valor, many friendly lives were saved.  We belatedly honor your actions – and your heroism – on that long-ago day in June of 1968.

    And kudos also to John McHenry, SGT Spink’s former lieutenant, who followed up and took care of his soldier.  And to fellow veteran Fred Golladay – who, along with McHenry, simply wouldn’t let the matter rest.

  • Another Two Belatedly Return Home

    In August, 1966, a US F-4C crashed.  There were no parachutes observed at the time of the crash, and the crew was presumed lost.

    The crash occurred in Song Me province, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  Efforts were made to recover the crew’s remains. Unfortunately those initial efforts were not successful.

    The crash and the missing crew were not forgotten.  But for years it wasn’t feasible to revisit the area.  This remained true even long after the Vietnam War had ended.

    However, eventually relations between the US and Vietnam warmed.  In 1992 a joint US-Vietnamese team was able to revisit the crash site.  Two years later ID tags were recovered – but still no remains.

    Efforts continued, however.  And in 2010 human remains were finally recovered from the site.  Modern technology confirmed the identification of the remains somewhat over a year.  They were indeed the remains of the missing flight crew.

    Earlier this week Lt. Col. Charles M. Walling, of Phoenix, AZ, and Maj. Aado Kommendant, of Lakewood, NJ, US Air Force, were honored at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.  The ceremony was held on August 8 – the 46th anniversary of their deaths.

    Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest now in peace – at home.

     

    Notes:  the ranks given in the linked Military Times articles apparently include two posthumous promotions for each individual.  Their ranks at the time of their loss were Captain and 1st Lieutenant.  Also, the Military Times story incorrectly identifies Kommendant’s home of record.  His home of record was Lakewood, NJ.

    http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/w/w005.htm

    http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/k/k036.htm