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

Category: Navy

  • Navy delivers air graffiti apology

    Navy delivers air graffiti apology

    cacti35 sends a link to the story of the Navy’s apology for the artwork that a crew drew on the sky over Okanogan schools;

    “The U.S. Navy owes you, your parents and your students an apology for the unacceptable, obscene contrails that were created by one of my aircraft on November 16th,” U.S. Navy Vice Admiral T.M. Shoemaker wrote to Okanogan Superintendent Richard Johnson. “I want to reassure you that this behavior is antithetical to our Navy’s core values — it’s not who we are and we absolutely do not condone this uncharacteristic behavior.”

    Johnson requested a written apology for the skywriting in the shape of male genitalia drawn in the sky above Omak and Okanogan. The image was fully visible above the school playgrounds.

    His request was echoed by Omak Superintendent Erik Swanson and North Central Educational Service District Superintendent Michelle Price.

    Johnson said he “fully accepted” the apology.

    For some reason, cacti35 thought it was funny that the apology was sent to Superintendent Richard Johnson.

    I don’t get it.

  • Army wins!!!

    So the Army wins two in a row. It was a squeaker, but, in my opinion, this was the best part of the game;

    Congratulations to both teams for showing America how it’s done.

  • Marquie Little and staged racial vandalism

    HMC Ret sends us a link to MSN which tells the story of sailor Marquie Little who claims that his bunk was vandalized by racists;

    Marquie Little, 27, an African-American crew member aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, used a pseudonym to post photos of the slur Nov. 15, the Navy Times reported. As of Friday, the Facebook post had garnered 20,500 shares.

    The Naval Criminal Investigative Service conducted an investigation and found inconsistencies in Little’s account, a naval spokesman said Friday.

    Little denied staging the incident. The sailor was reportedly not charged with a crime but faced disciplinary action and additional counseling and training.

    Even though the Navy has proved that Little staged the incident, they’re going ahead with training for the crew to emphasize that racism and vandalism won’t be tolerated. Reasons.

  • Cmdr. John Michael Neuhart II and the meaning of ‘No’

    Cmdr. John Michael Neuhart II and the meaning of ‘No’

    Someone sends us a link on Stars & Stripes about Cmdr. John Michael Neuhart II who commanded a helicopter squadron in Guam until he came to San Diego for a conference last year. He went out for drinks with his fellow conference attendees, which was his first mistake. One of the people there had been in his squadron until she transferred to San Diego to be flight instructor.

    Security video from the downtown Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel, where they were drinking, was shown in court. The woman can be seen staggering, barely standing up at some points, with Neuhart’s arm around her as they walk down a hall and use an elevator.

    She testified earlier in the trial that she became very drunk and ended up taking a ride-share or cab with Neuhart to her Valencia Park home. She said he pulled off her pants and nearly raped her as she repeatedly screamed at him to stop and leave.

    Neuhart testified Tuesday and Wednesday that they discussed having sex at her house before they left the hotel. He said he “waffled” about it because he is married, with five children, and because he was her superior officer — a violation of military fraternization rules.

    Always go with that “waffle” feeling, unfortunately, our hero didn’t.

    After letting Neuhart into her house, where they kissed and hugged, she ordered him out. He went around to the back door and set up his cellphone to record on video his repeated efforts to get inside again. Neuhart testified that he did so to have proof that, if they had sex, it was consensual.

    Yeah, if you need to video a sexual encounter to prove it was consensual, you know things are going badly. He told the court that he thought “no” meant “yes”. He’s toast.

  • New Navy Slogan

    Forged

    The Navy Times is reporting the Navy has announced its newest recruiting slogan, “Forged by the Sea,” the result of over 18 months of research, development, and focus group testing. The new slogan will be introduced as part of a public relations campaign and aired during Saturday’s Army-Navy football game.

    “For more than 200 years our Sailors have been tested and shaped by the sea,” Navy Recruiting Command leader Rear Adm. Pete Garvin said in a release. “Our new tagline perfectly captures the transformative impact the Navy and the sea has on our Sailors.”

    The Navy contracted with marketing and communications agency Young & Rubicam, “to create an enduring and authentic brand identity, tagline and unified marketing strategy to inspire and motivate potential recruits to join,” according to the release. The new campaign’s commercials and other work cost about $10 million.

    “FBTS” was unanimously selected by focus groups consisting of Centennials, the intended audience, but also included current enlisted and officer personnel, Navy veterans and others. This is the 10th slogan adopted by the Navy in the past 45 years, and replaced “A Global Force for Good.”

    Watch for it during the second quarter of the Army-Navy game. I’ll keep my opinion to myself, but it certainly is an improvement over the last slogan.

  • Three sailors still missing

    Three sailors still missing

    The search for three missing sailors who went down in a C-2A Greyhound earlier this week was called off by the Navy yesterday after the US and it’s allies searched over 1100 square miles of the Philippine Sea.

    The aircraft was ferrying cargo and personnel from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to the Ronald Reagan when it went down. Eight other sailors were rescued in the first moments after the crash. From Stars & Stripes;

    The Navy on Saturday identified the three sailors lost in the crash on Wednesday as follows: Lt. Steven Combs [from Florida]; Seaman Matthew Chialastri [From Louisiana], an aviation boatswain’s mate; and Seaman Apprentice Bryan Grosso [From Florida], an aviation ordnanceman. Combs was embarked aboard the USS Ronald Reagan; Chialastri and Grosso were assigned to the Ronald Reagan.

    The cause of the crash is still being investigated.

  • Eight rescued from C-2A Greyhound crash

    Eight rescued from C-2A Greyhound crash

    The Navy reports that a C-2A Greyhound aircraft crashed into the Philippine Sea while it was engaged in training operations from the USS Ronald Reagan. Three sailors are still missing, but eight have been rescued, according to Stars & Stripes;

    The Greyhound was carrying passengers and cargo from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to the carrier at the time of the crash. It is assigned to Carrier Air Wing 5, the aviation component of the Ronald Reagan strike group.

    The carrier was conducting a training exercise with the JMSDF at the time of the accident, the Navy said. The crash’s cause is unknown.

  • USS Wayne E. Meyer rescues civilian crew

    USS Wayne E. Meyer rescues civilian crew

    The Stars & Stripes reports that the guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer responded to a Coast Guard request for assistance from a 32-foot recreational boat which was sinking 40 miles off the California coast.

    “We were in close proximity to the crew members just minutes after their boat submerged, and are proud to have quickly assisted and returned these men home without injury,” Cmdr. Alex Mamikonian, the Meyer’s executive officer, said in the statement.

    The rescued mariners were evaluated by a medical team and transferred to a Coast Guard cutter. No injuries were reported.

    A global force for good.