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

Category: Navy

  • Only female sailor drops from SEAL training

    Only female sailor drops from SEAL training

    The Associated Press reports that the the only female sailor in the current SEAL Training class has voluntarily dropped from the course.

    No other woman has started the long process required to become a Navy SEAL, Walton said.

    Another woman has set her sights on becoming a Special Warfare Combatant Crewman, another job that recently opened to women. They often support the SEALs but also conduct missions of their own using state-of-the art, high-performance boats. She has started the various evaluations and standard Navy training.

    Officials have said it would be premature to speculate when the Navy will see its first female SEAL or Special Warfare Combatant Crewman.

    The entry of women in one of the military’s most elite fighting forces is part of ongoing efforts to comply with then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s directive in December 2015 to open all military jobs to women, including the most dangerous commando posts.

    I’m sure there will a cacophonous gnashing of teeth among the folks who only want a female SEAL, regardless of the costs to training the force, but none of teeth gnashers will volunteer themselves to take the challenge.

    Thanks to David for the link. I’ve been waiting for the mainstream media to find the cojones to report this before I bothered.

  • Navy chiefs going to sea

    Bobo sends us a link to the Navy Times which reports that hundreds of Navy chief petty officers are being forced into sailing the seas;

    The new Navy policy announced Monday will take effect immediately and aims to fill the nearly 3,000 unfilled senior enlisted billets at sea.

    Most of those gaps —about 2,080 — are at the E-7 level. Just over 700 are for senior chiefs and almost 200 unfilled billets are for master chiefs.

    “When you make chief petty officer, I always tell them their job is going to get harder and part of it getting harder means we need you in those billets at sea, teaching those sailors,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SG/IW) Steven Giordano told Navy Times.

    I don’t understand the problem – it’s the Navy, aren’t they supposed to be floating around on a big boat somewhere?

    At the crux of the problem for the senior enlisted ranks are 25 ratings that are overmanned ashore. Navy personnel officials estimate that the bulk of those being sent back to sea will come from these ratings, and new orders could be handed down within the next few months.

    Sailors most at risk for involuntary orders are in the following ratings: AD,AE,AM,AT,AWO,BM, CS(SS), CTI Eastern Europe, CTI Latin/South America, CTR, EMN(SW),ETN(SS), ET(SW), FC, GM, HM, ITS, LS(SS), MMN(SW), MM(SW), PS, QM, UT, YN, YN(SS).

    As many as 1,100 chiefs could be packing their seabags ahead of their normal rotation, cutting short current assignments.

    The overmanning ashore does not stem from any mismanagement, officials say, but instead is the result of strict adherence to sea-shore flow and sea-shore rotation rules

    Well, if I enlisted in the Navy, I’d expect to spend my time on the water….that’s why I joined the Army.

  • US Marine Osprey crash

    US Marine Osprey crash

    Fox News reports that a US Marine Corps MV-22 crashed off the coast of Australia with an uncertain number of Marines aboard.

    Officials said small boats and aircrafts from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unite and Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group are conducting the search and rescue operations.

    Fox broadcast news reports that 23 Marines have been rescued from the crash, but three others are still missing.

    The Navy has also released the name of a sailor for whom they are searching near the Philippines, according to Fox News. He went missing from USS Stethem.

    Lt. Steven Hopkins disappeared just weeks after he checked aboard the guided-missile destroyer to be the ship’s chief engineer.

    Hopkins graduated from the Citadel in 2009 and served previous tours of duty aboard two other warships.

    His disappearance remains under investigation, Navy officials said.

    The ship was about 140 miles west of Subic Bay, Philippines, at the time when Hopkins’ disappearance was noticed.

    The Chinese Navy has assisted in the search for the officer.

    The serch for LT Hopkins has been suspended according to Stars & Stripes.

    Approximately 10,000 square nautical miles of ocean was searched in 79 hours, the statement said. When Hopkins was not found after more than three days, the effort was called off at 4 p.m. Friday Japan time.

  • Vice Admiral James W. Crawford, III and command influence

    Vice Admiral James W. Crawford, III and command influence

    According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Vice Admiral James W. Crawford, III, the Navy’s senior lawyer, is being investigated for influencing a wrongful conviction of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Keith Barry, a SEAL convicted of rape in 2015. Barry has served his sentence and now he’s appealing the case on the grounds that Crawford influenced the conviction in order to make the Nvy appear tough on sex-related cases;

    Barry’s appeal gained national attention when the admiral in charge of validating or reversing his rape conviction made a stunning declaration: Retired Rear Adm. Patrick Lorge, former commander of the San Diego-based Navy Region Southwest, alleged that he wanted to overturn Barry’s verdict because it lacked sufficient evidence — but didn’t do so partly because of pressure from Crawford.

    Lorge claimed that Crawford encouraged him to let Barry go to prison partly to help preserve the Navy’s reputation and appease the Obama administration and congressional critics of the military justice system. Crawford believed the military needed to project a tougher image in the fight against sexual assault and warned that a clemency decision would hurt Lorge’s Navy career, Lorge alleged.

    Earlier this week, Crawford was deposed in the case and he can’t seem to remember key details of discussions he had at the time, says the Union-Tribune. Convenient. The paper claims that Crawford has a hard-on for SEALs in particular.

    Crawford’s unusual deposition came amid new accusations that he injected himself into another San Diego case, this one stemming from the May 6, 2016 pool drowning of Seaman James Derek Lovelace during initial SEAL training.

    The Navy decided not to prosecute the two instructors involved in the death, however Crawford sent out an order that they needed to take a “second look” at the case;

    Navy records leaked during the past two weeks to the Union-Tribune include an email sent from Navy Capt. Donald King — the staff judge advocate for Navy Region Southwest — to Blair Perez, the executive assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, and federal prosecutor Michelle Pettit.

    King asked Perez whether she remembered “that case we talked about that the Navy declined to prosecute?”

    King went on to say Crawford, the Navy’s top lawyer, “ordered a second look” at the Navy Region Southwest recommendation to forgo charges against those in the Lovelace case. NCIS agents then consulted the vice chief of naval operations and then the chief of naval operations himself, Adm. John Richardson. Those admirals also declined to pursue charges.

    […]

    Word that the Union-Tribune had received records in both the Barry and Lovelace cases triggered numerous, sometimes frantic, calls from top Navy officials nationwide on Monday and Tuesday, with flag officers or their representatives inquiring into Crawford’s involvement in both matters.

  • Cmdr. Steven Everhart, sub commander sunk part II

    Cmdr. Steven Everhart, sub commander sunk part II

    In June, we wrote about Navy Commander Steven Everhart when he was fired from his sub driver job. Bobo sends a link from the Navy Times which reports that the Navy is disciplining him for adultery and conduct unbecoming an officer;

    An investigation verified that Cmdr. Steven Everhart violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Corey Barker.

    “Appropriate disciplinary and administrative actions are in progress,” Barker said in an email.

    Everhart is currently assigned to the staff of Submarine Group Nine.

    He had been assigned as commander of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Pennsylvania in February.

  • Bomb threats in the Tidewater area

    Yesterday, Naval Station Norfolk was on lock down when a sailor reported seeing a diver in the water. The peirs wer locked down, but there was no diver found.

    This morning they were locked down again for a bomb threat. That was cleared, but now, nearby Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story has fallen victim to four more bomb threats according to 13 News Now;

    The first threat was called in at 9:19 and targeted the USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41). A second bomb threat was called in at 9:55 and was phoned in, targeting the Admiral Joel T. Boone Branch Medcal Clinic. The clinic was evacuated as a precaution and following a security sweep, returned to normal operations.

    A third call came in at 10:30 and targeted the USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44). Pier 16 is secured to all pedestrians and vehicle traffic, as well as the marina and harbor.

    The fourth came in at 10:55 for the Personnel Support Detachment building. The facility was evacuated as a precaution.

    WTSP reports that all f the threats have been cleared.

    Thanks to Mick for the link.

  • Nimitz Carrier Strike Group supports Operation Inherent Resolve

    Nimitz Carrier Strike Group supports Operation Inherent Resolve

    (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Weston A. Mohr/Released)

    The Navy writes to tell us that the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is in the Arabian Gulf supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria;

    The first aircraft launched from USS Nimitz (CVN 68) was an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147.

    Accompanying Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 squadrons part of that first flight include the “Black Knights” of VFA-154, the “Blue Diamonds” of VFA-146, the “Death Rattlers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323 and the “Bluetails” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121.

    “For the Nimitz Strike Group, today is game day,” said Rear Adm. Bill Byrne, commander of CSG-11. “When you hear the roar of the jets today it is for real; it’s game on. Our pilots and aircrew are demonstrating our continued commitment to this region and all of our partner nations.”

    Byrne credited the entire crew for the first successful flight operations, and he let them know how important they all are to the operation’s success.

    “While it is the aircrews that will be on the very pointy end of our spear, the contribution of everyone is equally important to making this happen,” said Byrne. “Every member of the crew has done their part to ensure we are ready to fight today.”

    Other aircraft from CVW-11 embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) also conducted the flight operations. This includes the “Gray Wolves” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142, the “Eightballers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, the “Wolfpack” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 and the “Providers” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30.

  • USS THUNDERBOLT fires on Iranian craft (video added)

    USS THUNDERBOLT fires on Iranian craft (video added)

    The Associated Press reports that the crew of the USS THUNDERBOLT, a Cyclone class patrol ship, fired warning shots when it was approached by an Iranian patrol boat;

    The Thunderbolt was taking part in an exercise with American and other coalition vessels when the Iranian patrol boat approached it, the official said. The Iranian ship did not respond to radio calls, flares and sirens as it came within 150 yards (137 meters) of the Thunderbolt, forcing the U.S. sailors aboard to fire the warning shots, the official said.

    The Iranian boat went “dead in the water” after the shots and the vessels all left the area without further incident, the official said.

    The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the incident had yet to be made public. Iranian officials and state-run media there did not immediately acknowledge the incident.

    Quite a bit different outcome than when the Iranians were able to board a patrol vessel and hold it’s 10-person crew overnight last year.

    From the Navy Times;

    “It is out of the norm for them to come in that close at that rate of speed,” the defense official said on the condition of anonymity. “We had to act for the safety of the crew.”

    The official was not certain what type of round was fired but said the Iranian vessel stopped its approach after the Thunderbolt fired.

    USNI reports that Thunderbolt was protecting guided-missile cruiser VELLA GULF at the time.

    USS Thunderbolt (PC-12) fired “multiple warning shots” after an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Nassar-class patrol boat came within 150 yards. The incident occurred at about 2 P.M. local time, or 7 A.M. EST.

    Thunderbolt was operating with two Coast Guard cutters and a U.S. Army logistics vessel in a screen around the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) as part of a U.S.-only exercise when the formation was approached by the Iranian PC, the official said.

    Thanks to MCPO for the tip.

    Video of the encounter from Business Insider. Sounds like they used the M240;