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

Category: Navy

  • I’m Guessing a Short Career

    Not trying to pick on the Navy, but – damn.  Just . . . damn.

    Headline gives the short version:

    Naval Naval Academy grad charged with injuring 3 Disney cast members

    If you’re wondering if alcohol was involved – yeah, the guy was reportedly pretty well trashed at the time of the incident.  Sheesh.

    Unfortunately, it gets even “better” when you read the article.  The guy was apparently Dean’s List at the Naval Academy, long-snapped for the football team, and was attending flight school.  Obviously he wasn’t a complete idiot.  But he still got trashed and pulled this dumbass stunt.  All I can do is shake my head and mutter a famous 3-letter acronym beginning with “W”.

    Maybe he’s salvageable.  But given today’s military climate, Ensign – I’m guessing it just might be a good idea to start working on a resume.

  • Regarding the Former USSTRATCOM Deputy . . .

    By now, most have probably heard about the relief of VADM Tim Giardina.  Until yesterday, he was the Deputy Commander of USSTRATCOM.  He’d been suspended from duty, but not formally relieved, since 3 Sep.  It was announced yesterday he’d been formally relieved from his position.

    What you might not have heard was the reason.  I didn’t know much about that – other than it was due to a “gambling investigation” – until today.

    It seems the reports that this was due to a “gambling investigation” are indeed true.  Giardina apparently went to a casino in Council Bluffs, IA, and did some gambling.

    No issue with going to a casino; where Giardina went, casino gambling is legal.  And it’s not prohibited by the UCMJ.

    Except . . . it seems there might have been a bit of an issue with what went on at the casino.

    Giardina is alleged to have used $1,500 worth of counterfeit chips while gambling at that casino.  Seriously.

    Iowa authorities have decided not to prosecute Giardina.  The prosecutor apparently feels that – given Giardina’s exemplary service record to date and the relatively small amount (in dollar terms) of the alleged crime – it wouldn’t be worth the effort.  He feels that because of those factors Giardina would likely not get any serious punishment in state court if convicted.

    However, NCIS is continuing to examine the allegations; Giardina may end up facing charges under the UCMJ.  If the allegations turn out to be true I personally hope he does.

    In the interim, Giardina is being reassigned to the Navy staff, with duties not specified.  As a consequence of the reassignment he’s also reverted to his previous 2-star rank.

    As I said:  the matter is still under investigation.  Nothing’s yet been proven, and Giardina’s currently facing no charges.

    But if the allegations are true, all I can say is:  geez, Admiral.  For freaking $1,500?

  • Brother and sister find each other in the Navy

    ABC News 10 in San Diego tells the story of a brother and sister who reunited after more than 30 years when they discovered that they were both in the Navy and both in California;

    With a quick salute and a long hug, Cmdr. Cindy Murray and Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Robert Williamson closed the gap on more than 30 years.

    “It’s the greatest thing. I looked for him for the longest time and now here he is and it’s just great,” said Murray, a senior nursing officer at Naval Medical Center San Diego.

    “Never in a million years did I think I would be standing here in this situation,” added Williamson, who is stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.

    Thanks for the link to Instinct who says that Naval service must be genetic.

  • USS Rafael Peralta

    The Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that the Navy has named it’s newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer after SGT Rafael Peralta, the hero of Falluja who shielded his Marines with his own body when an enemy tossed a grenade at them. Peralta had been wounded moments before the incident. He had been recommended for the Medal of Honor but doubts about witness statements resulted in the Medal being downgraded to a Navy Cross;

    Peralta’s mother Rose and younger brother, Lance Cpl. Ricardo Peralta, attended the ceremony last week in San Diego.

    “It’s really emotional for the family because his nomination for the Medal of Honor has now been turned down more than once,” Peralta said in a Department of Defense article. “But we know that there’s not a single decoration or medal that they can give him that will make us more proud. We’re proud to the fullest.”

    The family is still seeking to have Peralta receive the Medal of Honor.

    Peralta’s brother, Ricardo is keeping a promise that he made to Rafael at the wake to be a Marine infantryman;

    “In boot camp, there are classes where his Navy Cross citation is read, so every Marine hears about him,” Peralta said.

  • Command Master Chief relieved

    CBSenior sends us a link to a Navy Times article about the relief from duties of Command Master Chief (SW) Rick A. Helwick on the USS Shoup, a destroyer out of Everett, Washington;

    Command Master Chief (SW) Rick A. Helwick was relieved of his duties Monday following a substantiated allegation that he grabbed a junior sailor by the uniform blouse because he was not wearing the proper uniform, according to a Navy statement.

    A Navy official confirmed Helwick was found to have committed assault, which falls under Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

    I hope there’s more to the story than that. Or I hope there’s a statute of limitations, because hardly a day went by that I didn’t grab some private by the shirt. For some reason, privates don’t understand English unless they’re being grabbed by the shirt. Or the throat.

  • Another Turncoat Convicted

    By now, almost everybody should have heard that that the worthless little sh!t turncoat Bradley Manning was convicted of selling out his nation as well as his brothers- and sisters-in-arms.  But it turns out that Manning wasn’t the only one who’s been selling out this country lately.

    Last week, PO1 (Ret) Robert Hoffman was convicted of espionage in Norfolk, VA.  He’ll be sentenced in December.

    Hoffman served in the Navy for 20 years.  Much of his time was spent as a submariner.

    He was convicted of passing information to what he thought were Russian spies on at least 3 occasions.  Unknown to Hoffman, in reality they were FBI agents operating a “sting”.  On at least one occasion, Hoffman passed information useful in tracking US submarines.

    No, this doesn’t appear to be another Walker case.  Still, even though foiled the attempt is disquieting – and disgusting.

    May Hoffman spend the rest of his life in prison.  And when he passes from this Earth, may the Devil take his soul.

  • A Punchbowl Argument

    It seems there is some rather high-level contention going on within DoD these days.  (Yeah, I know – you’re thinking, “Tell us something we didn’t know.”  Keep reading.)

    Arguments between the Services and/or between a Service and a Joint Agency or Command are nothing new.  But this one is a bit unique.

    It seems as if the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) wants to exhume a rather large number of those buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (AKA the “Punchbowl”) as “Unknowns” – 330+ total – from the USS Oklahoma.  They believe they may now be able to identify a fair number of these individuals.  Further, some of the graves are thought or known to contain commingled remains – so exhuming only selected graves isn’t really feasible.

    JPAC would also like to do the same for those buried as “Unknowns” from the USS California and the USS West Virginia at a future date.

    Part of the reason JPAC wants to do this is because Congress has set mandates for annual numbers of identifications by JPAC, and this is likely the only way they can reach those mandates.  Yet another part of the reason is, well, their mission.  JPAC exists to recover and identify previously unaccounted for US casualties – and those buried as “Unknowns” are by definition still unaccounted for.

    To me, this seems like the proverbial “no brainer”.  New data and forensic techniques are available that may identify some of these lost.  IMO, we should use them to do so.

    However, JPAC is receiving opposition from what is to me a rather surprising source within DoD:  the Navy.  According to an excellent article from Stars and Stripes,

    But the Hawaii-based military command, known as JPAC, is getting resistance from the Navy, which prefers to maintain the “sanctity” of the graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, officials said.

    Further, the Navy would like to take the partial and commingled remains of more than 100 Oklahoma crew members who were disinterred in 2003 from a single casket at Punchbowl, possibly re­bury them at a memorial and grave site to be created on Ford Island, and invite family members to an interment ceremony on Dec. 7, 2014.

    To an extent, I can understand the former objection.  But I cannot agree.  IMO, the chance to identify some of the fallen should outweigh that consideration.  Further, I’d be willing to give long odds that – could we but poll the fallen – they’d universally agree to the brief disturbance of their rest so that some of their fallen brothers-in-arms could be identified and receive a by-name, proper burial.

    And the second objection?  Frankly, that strikes me as little more than showboating and PR.  In other words:  pure bull.

    But I might well be off base here.  This is an issue on which I have a hard time being objective; I firmly believe that the fallen deserve a proper, by-name burial if at all possible.  IMO, burial as an “Unknown” or a centotaph for an unrecovered body just isn’t the same.

    Thoughts?

  • About the USS Pueblo . . . .

    As you might recall, the USS Pueblo was captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968.

    The crew was released some 11 months later – after going through hell in captivity.  But the North Korean government never did release the ship.

    The ship was initially taken to Wonson on North Korea’s east coast.  But some time in the late 1990s, it was towed around the Korean peninsula and taken to Korea’s west coast.

    For a while, it apparently disappeared from sight.  But it’s now reappeared.

    Apparently it’s been towed up the Pothong River to Pyongyang.  According to an article at Breitbart.com,

    it’s expected to be be unveiled this week as the centerpiece of a renovated war museum to commemorate what North Korea calls “Victory Day,” the 60th anniversary this Saturday of the signing of the armistice that ended hostilities in the Korean War.

    Great.  Just freaking great.

    Hopefully ND:tBF will visit it.  And when he does, I hope he finds a wet and slippery spot on the deck – then slips, falls, and busts his fat ass.