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

Category: Navy

  • Questions That Don’t Get Asked Enough?

    Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has been talking about re-tasking our Navy towards the Pacific by 2020 AND he’s taking active steps in that direction.

    In Singapore and in Vietnam.

    Although he couches his words carefully China appears to be the focus.  Offshore petroleum  (which doesn’t apparently interest many in DC) and freedom of the seas are mentioned.

    I have little problem with the notion in general, but would like to understand where these assets will come from?

    Will the Navy be downsized as a “peace dividend”? Do we have warships somewhere currently they aren’t needed?

    And while I’m certainly no expert in geopolitics it seems that China could painfully swat the US economy without firing a shot if needs be?

    So the question seems to be – Why now, and why there?

  • Looks like a nail

    Ben sends us a link to an article in the Navy Times which tells us the story of a Master Chief Engineman (SW) Christopher Gary, who is an equal opportunity adviser at the Naval Academy and he’s sending out messages that the term “Indian run” is offensive. if you don’t know, an Indian run goes like this; A unit is running like they normally run in formation, and then on command, one or two runners from the back of the formation runs to the front of the formation, sometimes after making a complete circuit. Well, the Master Chief thinks, somehow, that’s offensive to call it an “Indian run”.

    “The term ‘Indian Run’ is used … at various levels here at the Academy, and it is widely used among the public,” Gary wrote in the May 14 email. “I hope all can already see the problem with this, but let me be clear, this is a form of stereotyping.”

    Stereotyping? Really? Because Indians are always breaking formation to get in front?

    I guess it’s true that a hammer thinks everything looks like a nail, and when you’re an equal opportunity adviser, everything sounds offensive.

  • Gays oppose USS Harvey Milk

    Former3c0 sends us a link to a Fox News article which tells us that gays weren’t a monolithic pro vote in the discussion whether naming a Navy ship for the murdered gay activist is such a good idea. This is about a vote that took place at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors subcommittee vote;

    [Supervisor Christina Olague], the dissenter in the 2-1 vote this week, was joined in opposition by the city’s gay Democrat club named after Milk and other activists. She told the San Francisco Chronicle she prefers a national holiday honoring Milk.

    Activist Tommi Avicolli Mecca wrote in a recent blog post: “The Milk who served in the Navy and the Milk who, less than two decades later, defied the taboos of his day to have sex with men, grow his hair, smoke pot and oppose the war in Vietnam, were completely different individuals.”

    I guess they can be considered bigots, too.

    I think it’s funny that there seems to be a tiered system of activism on the Left. Apparently, “anti-war” takes precedence over “gay issues”. Anyone want to play to play rock-paper-scissors for it?

  • How Plans Become Policy

    Seems that this is pretty universal, so substitute rank as appropriate for service.

    In the beginning was the plan.

    And then came the assumptions.

    And the assumptions were without form.

    And the plan was without substance.

    And darkness was upon the face of the blueshirts.

    And they spoke among themselves saying,

    “It is a crock of shit and it stinketh.”

    And the blueshirts went unto their Chiefs and said,

    “It is a pale of dung and none may abide the odor thereof.”

    And the Chiefs went unto their Division Officers and said,

    “It is a container of excrement and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it.”

    And the Division Officers went unto their Department Heads, saying,

    “It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength.”

    And the Department Heads spoke among themselves, saying to one another,

    “It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very strong.”

    And the Department Heads went unto the XO, saying unto him,

    “It promotes growth and is very powerful.”

    And the XO went unto the CO, saying unto him,

    “The new plan will promote the growth and vigor of the command and morale, with powerful effects.”

    And the CO looked upon the plan and saw that it was good.

    And the plan became policy.

    This is how shit happens.

  • Mabus Gets One Right

    According to this DoD Press Release, comes the following:

    Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the next Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer (DDG) will be named the USS Thomas Hudner.

    Thomas J. Hudner Jr., a naval aviator who retired as a captain, received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman for displaying uncommon valor during an attack on his wingman, the first African American naval aviator to fly in combat, Ensign Jesse L. Brown. During the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War, anti-aircraft fire hit Brown’s aircraft, damaging a fuel line and causing him to crash. After it became clear Brown was seriously injured and unable to free himself Hudner proceeded to purposefully crash his own aircraft to join Brown and provide aid. Hudner injured his own back during his crash landing, but he stayed with Brown until a rescue helicopter arrived. Hudner and the rescue pilot worked in the sub-zero, snow-laden area in an unsuccessful attempt to free Brown from the smoking wreckage.

    Hudner is the last living Navy recipient of the Medal of Honor from the Korean War.

    Nice to see that amid all the namings to placate the anti-American, Marine-hating (Murtha), ghey lobby crowd, SecNav pulled his head out of his ass just long enough to recognize an American who deserves the honor of having one of our ever-dwindling number of warships named after them.

  • Katy Perry at Annapolis

    I’m starting to get a little warm for this girl. According to ABC News in a link sent to us by Tman, Katy Perry performed for midshipmen at Annapolis Friday, despite the fact that she had a fever, She called one cadet up on stage and smooched with him. Yeah, I think I’d risk a bout with Ebola to get an opportunity to suck her face, too;

    As the audience whoops in delight, Perry tells Beasley, “If I told you I had a cold, if I told you I flew here with a 101.8 temperature, would you still be all right with that?” When he responds, “Oh yeah!” she tells him she wants to recreate an iconic World War II photo of a sailor kissing a girl. “You ready?” she asks. He dips her low and kisses her, while she lifts her knee in the air.

    I’m sure Naomi Wolf will have something barely intelligible to say about that.

  • USS Harvey Milk?

    Jeff and Daniel sent us links to an article that announces the intention of Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) to pressure Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to name a ship after the gay activist Harvey Milk. According to the Navy Times;

    In his letter, Rep. Filner wrote “this action would be a fitting tribute to Mr. Milk’s support for equality, an ideal exemplified in the military’s recent repeal of its former Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy,” according to the press release.

    According to the LGBT Weekly, Milk was a Navy veteran of the Korean War;

    The late civil rights icon, Harvey Milk was a Navy veteran who began his service during the Korean War. In Korea, he served aboard the submarine rescue ship USS Kittiwake as a diving officer. Milk was also stationed at Naval Station, San Diego where he was a diving instructor. Milk, whose parents both also served in the US Navy, was honorably discharged at the rank of Lieutenant, junior grade.

    I don’t know much about Milk because I have a habit of not watching any movie that has Sean Penn in it, and his isn’t a subject in which I’m interested, but I’m pretty sure that enough Navy personnel have been killed in the war against terror who deserve to have a ship named after them more than some activist who was shot by a political opponent.

    According to Stuart Milk [Harvey Milk’s nephew], the christening of a ship USS Harvey Milk would boost the military’s image, while also boosting a sense of esteem among its gay, lesbian and bisexual members.

    Yeah, because self-esteem is an important factor when talking about our national security.

  • What? No USS Trayvon Martin?

    The Navy issued a press release today about the Secretary of the Navy naming five new subarines. Recently Secretary Mabus has been catching flak for his choices of vessel appellations, so I’m surprised, as was Bobo who sent us the link, that there was no USS Tryvon Martin. Anyway here are the new subs to join the fleet;

    Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the next five Virginia-class attack submarines will be named the USS Illinois, the USS Washington, the USS Colorado, the USS Indiana, and the USS South Dakota.

    Mabus named the Virginia-class submarines to honor the great contributions and support these states have given the military through the years.

    “Each of these five states serves as home to military bases that support our national defense and provides men and women who volunteer to serve their country,” Mabus said. “I look forward to these submarines joining the fleet and representing these great states around the world.”

    None of the five states has had a ship named for it for more than 49 years. The most recent to serve was the battleship the USS Indiana, which was decommissioned in October 1963.