On this date 195 years ago, a historical naval battle took place, which spawned a legendary nickname for one of the first warships built in the course of our nation’s history: “Old Ironsides.”

Painting by Michael Corne Captain Issac Hull, commanding USS CONSTITUTION, would take on the British Frigate HMS Guerrière (44 guns), commanded by 28 year old, but experienced, Captain James Dacres, in a short and furious engagement in the vicinity of 41° 42’N 55°48’W, approximately 750 miles East of Boston.The CONSTITUTION’s crew sighted sails at 2PM and the ships closed for the deadly engagement. Shortly before 6PM, at the CONSTITUTION closed within gun range of the British ship, the HMS Guerrière began firing some long range shots. Captain Hull held fire, even after having taken a hit in a gun port at 6PM.When the CONSTITUTION was broadside to the HMS Guerrière at a distance of about 75 yards, First Lieutenant Morris asked “Shall we fire now?” At 6:05PM, Captain Hull replied to LT Morris with “Yes, sir, you may now fire.”

Double shotted loads spoke in a single thunderous voice from the side of CONSTITUTION, and the entire structure of the ship shook from the blast, and the crew gave a triple cheer that was clearly heard aboard HMS Guerrière. The result of this fire discipline? When the smoke cleared, the HMS Guerrière’s mizzenmast had ruptured just above the main deck and falling into the sea and the mainyards were shot away, taking the sails, too. The American sailors gave another triple cheer.

It was in this interval, when an American sailor saw a British 18lb cannon ball bounce off the Ship’s side and said “her sides are made of iron!” The nickname for the USS CONSTITUTION was born.

Captain Hull maneuvers his vessel into position, providing the Marine sharpshooters the opportunity to fire at the confused British crew, then a second, close range broadside was loosed with the same fury against the enemy. The ships closed and became entangled, and boarding parties was called for. Stern chasers and bow guns were employed at close range, and the CONSTITUTION’s main batteries could still fire into the HMS Guerrière. The heaving and plunging of the heavy seas finally tore the ship’s loose from each other.

The HMS Guerrière was dismasted and most of her officer’s out of action, dead or wounded. Captain Dacres struck his colors at 6:30PM.

In 25 minutes, the US Navy won a victory, aided and abetted by the foresight of Joshua Humphreys. How? That will be the subject of tomorrow’s Monday Maritime Matters post.

This account was derived from the book “Six Frigates” by Ian Toll. The details of the battle covered there are presented in far greater detail.

In the mean time, the Historical Naval Ships Association site for the USS CONSTITUTION is here. Points of interest there include that the below poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes kept her from the scrap yards in 1830, and the money of school children collected in 1927 restored her to her 1812 condition.

Old Ironsides

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar; —
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.
Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee; —
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!

Another website found while researching this material was The Captain’s Clerk, a site set up as “an archive specifically created to contain historically accurate stories and other information on that fabled frigate, the USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”).”

Come back tomorrow to read how another field of my academic background is put to use to tell more of this story!

I found the Global Defense Group blog via a comment on Acute Politics (written by an Active Duty Soldier currently completing his tour in Iraq). Scanning the GDG site quickly, it looks like there’s some interesting posts on three, and also I noted they are looking for help, in the form of authors and other technical support.

Contributors are the key to the success of Global Defense Group.
It is the members of the community who bring this site to life, and without the contributors GDG would be little more than a bunch of buttons on a web page.
GDG is always on the prowl for qualified “authors”, and if you have experience in any of the following areas, we encourage you to contact us about becoming a contributor to the blogs, databases or media archives:

* Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
* Cyber-Terrorism, Hacking and Internet Security
* Domestic Politics and, in particular, Political Activism
* Military/Insurgency Tactics and Military History
* Homeland Security and Law Enforcement
* Digital Video/Audio/Podcast Production
* Border Security and Illegal Immigration
* Diplomacy and International Law
* WMD and Nuclear Proliferation
* Islam and The Q’uran (Arabic and Farsi translators wanted!)
* The Constitution and United States Law
* Political Satire and Political Cartooning
* Global Economics and The Oil Industry
* Middle East History and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

In addition to the specialized fields listed above, GDG is also looking for dedicated individuals to help with the daily operations of the site. While these people will not be in “the lime light”, their contributions will be essential for the efficient and continued operation of the site.
Some of these areas are:

* Maintaining the Events Calendar
* Research and Documentation
* Forum and Chat Room Moderation
* Maintaining Image and Video Archives
* Site Promotion and Recruitment
* Coordination and Correspondence
* Video and Podcast Production
* Editing and Publishing
* Legal Protection
* More Research and Documentation

The individuals who perform these tasks will be given “Author” access or higher, depending upon the access required for each job. Members will be selected to fill these important roles based on a variety of factors, including availability, expertise, and an ability to work and communicate with others.

Sounds like some of the readers here might be able to lend a hand over there….

Also: Don’t miss Teflon Don’s (Acute Politics Blogger) short but wonderfully written post: Beauty in the Dirt. He has a way with words to rival some of the best novelists, yet he speaks about the real world around him…

SJS sends another photo, taken on his wanderings, for our analysis. I guess it’s supposed to be as plain as the nose (wheel) (on) in our face, right?

Where art thou now? All the (Milblogging) world wonders… Looks like it was taken on the 14th of the month. It wasn’t in Texas, ‘coz it’s not raining and there are no puddles in the frame. I’m guessing it’s the nose wheel of a P-3 variant, based on the shadow showing the port wing Allison turboprop engine nacelle. I’d also say the corrosion control crew hasn’t happened by in a while, either.Near a base gate in Brunswick, ME?AW1, chime in, if you’re not busy at a secret Milblogging Mini-Conference with Pops, I think you’re the answer man here… Update 08/18/2007: I’m close, but on reflection, I realized a P-3 wouldn’t have a single tire on the nose wheel or the main mounts…So I got thinking F7F Tigercat…big engine on straight wing, but the main mount setup isn’t right either. I’m drawing a blank. Sights around Norfolk are more my forte….All I can think of up that way is NAS Brunswick, and a Marine only aircraft would be out of place at a former USAF and now Navy air base….

Update 8/19/2007: SJS couldn’t take it anymore….he gave the answer in the comments section…It’s a P-2V Neptune….and it was at NAS Brunswick. ME.

Steeljaw Scribe is on “vacation.” He not only graciously took his family along, but MEGEN of ValOUR-IT fame is being taken on a leisurely ride around the north east of this great Nation.

Now, besides getting pics of MEGEN along the way, he left his blog in the hands of some rather “youthful” writers, who are acting like teenagers left behind at home when Mom and Dad go out of town. You know, they ask all their surly friends over and begin defacing the place with abandon, while making derisive remarks about the advanced age of a retired Naval Captain. Take a look at the quality of SJS’ “apprentices” to get my drift. They aren’t hard to find. Maybe they’ll get a trip to the woodshed upon the “Old Man’s” return…

In the meantime, SJS forwarded these picture via email, from a located business center where he was on the 14th of August, with the question: “NOW Where’s MEGEN?” The single text based hint is “it ain’t in NoVA… ;).”
I don’t recognize much more than the machinery room, most likely in a basement, near a diesel generator. How about the rest of you? I can assume (and we all know what that means) it’s related to something Naval in origin…

Any guesses where MEGEN is?
The one visual hint sent along is this:
MEGEN’s surroundings for a hint (click for larger image)
Leave any guesses in the comments. Maybe SJS will pop in after a bit and let us know who’s been where MEGEN has been…and I sure hope he locked up the virtual beer tap before waving goodbye in the driveway.Update 08/18/2007:

It seems SJS continues to tell his best friend he’s going out for ice, but then comes back with the mostly liquid version after visitng the business center of the temporary lodgings…but he has informed us the SJBill is the one who figured out the location of the picture:

SJBill | [email protected] | IP: 75.35.74.155

Howabout up in Maine? Mebbe the FV Sherman Zwicker? The schooner was built in Nova Scotia back in the 40s.

-SJBill

Aug 17, 10:27 PM

BZ, SJBill, for the refined eye needed to figure it out….

Here’s the “award” statement, with added context of the place where MEGEN was:

Steeljaw Scribe | [email protected] | steeljawscribe.com | IP: 71.114.62.189

…and SJBill wins the ceegar! 🙂 The one and the same, built in Lunenburg at the same shipyard that built the famed (and my personal favorite) Bluenose and Bluenose II fishing schooner. The Zwicker is part of the exhibit at the Maine Maritime Museum and from which, you can see the latest Arleigh Burke DDG being built in drydock over at Bath Iron Works.
-SJS

Aug 18, 7:23 AM

Note the time stamp…I hate to think what he’ll be using the ice for this early in the morning…maybe to awake the younger generation from their “they need their sleep” sleep.

I can hear it now, a new parody song for NASA’s shuttle crews:

“Ground Control to Major Tom:
“Go out there and put some Duct Tape on”
You can work on the rest of the replacement lyrics yourself. You also can get credit for preforming it on YouTube.

NASA Photo: Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Clay Anderson holds a Crew Equipment Translation Aid cart as he rides on the end of the International Space Station’s robotic arm during STS-118’s third spacewalk. Image: NASA TVAnyhow, if you check out the link above, you’ll see it’s not so much a joke.Now, on the more serious side, think about being a bona fide astronaut and, having scoffed at skydivers all these years (for no real aviator would jump out of a ‘perfectly good’ airplane) and now you are in orbit, above the atmosphere and the safety of being able to depart a potential soon to be disaster and put some space age fabric in the shape of a wing above your head, mumbling to yourself while on the EVA, what Bill Cosby said (“Hope the plane don’t crash!”) and praying that it’s Duct Tape to the rescue on reentry…

I’m thinking it might not be such a silly idea to see if you can make a spacesuit and integrated lifesaving parachute for future Shuttle flights, but then again, I know how much fun freefall really is. Now that I think about it, in WWI, only the Germans supplied their air crews with parachutes, with the Allies believing that, once so equipped, pilots would rather jump than work to get the plane back to home plate. Oh, how wrong they were in that assessment.

If you’d like some real data on the STS-118 “issue,” check this page out to see several videos of the damage.

So, last Wednesday, there I had been, dangling over the deck of the USS JOHN KING (DDG-3), with the possibility of being bait for the helo pilots to go fishing, but it ended well…They caught no sharks, and I got on deck with nothing more than some sea spray from the rotor wash getting me wet.

So, safely aboard, but still merely an Ensign and not yet qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer, I was to be an exercise observer for the KING’s missile shot. I was taken to the bridge and introduced to the Captain, then taken to Combat Information Center (CIC), from where I would observe the operation, in order to fill out the form and determine the grade to assign.

USS JOHN KING (DDG-3) was equipped with the TARTAR Guided Missile Fire Control System (GMFCS), using the AN/SPS-37 Air Search and AN/SPG-51C Fire Control RADARs and the Standard medium range missile. One of the SPG-51’s was fitted with a boresight black and white TV camera, so operators could validate targets.

So, armed with my checklist from FXP-3, the Fleet’s exercise publication, I found a free spot in the forward end of CIC from where I could observe the crew’s communications and coordination during the shot. I recall it was one of those almost cloudless days. A drone was to be the target, most likely a BQM-74 jet powered one, simulating an inbound aircraft. If you recall from my last discussion, I mentioned that the KING had a characteristic movement in those seas, where the roll and pitch were not distinct, but a combination move, which made it feel as thought one was riding a corkscrew. In all my years of riding ships, it was a unique form of reaction to the seas.

So, I sat, in the darkened room, where information was received, evaluated and disseminated, while many of the crew engaged in what was acceptable behavior back then, they were smoking in an inner space. Not only did the smoke hang visibly next to the overhead, the air conditioning wasn’t particularly effective, either. Dark, hot, smoky, corkscrewing through the Atlantic Ocean we went, enroute our INCHOP date at the Strait of Gibraltar. The drone was in the air, and once located on the search RADAR, the Tactical Action Officer (TAO) directed the Weapons Coordinator to engage the target. The missile fire control console operator synced his system to the search RADAR track and the AN/SPG-51 slewed to starboard, and the TV monitor conveyed this view to those of us trapped inside the skin of the ship.

This was the second and last time I almost got sea sick. My body told me, as I sat facing aft, that I was roll-pitching in time with a ship headed east. The TV picture now showed the horizon moving, not as a tilting left and right vista, but up and down. Within moments, my body was telling me the visual and the other sensory data wasn’t jiving and it wanted to do something about it. I began taking frequent, and thankfully short walks to the bridge wings, which certainly was in concert with my observer duties for the exercise, as I awaited the target to get within the firing envelope of the missile. I managed to stave off my body’s desires and did not embarrass myself by puking in the CIC of the KING.

In time, the shot went off, I collected the appropriate data, as required by the exercise sheet, and was soon repeating the helo transfer, back to USS MILWAUKEE (AOR-2), where I would draft the grading letter for my CO’s signature. On the return trip, the rescue hoist of the H-46 worked as designed, and I experienced no more visions of getting dunked into the prop wash of the twin screws of the KING.

And in case you are curious, the USS JOHN KING (DDG-3) was able to engage the “hostile” and received a passing score for her periodic demonstration of her mission area of Anti-Air Warfare (AAW).

The Sullivans of Waterloo, IAFive brothers answered the call to respond to the attacks on Pearl Harbor, that led the nation to war. They were the Sullivans of Waterloo, IA, coming a town of less than 50,000. At the outset of WWII, two of the five, George and Francis, had already enlisted in the Navy together in 1937, which was how the other three ended up in that service:

• Sullivan, Albert Leo, Seaman Second Class, V-6, USNR; 1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Apprentice Seaman to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa
• Francis Henry Sullivan, Coxswain, V-6, USNR; 5-11-1937 Enlisted in the U.S. Navy as Apprentice Seaman, to serve for four (4) years at the Navy Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa and transferred to the Naval Training Station, San Diego, California, for recruit training.
• SULLIVAN, George Thomas, Gunner’s Mate Second Class, V-6, USNR; 5-11-1937 Enlisted in the U.S. Navy as Apprentice Seaman, to serve for four (4) years at the Navy Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa and transferred to the Naval Training Station, San Diego, California, for recruit training.
• SULLIVAN, Joseph Eugene, Seaman Second Class, V-6, USNR; 1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Apprentice Seaman to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa.
• SULLIVAN, Madison Abel, Seaman Second Class, V-6, USNR; 1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Apprentice Seaman to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa.

From Castletown.com:

The Sullivan family led lives much like other middle class families of the 1920s and 1930s. It was Depression time and Tom Sullivan was fortunate that he had a job. Not all of his children were able to finish high school. A few of the boys found it necessary to help out meeting the household expenses. The vacant lot next to their home provided space for various sports activities. Most of the family found work at the Rath meat packing plant. When the two oldest, George and Frank, returned home from a hitch in the Navy, all five Sullivan brothers were working together again, just as they were when playing sports on that lot next door to their home. The youngest, Albert was the first to get married. He and his wife Mary became parents when their son, James Thomas, was born on May 11, 1940. The other brothers would probably have done the same, but World War II got in the way. When reports were received about the death of their friend, Bill Ball, who was on the battleship Arizona when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they decided to enlist in the Navy. They did insist, however, that the Navy allow them to stay together throughout their service. The Navy agreed. On January 3, 1942, less than a month after Pearl Harbor, they were sworn in at Des Moines, and left for Great Lakes Training Center.

The five sons of the family all ended up stationed on the USS JUNEAU (CL-52), reporting aboard together on 02/03/1942, just 11 days before commissioning of this new ship in New York. The USS JUNEAU (CL-52) sailed to the South Pacific, after a hurried shakedown period in the Atlantic, where she was operating near the Solomon Islands, in support of the landing at Guadalcanal on November 12th, 1942:

From Wikipedia:

[..]
On 8 November Juneau departed Nouméa, New Caledonia, as a unit of Task Force 67 under the command of Rear Admiral R. K. Turner to escort reinforcements to Guadalcanal. The force arrived there early morning 12 November, and Juneau took up her station in the protective screen around the transports and cargo vessels. Unloading proceeded unmolested until 1405 when 30 Japanese planes attacked the alerted United States group. The AA fire was effective, and Juneau alone accounted for six enemy torpedo planes shot down. The few remaining attackers were then attacked by American fighters; only one bomber escaped. Later in the day an American attack group of cruisers and destroyers cleared Guadalcanal on reports that a large enemy surface force was headed for the island. At 0148 on 13 November Rear Admiral D. J. Callaghan’s relatively small Landing Support Group engaged the enemy. The Japanese force consisted of two battleships, one light cruiser, and nine destroyers.
[…]

From Castletown.com:

On the evening of November 12th, air reconnaissance discovered the approach of the Japanese task force. It was considerably larger than the American force. The transports fled and the warships prepared for the coming battle. Despite having radar, the American ships almost collided with those of the enemy. The engagement began about 1:45 A.M. There was no moon that night and there was instant chaos as searchlights suddenly illuminated the two adversaries at close range to one another. All ships unleashed their barrage of heavy armaments at point blank range. Within 30 minutes the engagement was essentially over. The Japanese lost a battleship and two destroyers. Five of the 13 U.S. ships had been sunk or were heavily damaged. Many men were lost, including the task force commander, Rear Admiral Callaghan. The Juneau had just barely survived, having received a torpedo hit on it’s port side which left a gaping hole and an almost severed keel.
[..]
At daybreak the surviving American ships huddled together and headed back to their base. Late that morning, a torpedo fired from a Japanese submarine, struck the Juneau near the storage area of its ammunition supply. “When the torpedo hit, there was a single explosion and the air was filled with debris, much of it in large pieces. The whole ship disappeared in a large cloud of black, yellow black, and brown smoke. Debris showered down among ships of the formation for several minutes after the explosion to such an extent as to indicate erroneously, a high level bombing attack.” Thus Captain Gilbert, the acting Commander of the task force, described what he saw when the U.S.S. Juneau was struck. The captain of the U.S.S. San Francisco, H.E. Shonland, reported that: “It is certain that all on board perished.” Captain Hoover decided that rather than delay the escape of the other ships, he would request that an Army aircraft in the area report the position of the Juneau. The pilot did send in a report but it did not get to the proper authorities. And, even more tragically, Captain Shonland was wrong — there were survivors from the Juneau. It was not known exactly how many made it into life rafts; there were at least 80. Among them was George Sullivan, the oldest brother.

Gunner’s mate Allen Heyn was one of the survivors that was finally rescued from the sinking of the Juneau. He reported that there were 10 days of intense suffering as, one by one, the men succumbed to the intense heat, their wounds, and sharks. Many were badly burned and died a painful death. They became delirious from hunger and thirst. Heyn recalled how George Sullivan decided to take a bath one night. He took off all his clothes and swam around the raft. His movement attracted a shark…and that was the last Heyn saw of him. Only ten men survived the ordeal.

The US Navy too the issue of family members seriously after this incident and prohibited such stationing together. Some history of this outcome is here.

Two ships have been named to honor the five Sullivan brothers: DD-573 and DDG-68. THe first USS THE SULLIVANS (DD-537) is a museum ship in the Great Lakes at Buffalo, NY, berthed with the USS LITTLE ROCK (CLG-4).

USS THE SULLIVANS (DD-537)

DD-537, of the FLETCHER Class, was commissioned 9/30/1943. She served through the many historical battles of the Pacific, earning 9 Battle Stars. Following WWII, THE SULLIVANS participated in the Korean War, conducting gunfire support operations. The USS THE SULLIVANS was later used as a “school ship” for Officer training in Newport, RI, before being transfered to New York City in the Naval Reserve. She was decommissioned 1/7/1965. The link at the beginning of this paragraph contains some very detailed accounts of the WWII actions, and a not of her patrols to try to locate the USS THRESHER (SSN-593) in April, 1963.

USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG-68)Currently in commissioned service, the USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG-68) is the 17th ship of the ARLEIGH BURKE Class. Entering service on 4/19/1997, assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, she has served in Enduring Freedom operations.

The motto of the current USS THE SULLIVANS is the motto of the Sullivans Brothers: “We stick together!”

Hey, it’s the 11th of the month again. Why is that important? It’s important because I have chosen to highlight the ValOUR-IT project on the 11th of each month. It could have been any day of the month that I do this, but I chose it because of Veteran’s Day, as it is a project that very directly benefits the veterans of today.

A few days back, I linked to the most recent news on ValOUR-IT from FbL’s report of the Circuit City, that is using it’s economic muscle to make sure the donated dollars are stretched further. Toss in the San Antonio Area Foundation grant of $150K….it’s getting better each day, but not without effort.I do have a bleg for the day: Bloggers, please pick two things. One is a troop support charity that resonates with you, and two, a day of the month to make a post about the program. That link to charities is one I try to list the ones I run across, and there are certainly more of them, but start somewhere finding one!Patti Bader told us at the 2007 MilBlogging Conference that every time Soldier’s Angels is mentioned, money moves into the charity. How about helping to reduce the friction to make the funding flow by helping to remind people of great ways to help out?You just never know when that random visitor who has never heard of your charity might wander by your blog that day of the month you took a few extra minutes to make one of 12 posts during the year.

Too many have already been there and tried it before anyone today could try it: Going lower than the ground in an aircraft.

The USAF has a plan to keep it from happening: Auto-GCAS.

From Defense Tech:

Helping Pilots Avoid the Ground

Aviators have a saying: “You can only tie the record for low flight.”

Well, the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command is installing a system in its jets that is designed to keep future pilots from tying the record. Press Zoom reports that the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System is a software-based technology that has demonstrated a 98 percent effectiveness rate at eliminating aircraft crashes into the ground. The system is ready for operational integration on F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-22 Raptors and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Auto-GCAS differs from other crash-avoidance systems in that it doesn’t create nuisance warnings and activates only at the last instant to take control and recover the aircraft when it determines collision is imminent. The determination is made when the aircraft is within 1.5 seconds of the “point of no return” and no action has been taken by the pilot.
[…]

In the skydiving world, we have the “AAD” or “Automatic Activating Device” that monitors your rate of descent, and if you reach a certain altitude and are still moving at a fairly high percentage of freefall speed, the system activates a cutter that cuts the loop holding your ripcord pin on your reserve. There are versions designed to pull main parachute ripcords, and are commonly used with military related High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) equipment, but the sport world only uses them for activating a reserve canopy.

I, once, will acting as a jumpmaster for a SEAL just returned from operational deployment, had to get a requal sport jump (AFF Level 4) to get active sport jumping again. The exit was fine, his stability was great, but the plan to knock off turns once 6000′ AGL was reached went out the window. He kept doing turns. At this point, I was falling about 4 feet in front of him, where I had been since turning him loose a few seconds after exiting at 13,000′.

I gave him the hand signal to pull several times, then I began to fly in to position myself next to his main ripcord to back up his thought process. Instead of realizing I was moving, he thought he was turning (using me as a reference point, and not some landmark out in front of him on the ground), so he kept maneuvering to point at me. Net result: I couldn’t get into position to pull either his main or reserve ripcords), about hip position on the right side (main) and heart position on the left for the reserve.

I lost altitude awareness, as had he, so we proceeded, at the speed of the pull of gravity (it’s not just a good idea, it’s the law!) towards the pine trees on the south side of the airport. I finally got smart and backed off and reached for my pull out for my main, and as I let go of the pilot chute, my AAD opened my reserve. A quick check of my altimeter put me just a little above 1000′. The setting for the Cyres AAD I was wearing is fixed at 800′, but apparently it comes on about 1200′ to monitor and when it saw the drastic change in the rate of pressure change (indicating rate of fall change) when my main began to open, it activated a little early. I had two clean canopies, so I cut away my main, checked my reserve for controllability, then hung a left turn into the wind and landed.

The student’s AAD also performed as designed. He got a talking to, and so did I from the DZ Owner. He made only one remark, but that’s all he had to say: “They have an AAD, too. It’s not worth losing your life if you’ve done all you are supposed to.”

Then George reminded me that training for students included “If you see your jumpmaster pull, it’s probably a good idea to do the same.” I had said it for years in class, too, but it’s one of those cases you just don’t happen into with regularity.

So, moral of the story:

• Jumpmasters: Don’t forget to pull on time
• Students: Yeah, what they did!

Oh…and I never tried to break the low pull record either.

Photo Credit: DoD Photo

From CENTCOM News Feed today:

Four-legged war fighters dwell in new abode

10 Aug 07
By Cpl. Ryan R. Jackson
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (FWD)

AL ASAD, Iraq — Throughout the theatre service members are continually asking for and receiving operational gear they need to accomplish their mission.

Sgt. Aaron DeSalvo, a military working dog handler, walks his dog Kelsey through the obedience course at the new kennel facility, July 18. The facility has an improved break yard and larger obedience course, which is used to improve the dog and handlers teamwork skills.The latest troops on Al Asad to get new mission essential equipment were the four-legged war fighters, more commonly known as military working dogs, of Task Force Military Police, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, who received new kennels during a ribbon cutting ceremony, July 18.

The new kennels were approximately a year and a half in the making and cost approximately $400,000. The kennels are a huge step in the right direction to properly house and care for the dogs, according to 1st Lt. William Turner, military working dog officer in charge.

The facility features include running water and drainage, a rinse tub for washing the dogs, and larger training grounds and break areas.
[…]