Free range Open Trackbacks! What a deal!

What to discuss? How about the t-shirt?

The postal clerk had some rock music magazine he kept in his post office, up in the forward passageway. Often, on my daily messing and berthing inspections, I’d pass by and stick my head in to check the current status of the stowage of the place, which could range from neat and nearly empty to packed pretty full of large orange mail bags waiting to leave or to be sorted.

I paged through said magazine one day and noticed an article about concert shirts, which included one that said “Attila the Hun – Middle East Tour.” I commented on how I liked that one, particularly (if you caught it last week) since I had been posting sayings from “Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun” on my stateroom door during the cruise.

Very shortly before I was to leave the ship in Bharain and fly home, the PC3 handed me a folded up white t shirt. I unfolded it to see it was nicely hand lettered with “Attila the Hun Middle East Tour – Oct 89 – Mar 90.”

On the day I detached, the ship was also sailing to return to CONUS. I stood on the pier, watching my ship, my exclusive home for the last 5 months, single up, then take in all lines. As the 1MC passed the word “UNDERWAY! SHIFT COLORS!” I opened my shirt to reveal the “concert” shirt to the line handlers amidships, where the PC was.

For fear of the marker lettering running, that was the one time the shirt was worn, and only briefly. I changed out of it before I went to the airport and stowed it away for safe keeping.

I’m glad you asked….especially you from the Marine, Army and Air Force ValOUR-IT Teams.

“MEGEN” (say it sort of like like a girl’s name) is the “Most Exhaulted Golden NotEbook,” the trophy for the 2006 ValOUR-IT fund drive. (H/T: SteelJaw Scribe for the name)

MEGEN is going to help set up the fund collection efforts for this coming October/November campaign. If you other teams had done better, you wouldn’t be getting snarked by Team Navy like this. So, here’s the deal: MEGEN is going on a trip to many places Navy, to pose for pictures and allow the escorts to tell the story of ValOUR-IT along the way.

Today, MEGAN was fortunate enough to pose for a picture with a person from Navy history, a crewman of the USS MASON (DE-529), a destroyer escort in WWII crewed by African-Americans. Ben Garrison was a Radioman 3/C and plankowner on that ship and therefore is one of the Navy’s icons.We, Team Navy, are going to make a point of getting in contact with many people with strong affiliation to the Navy in order to be ready to flood the coffers of ValOUR-IT right out of the starting gate. Names and emails will be amassed to make sure we smoke you all and then we can plan on a second tour for MEGEN in 2008.Now, just to see how we’ll will douse this wonderful trophy in naval settings, you’ll have to come back here and see what our evil plans are to rub it in for the next several months. We’re not telling in advance, but know the locations will be well picked for maximum PR and donation effect.For any readers, if you’d like to kick in a few bucks to a great project to help the wounded troops, click here! Money is needed all year around, not just near Veteran’s Day. Thanks for your support!And Matt and Jimbo, Cassandra and John, time to get your game on!

Do you need to fact check, or are you just curious as to what happened today in aviation history?

May 26th in aviation history:

* In 1923… Lieutenant H. G. Crocker lands at Gordon, Ontario, to complete a non-stop transcontinental south/north flight from Houston, Texas, of 11 hours, 55 minutes. (AYY)
* In 1942… The Northrop XP-61 Black Widow night fighter prototype flies for the first time. (AYY) [Such a a cool aircraft!]
* In 1970… The prototype Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic airliner reaches a speed of 1,335mph, becoming the first commercial transport in the world to exceed Mach 2. (AYY)
* In 1972… Cessna Aircraft Corporation announces completion of the company’s 100,000th aircraft, becoming the first company in the world to achieve such a production figure. (OTM) [I’ve been a traveler in 172s, 180s, 182s, 205s, 206s, 210s, 214s….and on only a few occasions did I land with the plane]

U.S. Centennial of Flight has a searchable timeline part of the site to give you a hand.There is a section for educators that links to events month by month, that may be a good place to generate some ideas for blogging history.

Just a reminder to all those who try to profess they say they know what history will record at the moment something happens:

In 1967, when Governor Reagan and Senator Robert Kennedy debated a group of international college students, interesting things were said…

It sure seems to have taken a long time for a historian to remind us of this.

While not a total revelation — it was caught by a few early Reagan biographers — there was an event that occurred 40 years ago this month that has gone underreported and certainly unappreciated. The event concerns not only Reagan’s political life but that of an equally well-known rising star of the time: Robert F. Kennedy. It should be a permanent part of our mental history of Reagan’s rise, if not a permanent video exhibit at the Reagan Library and Museum.

On May 15, 1967, there was a fascinating debate between California’s new Republican governor, Ronald Reagan, and New York’s new Democratic senator, Robert F. Kennedy. The subject: the Vietnam War. The debate was titled “The Image of America and the Youth of the World,” and was billed by CBS as a “Town Meeting of the World.”
[…]

And, that wasn’t exactly what Governor Reagan said in 1967, but he did say the wall should be removed.

H/T: Chapomatic

He said what? Here’s why:

After effects of the Toby Keith concert: Wrote this country music song while driving around in my humvee. Maybe later I’ll work out the guitar part and record.

The result?

The Free and the Brave
[Greyhawk]

Over in America, home of the free
Land of unlimited opportunity
People in the streets protest whatever they can
While over in Iraq and Afghanistan

The brave, far from home, are standing tall
toeing the line, so they can have it all
Some like to complicate it but it’s simple to me
<b><i>They’re making noise, we’re making history.</i></b>
[…]

(Click here for the rest of the song)

He already “wrote” the words for one song, which a group, 3db Down, used the words from one of his posts of his for his prior trip to the sandbox (2005).

I think he may have a career planned for retirement!

Ah, we are living in interesting times.

The President says we need to help secure the Iraqi borders, so foreign fighters don’t come in….

The President, and the Congress (for the most part) says it’s too hard to secure our borders, so we should just accept those here…

Am I missing some thread of consistency here?

Either we take the easy way out in Iraq and commit no more resources to control the Iraqi borders, because, as the Democrats will say it’s not effective and too hard…or we put the effort in over there and OVER HERE!

Anyhow, I think there is a dynamic of both the Republican and Democratic parties being in a turf war over the prospect of new voters to fill their ranks. It’s like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts fighting it out to control the market. It’s all about power.

Forget the sports analogy, we need some people brave enough to throw themselves on the political hand grenades, or man the Ma-Duece in the face of about 100 people “eying you with bad intent” so that the rest of us survive, even if it means your political life ends. Yes, I prefer the military service model, thank you Mr. Arkin.

Which ever party looks the “most magnanimous” believes they will get the voters to enter and swell their base. We “extra curricular politics” (speaking as one of “those”) aren’t the issue in their mind, but we just may be come the very next election…

Open trackbacks! Post your Open Trackbacks!

The XO’s work day while deployed. Maybe not much fun, but the stuff that makes the Navy run.

Up at 0500. Roll out of the rack and crank out a bunch of push ups. Do it quietly, for on and FFG, you have a roommate.

Save, shower and dress. “Wash” khakis with long sleeve shirt, sleeves rolled up (down for a ‘bad” day to prevent flash burns). Cotton sweat socks, combat boots. Check for obligatory Buck knife on belt, securely in it’s case. Chief Mac said you need to be ready to be over the side. Wise thought.

Head forward, push several buttons on the door to Radio Central’s cypher lock, step in, scan the space for the smiling faces of the radiomen on watch. Listen for “normal” nosies. Grab large mass of paper in the XO’s message box. Leave Radio, aft a few feet to the ladder, down a deck to the Wardroom. Get a cup of coffee, sit down at the table and begin sorting traffic into the piles for level of priority. Pen action dates and action position on the messages as necessary.

Get up, retreat to the stateroom, turn on the Z-248, start up the AW-SHOOT program and enter items of importance into the database. Select “print” and watch the print outs for “ALL” (mine), OPS, CSO, Supply, ENG and AIR spew forth. Separate them and hang the “ALL” one on my clipboard. Punch and file the action messages in the tickler notebook.

Head down to the Wardroom to eat breakfast. It’s about 0630 by now. Finish eating, take a walk to the Bridge and see how the day is shaping up. Check with the Quartermaster of the Watch and ask the Officer of the Deck how things have been going.

Back to the stateroom to grab the clipboard of all things important. Hear “Quarters. All hands to quarters for muster, inspection and instruction! Fair weather parade!” be passed. Head down to the main deck, then forward to Combat Systems berthing. Walk through, visually noting the general cleanliness of the space. Make notes for Officer’s Call as necessary. Continue the tour of the other berthing spaces, for and aft, repeating the process. Head forward and up to get to the Bridge and then aft of the Pilot House.

“Officer’s Call!” The department heads, or their available fill in, report, with a salute (if we’re covered) “All hands present or accounted for” in turn. Hand out department specific tickler sheets produced by the much maligned management tool. Ask status of items below the “Line of Death.” determine if arbitration or harsh, one way conversation is necessary, depending on how ling the action item has languished below the appointed date of achievement. Scan the Plan of the Day, discuss work or operational issues of importance. Dismiss the department heads and the Command Senior Chief.

Head below two decks, knock on the CO’s Cabin door and enter. Report all hands present or accounted for from the departments. Inform the CO fo the days plan, and discuss any messages that had come in over night needing action. Let him know when the draft responses to any “P4s” (“Personal For” the captain message traffic) might be ready for his review. Spend a little time discussing other scheduling matters. Request he not use the entire small arms ammunition training allowance today, so I might get a chance to fire a few rounds off the Bridge Wing.

Head back to the Stateroom, commence pretending to do paperwork, knowing they will soon (if they haven’t already, stacked up at my door) arrive with all manner of questions to be answered. Make sure the “Memo from the XO” paper hanging on the cork board on the Stateroom door is not too out of date with the “Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun” saying of the day. If it is, grab the book off the desk and copy a new one for posting. If not, get to work digging through the “IN” basket.

At 1000, “XO’s Messing and Berthing Inspection!” is passed. Get up, head to one of the berthing compartments and review the cleanliness with the petty officer in charge of the compartments. Make sure the head area is cleaned well, looking around behind things, in things and using a mirror to inspect those out of the way areas. Make sure the laundry is being taken care of, and ask if there are any hinderances to getting the deep cleaning done. After checking the berthing areas, inspect the Mess Decks, Galley and Scullery areas for proper sanitation. Check the temperatures of the scullery equipment on the final rinse section to make sure the eating utensils will be safe for the next meal.

By now it’s getting close to lunch (1130). Spend the few free minutes wandering the far ends of the ship, making sure things are stowed and cleaned up.

Lunch time. Enjoy a little conversation, check watch for upcoming “local apparent noon” time. excuse myself to shoot a sun line at “LAN.” Invite the officer who have yet to have completed their Surface Warfare Officer PQS to come along. Hear one say “I’ll be up in a few minutes, XO!” knowing he doesn’t get it yet….

ON the Bridge Wing, watch the Sun in the sextant rise, rise, rise, then hang in place and then just begin to move down. Call “MARK!” to the Quartermaster of the Watch. Plot the sun line on the chart, stow the sextant in the Chart Room and head back to Radio to get another handful of traffic. Back to the Stateroom to review and sort the new stack of paper. File as necessary.

At 1300, “Turn To!” is announced to get the Ship’s company back to work. Continue on for me.

And that’s the first 8 hours of the day. More next week.

The “Snipes.” They work all the time. I didn’t understand this until I became the pretend leader of 75 professional engineers.

From the 5/22/2007 CENTCOM News Release:

Engineering Department Keeps Shreveport Running

22 May 2007
By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Seth Clarke

USS SHREVEPORT, At Sea – In the main machinery rooms of USS Shreveport (LPD 12), an Austin-class amphibious docking ship, earplugs are mandatory. The spaces are loud and hot, and without the continued attention of the crew, the ship simply would not go anywhere.

The Sailors on the bridge may run the ship, but they perform their jobs thanks to their shipmates several decks below—the Sailors that make the ship run.

Photo: Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Junior Liverpool stands watch below decks in main machinery room one aboard USS Shreveport (LPD 12). The engineering department on board maintains the boilers, desalinizes seawater into potable drinking water, controls electricity generators, and speeds up or slows down the throttle of the ship.

“The main spaces are basically the heart of the ship,” said Master Chief Machinist Mate Donald N. Duffy, Shreveport’s engineering department leading chief petty officer. “If they don’t work, we don’t go anywhere. We don’t have heat, air conditioning or water. We have no way to cook food, no lights to see with and no electricity to run equipment on the ship.”

Sailors working in the belly of Shreveport pull more than their own weight. A lean crew, the engineering staff sometimes stand six-and-six watches: Six hours on, six off, and six on again. That makes for plenty of long workdays.

Duffy said the hard work continues when the ship pulls into port, and most of the crew departs for liberty.

“When we’re in different ports, no matter where we go in the world, one of the plants has to stay up so we can have electricity and air conditioning,” said Duffy. “Other divisions and other departments can secure their equipment, and everybody can go on liberty. We have to maintain a full watchbill.”
[…]

Read it all

I enjoy reading the hisotry of military things, with an emphasis on Naval matters. Between several of the Navy bloggers, there’s plenty to do. EagleSpeak, CDR Salamander and SteelJaw Scribe all have great regularly scheduled posts on history.

I have been pondering covering ship classes for a while now, but recently began reading “Six Frigates” and have run across a laundry list of names that I have heard ships named after. I knew the history of some of modern day names ships have been named after, but never paid attention to those from a few centuries ago. I think it’s time, supported by the wonderful story Ian Toll tells, to connect those who put our Navy to sea in the 1790’s, and fought our first battles to the issues they faced in a new nation to the ships that were named in their honor. My pastor regularly says “Context is everything.” Here is a case in which this applies.

I’m not sure if I’ll make it “Ship History Saturday” or just pick a day and go for it, but watch for it soon.

Heads up from Flag Gazer via email:

Sgt. Rafael Peralta: Act of Honor
This Saturday, May 19, 2007, at 6:00/7:00 p.m., Act of Honor about the hero Sgt. Rafael Peralta.

The History Channel’s summary:

On November 15, 2004, Sgt. Rafael Peralta died while fighting to secure a key insurgent stronghold in Iraq. Peralta and fellow Marines were ambushed by guerillas who then lobbed a grenade at them. Already seriously wounded, Peralta shielded his companions by covering the explosive device with his body, saving their lives and sacrificing his own. Watch Peralta’s extraordinary journey from Tijuana, Mexico to San Diego to the streets of Iraq. Included are interviews with his widowed mother and three siblings in San Diego. I urge you to watch and learn about a true hero, a Marine, an American.

For more information see my posts which include many comments by
Sgt. Rafael Peralta’s family and friends:
Sgt. Rafael Peralta – New Photos
HERO: Sgt. Rafael Peralta
[This is a reprint of my most recent blog post: Sgt. Rafael Peralta:
Act of Honor
*This email is a one time ever mailing to all of my Gmail contacts. If you don’t know me, don’t worry, you will never receive another
message from me. I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you.
Don Danz
http://www.DanzFamily.com