“Something in the air” is a recent post at Neptunus Lex.

Subject matter: As the political debate in the execution of the GWoT continues, how is this affecting those who serve?

The main post is a well thought out, well stated point of view of a prefessional warrior, an aviator, and a man who has held command in a combat role. He is no stranger to the intricacies of conflict, and a well studied man, or men and events, as well.

The discussion is a sane, polite discourse, wtih those on both sides of the issue, complete with some links to supportive information for consideration.

If you need to see such temperate, yet controversial, discussions can still be held, it’s up to you to click and go read…and join if you will, in the sharing of ideas.

Over on Black Five, a story sent in by a soldier known to the blogosphere as “Questing Cat” talks about the junior soldiers in the light of the reality of youth, combat, and NCOs, and he uses that long known term “The New Guys” to describe the message.

QC is back in Iraq, on his second tour. During his last tour, he posted a raw, detailed and intense story of exercising his Combat Life Saver (CLS) skills one day on the battlefield. He wrote it shortly after returning from the mission and it was the kind of writing that told the story of what that medical aid person is going through as he takes care of a wounded comrade. That blog is no longer available (see note), but will most likely be featured in Black Five’s upcoming book, where he has collected and edited the best of military blogs. The book is close to being published.

For those who have served, you will instantly know you were one once. The comments by the readers have add on stories to confirm and amplify on QC’s excellent shot of life via his writing.

History. The military taking the lead in the changing of the society on the issue of racial integration.

In 1943, on this day: Commissioning of USS Harmon (DE 678), first Navy ship named for an African-American Sailor.

This is the quick story of the man the ship is named for:

Poster featuring Mess Attendant Harmon and USS Harmon (DE-678), which was named in his honor. He was killed in action on board USS San Francisco (CA-38) during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942. For his heroism in that action, Mess Attendant Harmon was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. The poster also features the text of his award citation and a representation of the Navy Cross medal.

A fitting namesake for the ships that are at the tip of the spear, even today.

Part II left the notional Battleship Battle Group (BBBG) departing home ports on the East Coast, heading for the Gulf of Mexico.

As with many other moments at sea with DESRON 32, there was not enough time in any given moment, exaserbated by our need for data, that was electronically gathered and transmitted to us, but we had to sort it by hand. National tasking poured ream after ream of contact reports, which had to be quickly evaluated, checked against other tracks building and then analysed for its tactical significance, followed with orders for the use of our surveillance assests to maneuver to intercept. Under the crushing task of doing this, we didn’t realize we were leading the way for more automation of the Over the Horizon targeting (OTH-T) shooters and tactical staffs.

We used JOTS, the HP9020 computers that could take a LINK-14 data feed, and manual inputs. It wasn’t unusual to have 4 -6 tactical radio circuits you had to keep an ear out for key words. We were in port and starboard from the staff watchbill, two officers in each section, with OSCS(SW) Jim Koch staying on station about every waking moment for 6 straight days. We drove the flagship’s crew nuts, but, we were going to develop the tactics (or die trying).

we had brainstormed the use of Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missiles (TASM) and figured out we could plan attacks from multiple platforms, but we couldn’t, due to the technical limitations of the missiles using their search patterns, plan a simultaneous attack. No problem: We designed the “Near Simultaneous Time on Top” (NSTOT). By directing specific employment options, we had some reasonable degree of success in sending several TASMs at the target within a short time.

In addition to the tactical staff watchstanding requirements, we had to monitor the progress of the Cooperative Mobile targets (CMTs – see earlier posts on this topic). That added to the anxiety and intensity, as we had to control all that happened, if you follow my drift.

Oh, yes: We had masterminded an extensive, all encompassing data collection plan, which, we also, as watchstanders, had to make sure was being done, not only within our staff, but aboard the Flagship, and via radio, the other units in company.

When one of our shooters decided to launch a TASM, they would go out on the HF tactical radio net and transmit “GREENFLASH, GREENFLASH, GREENFLASH!” That message set in motion a detailed set of data collection for that moment, aboard all the players, so we might have the innformation to reconstruct were ships and aircraft thought they were and where they actually were.

For four days, that was the routine, carried on at max output plus another 50% or more. Not much sleep was gotten, and many meals were missed in the pseudo intensity of the exercises.

More later…the story continues!

Who knows…link here and yoiu just might get read by a few more readers…:)

Trackbacks now display as “in line,” meaning they will show up in the post, and also in the comments.

There is now a link at the beginning of the post that you can copy and paste and get the proper shortcut to send your trackback here.

So, come one, come all. Link til you drop.

Here’s my “sea story” and….due to hurricane hysteria locally, I’m just going to link to one from about a year ago:

Great! You’ve been to Legal School!”

It was said on my first full work day on my first ship, as a brand new officer and, it was “instructive.”

Welcome to the first weekly open trackback post!

I plan to make a post available weekly, on Wednesday afternoons, to allow other bloggers to link their work here, so hopefully, the real talent and ideas will spread even further. I do reserve the right to edit, revise, or delete, as I deem appropriate. No adult stuff, but reasoned discussions are welcomed. I do enjoy supported facts, and, as a general rule, think (having working on the “inside” for 20 years) just about every conspiracy theory is just that: a theory. Government projects involve too many people and people like to talk, so if only one person says they saw it happen, I find it easy to discount from my experiences.

So…link away, shipmates! If you don’t have a blog, but wold like to share a “sea story,” email it and I’ll look it over for posting.

For those wishing to post a trackback, get the link to the post here and then add “/trackback” to the link name. When you ping my blog, it will show up in the comments on this post. If anyone knows how to put trackbacks into the post automatically (with WordPress), please let me know.

Readers, please peruse the comment section for those posts other bloggers are sending over to share.

Today’s “Sea Story:”

There I was, still an ensign, but with a few months of sea time behind me. It was a day we were running a General Quarters drill, that was to include a “bugs and gass” (Chemical, biological, radiological (CBR)) portion of the scenario. I was the Combat Information Center Officer (CICO), so I was in CIC as the CIC Watch Officer, my GQ station.

I recall the 1MC (General announcing system) reports of the close by nuclear blast, and the subsequent reporting of the radiation levels. The actual “readings” were dummied up by the Damage Control Assistant, LT Cliff Barnes, for the drill. As time past, and the postualted movement of the wind spread the fall out, the counts got higher. We sat in the darkened space, performing our normal duties of keeping track of ships and aircraft in our vicinity.

I sat at a watch deck in the center of CIC, outfitted in my khakis, trouser legs tucked in, collar button buttoned, with my MK V gas mask pouch and inflatable life preserver around my waist. I can’t recall what I said, but one of my operation’s specialists leaned forward and said to me: “Call the bridge and tell them we’re ready to take control.”

We certainly could do the job of maneuvering the ship, but we’d be looking out to the nearby area by RADAR, deprived of any human eyeballs to look for small objects. I had three AN/SPA-4F RADAR repeaters to held us monitor the AN/SPS-10 surface seach RADAR. On my desk was a stack of sheets used for plotting relative maneuvers and other ships around us. We had the equipment, and the skills, but…it wasn’t a common thing to sail a 40K ton oiler about the ocean without anyone being outside to see, let alone with an Ensign that wasn’t yet qualified as Officer of the Deck, in charge of the rudder and engine orders.

I leaned forward, keyed the swith on the 21MC (also affectionately called the “btich box”) and said: “CIC ready to take control of the Conn!” Hey, I didn’t know any better and I think Chief Mac might have had some severe angina, but, it got really quiet behind me. I’m thinking it was more like the quiet when people are trying not to laugh at what the ensign just did, rather than they were aghast….

Not a moment later, the deep voice of CDR David Martin, the executive officer (XO), called back in the 21MC and said: “CIC has the Conn! We’re evactuating the bridge!”

The quiet of not chuckling in CIC thruned to the shock and awe quiet for a few seconds, startled at the response, but then it got busy, with Chief Mac hollering for info and directing the CIC gang at their profession.

The XO, then pretending to the be the Officer in Tactical Command (OTC), sent a dummy tactical maneuvering radio signal, ended with the immediate execute direction. Using RADAR and the “Mo Board” I directed the ship to the new ordered station. Once I “arrived,” and reported “On Station,” a little sigh of relief went thru the space. We had moved farther away from the giude of the formation. Not too difficult, but we were nervous not having any “eyes” (actually the XO and a few others stayed on the bridge).

Within seconds, the dummy tactical signal from the “OTC” (the XO), directed us back to the original station. Now we were poitning ourselves basically at the other ships and working our way back, again, all by RADAR only.

We got there just fine, but all of us were sweating, for by the Ship’s Deck Log, I and my CIC gang were directly responsible for the safety of the ship. Once back in station, the bridge team “remanned” and took control of the Conn once more. The XO realyed a BZ from the CO for our tactical accumen, and then we really were able to relax a little bit.

So….beware what you tell your new ensign to do, the XO may take you up on it….

Notice: This post will evolve and expand this evening (8/18) and now into 8/19. Lots of issues here, just in case someone decides we need to protect out coastline. I’m starting it now to get the thought process going, but if you’re interested, check back late tonight or tomorrow for more of my insights.

Got this from Milblogs and the poster there, Eagle1, has more at his site, including a 7/26/06 post.

I feel like adding my two cents and I will “fisk” myself, using my own comments I posted on Eagle1’s blog:

A thorny issue indeed. Many years gone by, there were NIKE AJAX and HERCULES, as well as BOMARC missile sites all around the US, near major cities to defeat the threat of manned bombers.

I grew up near the Renton, WA Boeing plant, and a family friend got me a factory model of a IM-99 BOMARC missile, complete with the TEL.

How can we possibly manage a coast line defense without massive expeditures, let alone the acquisitions of real estate in all of the places we would need to park a RADAR/SAM Site?

First issue: While ballistic missiles go up, with enough altitude to show well beyond local horizon, we’ll need outward looking RADAR systems to continually scanning the horizon, on the azimuths of the expected threat….At the very least, we’d have to place many RADAR sites on the East, Gulf and West coastlines for protection. We could decline to place them on the Northern and Southern border, as the threat is postualted, in this case, to be sea launched. We would have to acquire plots of land, every so many vulnerable miles to allow siting the defense systems. The effort and the cost would be staggering to cover all three coasts, so some hard decisions would have to be made, as to which places were of “high value.” Who would make this decision matrix up?

If we choose to only protect some areas, then, as demonstrated by the terrorists, the tactics are to go for the weak spots. What if a “tramp steamer” was modified to carry North Korean manufactred SCUDs? As a result, the non-/less defended areas would most likely become the targets of choice for those wishing to make a point. The follow on outcry would parallel that of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with citizens with loud voices, would have expected that every single square inch of American soil and neighborhood was protected with 100% certainty. The human wreckage would be bad enough, but the political fallout would be horrific, as we seem we are no longer able to understand the Federal Government cannot take care of everyone, everywhere.

It’s not out of the question, these days, that other than nation sates with military power, have access and support (financial, logistical and training) to field and use weapons of increasing size and complexity. The Israelis found this out when a CS-801 anti-ship missile was launched from the vicinity of Beriut.

Second issue: Land acquisition. My father worked for years in Montana, North and South Dakota (and other states in the vicinity I’m sure) as an Army Corps of Engineers land appraiser. He travelled most of the time in my early years, finding and procuring land for Minute Man silos. I do recall discussions, once in a while about “condemning” property back then, and have come to understand years later that’s what we have come to know as “eminent domain.” I’m also sure, the cost wasn’t cheap for that level of national security to be put in place.

While I was on active duty, my dad visited me in Virginia Beach, there to work on getting the local community to grant easements for the land around Oceana Master Jet Base. The Navy wanted agriculture only. That was when Viginia Beach was the fastest growing city in the US, during the Reagan military build up. With the building of Lynnhaven Mall in early 80’s, there was concern such a large shopping center would be located essentailly under the landing and approach patern for a busy air station, not to mention, more and more farm land was being sold, and both commercial and residential building was taking place around there. The response from the City Council/community was: “If you want the land to be free of buildings…then buy it!” What would happen now if we had to purchase beachfront property, particularly when it’s near population centers (to be defended) at today real estate pricing? Think about the cost…more comments later in this article related to this topic.

I’m wondering if RCA is proposing the SPY-1 Series, in a block house, with a MK-41 VLS matrix in a self contained blockhouse arrangement.

Call it “MOTS” (Military Off the Shelf), for purposes of discussion, but…there are systems developed, tested, deployed and documented in our hands right now. The ideal shopping list of equipment would be from those items deployed aboard Navy combatants, as they are designed for maximum capability, using minimum space and limited resources. The logistics chain is already established and the only issue would be quantities, from a contracting standpoint.

I mentioned the AN/SPY-1(series) phased array RADAR, and the AN/SPG-99 Illimuniators because they have proven themselves with several decades of service. The proof of concept on this type of shore based installation has been in place for many years, being nicknamed the “Cornfield Cruiser” near the RCA plant in Moorstown, NJ. The MK-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) missile matrix is already certified to operate with several types of anti-aircraft weapons. Other choice might be the Rolling Airframe Missile with the modified MK-15 Close In Weapons System mounting for point defense of the RADAR site itself. Toss in the AN/USG-2(V) Cooperative Engagement System (CEC) capability for intercommunications between nodes. All this stuff is in service right now.

All you’d have to solve is the radio frequency interference (RFI) issues when operating high powered RADAR. The issue there is when the US and the Soviet Union put over the horizon early warning radars on the line in the late 70’s, the exceptionally high strength signal “splattered about the RF spectrum, and Amatuer Radio Operators referred to the signals as “the Woodpecker” for it’s characteristic interference signal in serval bands. These sites would play havoc with local TV and radio reception, a necessary side effect for the trade off of defense.

Another particulalry interesting issue involved in placing such things in a neighborhood, since explosives ordnance will be present, is the blast radius of detonating ordnance in the event of that unplanned circumstance. One other project my father worked on was the possibility of building an ammo pier on Guam, in one of the bays on the SW part of the island (this was during the height of the VN war, and the B-52s out of Anderson AFB hauled a lot of bombs). I do recall sitting at the kitchen table, looking at aerial phots of the area, with concentric circles superimposed on them. The inner circle was the area where houses would be leveled, the second, I believe was major strutural damage and the third, where glass windows would be blown out. Of course they had to plan for an entire ship load of ordnance exploding, not merely something like 16 SM-3 anti-air missiles. In any case, this is not an issue most real estate agents have to consider. In other words, the physical space for the site, in terms of land procurement is one issue, but then having a cleared, safe area, in the event of explosions, adds to the acreage needed. It would be costly.

Questions:

1) If we can’t get people in Martha’s Vineyard to allow wind generators on towers off the beach, how will we get them to accept the placement of a phased array and a booster disgarding missile system “just down the block” from their house?

Even when last years devestating hurricanes helped (once again) to point out our dependence on foreign oil, not only did the beach residents of MA say “NOT IN MY FIELD OF VIEW (will you construct those ugly wind towers)!”, but the CA and FL congressmen banded together, across party lines, to ensure no oil drilling would occur with 250 miles of a beach (unless you’re Chinese oil rigs working for Cubans). So if too high gas prices won”t allow measures to solve the problem, would the concept of placing systems as decribed above work any better? And, in actual fact, it’s not like you can just lobby to place your defensive system (for your locale) in a less affluent neighborhood, because defense is about location and geometry, and cares not even a little for the economic topography….

2) If we don’t want to fund manpower to sit as virtual TAOs at each site (wow…job opportunity for retired SWOs!), is there a plan to have a centrally located node with the RADAR/ESM sensor data being transmittded to where the decision maker will sit a 24/7/365 watch?

3) If the manpower is too much money for the taxpayers liking, will “we” accept software control of engagements (which…is already a proven function in several systems)? Will we choose an MS operating system to manage the functions, and if so, will Bill Gates allow the review of the software at the code level?

Ah, more to blog on….I have some background in the field…

Software safety. Big issue. Worthy of tackling when I can pull out the mental coal shovel, so I’ll end this tale for the night. Check back for more tomorrow (late day)

In Part I, I laid the foundation for the rest of this recitation of events now twenty years in the past. Catch up if you need to.

Armed with antecdotal understanding of the next generation of anit-surface missiles, new RADAR capabilites, a little more understanding of the SH-60B sensor and weapons suite, our staff began many meetings around the table in the conference room in the front of Building W-5, first deck. How would a notional battle group, with a BB as the central unit, be able to project power? Implied, and how can it keep itself knowledgable of the local tactical environment? A big challenge, since we were used to just calling for aircraft from the CV to help us paint the picture of who was who in the briny blue neighborhood. Out of the question. Some land based VP assets, or possibly AWACS, may be available, but just grabbing the secure phone to AREC (air resource coordinator) wasn’t going to cut it. Tasking (to use staff weenies): Solve the problem. No option to report that all options were investigated and it was a bone headed idea. Anyhow, we “appreciated” a challenge.

Along the way to a proposed plan, we began casting nets in various directions, soliciting help. This led to us getting to know the commander at CINCLANTFLT (CLF) in charge of the Tomahawk mission planners. We corraled the crypto guys and, flashed our clearances and demanded details on what info they could provide us. That was good for most, but our Commodore demanded that we find out how it worked, which came to be a major factor in not only the planning, but the follow on analysis of the days at sea. Being insistent paid off. We sat down with the Joint Cruise Missile Project Office (JCMPO) guys and picked their brains. In retrospect, their job was to nudge the system to a fully successful set of conditions, so sometimes, the data seemed useful, but, we found out, sometimes wasn’t the tactical truth to make the rubber meet the road.

The master plan was not only to have the real cooperative mobile target of the WILLIAM V PRATT for four days, the SPRU Can for about two, but CLF was happy to build a pile of “virtual” tracks. At the time, we called them “constructive” tracks, but in today’s market, virtual is a better descriptor. We also had CLF arrange priority tasking for assets to provide long range intel and warning “tippers.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Capt Lex tries to convince us he has brain lock. Not a chance for the master poet/author and philospher of all things Naval Aviation related….

I, on the other hand, sometimes think like that, yet, via the magic of the net (invented by Al Gore), lo and behold, things of interest just appear….

For example: Last night while looking for pictures of ships, I came across a poem, in hand written an illustrated form, that speaks to the fine life of the legendary destroyerman. A creature of iron constitution, a stomach that can handle greasy food in a hurricane/typhoon, eagle eyes (correctable to 20/20 and not color blind, but possibly partly deaf from too many gun shoots or years as the MPA/CHENG/DCA/ELECO/AUXO/B DIV, etc), and a sense of dark humor of their own.

The larger version is here, but difficult to read.

Fear not, my few readers….Here it is in more legible form, even if it lacks the character of the original graphics.

Destroyer Life
by Berton Braley

There’s a roll and a pitch a heave and a hitch
to the nautical gait they take,
For they’re used to the cant of decks aslant
as the white toothed breakers break,
On the sides that thrum like a beaten drum
to the thrill of the turbines might,
As the knife-bow leaps thru the yeasty deeps
with the speed of a shell in flight.

Oh their scorn is quick for the crews that stick
to a battleship steady “floor,”
And they love the lurch of their own frail perch
at thirty five knots or more.
They don’t get much of the drill and such that battleship sailors do,
But sail the seas in their dungarees,
a grimy destroyer crew.

They needn’t climb at sleeping time
it to a hammock that sways and bumps,
Don’t leap, Kerplunk! In a cozy bunk
that quivers and bucks and jumps.
They hear the sound of seas that pound
on the quarter inch plates of steel,
And close their eyes to the lull abyes
of creaking sides and steel.

They’re a husky crowd and vastly proud
of the slim grey craft they drive.
Of the roaring flues and hammering screws
that make her a thing alive.
They love the lunge of the surge and plunge
and the mark of her smoke screens, too
As they sail the seas in their dungarees,
a grimy destroyer crew.

Back to Neptunus Lex for a moment and some analysis:

After he made his rhetorical post, he made two more and has already made three today. Go figure.

August 2nd, 1943:

John F. Kennedy’s PT boat was run over while patroling the Ferguson and Blackett Straits near the islands of Kolumbangara, Gizo, and Vella-Lavella.

And, as an aside, it seems the great ship finder, Robert Ballard found the wreckage in 2002.