It was a typical Monday morning at Charleston Naval Station for USS CARR (FFG-52). Once more, the crew had come aboard before sunrise and added their efforts to that of the duty section to get the ship underway. The Getting Underway checklist was completed and the CO gave me permission to get the ship underway.

Off we sailed, without exceptional circumstances, to head outboard in the tight channel, “riding the ranges” as was the convention for navigation in the lowlands of Charleston Harbor. Reaching the sea buoy, we left two engines on the line, turned due south and enjoyed the bright day. Preps were in place by the Operations and Engineering Departments to perform that late afternoon as scheduled: Ready deck for Helicopter Anti-Submarine (Light) Squadron 44 (HSL-44) landings to keep their new and old pilots and aircrews proficient.

On such assignments, we knew the drill: We could sprint from Charleston early in the morning and be on station in the Jacksonville Operations Area (JAXOA) bu late in the afternoon, the transit being considered “local,” which allowed us to circumvent the normal transit speed limitation of 16 kts overall speed for the MOVREP (moving reporting) system. This trip south of homeport was no exception.

Comms were established with the helos and we commenced deck qualifications while the sun was still shining brightly. As the day drew on, with the deck crews, the fueling crews and the operations personnel keeping the helos coming and going, dusk was settling in. I don’t recall exactly when it occurred, but it was sometime after nautical twilight, when the helo on approach requested to be chocked and chained on deck, so our assigned detachment Officer-in-Charge, LCDR Marty Keanny could come aboard and speak with the CO. PREGRA and Marty disembarked and headed through the hanger and forward to the Captain’s Cabin.

After Marty left, Captain Wade Johnson called me to come up to his cabin. He told me Marty let him know HSL-44 would be heading to Warner-Robbins AFB first thing in the morning. That of course, left us on the OPSKED to bore holes in the JAXOA until Friday with no helos to land on us.

And so the day ended.buy Dances with WolvesRing of Fear dvd

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Mines in the Gulf, again Broken Trail movie download Same bad actors, same possible bad outcomes.

Mining in your own territorial waters? Completely legit under International Law.

Note to the President of Iran, and his photo-shopping Revolutionary Guard commanders: FA-18s aren’t stopped by seaborne mines….I know, details, details…

H/T: Commenter Pastorius @ LGF.

Because someone has to do it, that’s why.

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The story begins a few years earlier, but you trot down to the Recruiting Office and sign in, then take the physical. It seems you have been “a very, very sickly little boy” and your father has managed to hide that, in fact, it even stays hidden form many more years. So you get a 4-F designation, even before WWII for America has even begun? What do you do?

“I am rapidly reaching a point where every one of my peers will be in uniform, and I do not intend to be the only one among them wearing coward’s tweeds” you write to your friend. With some “help” and connections, you land a commission in the US Navy and a billet in the Office of Naval Intelligence, which you are well suited for. You still have, by the medical records, suffered trough jaundice, colitis and back problems (a result of too many steroids). However, along the way, you have gone into the demanding sports and not let such trivial things slow you down.

You have dated some world class women, and get connected with a Europe beauty, who’s family has a few “connections” not on the right side of the prevailing sentiments. You get told you intel gig is at risk. Do you dump the dame, and keep the office job? Nope. You take the option. There’s a slight change since taking the commission: There’s now a shooting war on…

Along comes a man, looking for men like you, sailors of yachts, smart, dependable. He wears a light blue ribbon around his neck, when in a full dress uniform, he’s been in the hardest, dirtiest fighting, left behind with his crew to manage to be “self sufficient” or die and he becomes a monumental road block to the enemy, before he finds his way south to Australia, with the rescue of a general and president to his credit, all without a SIMA, tender, TYCOM or NAVSEA to hold his hand. He’s manning up the PT Boat fleet and he needs men who want a challenge. You take it.

Side note: You may have family connections (Dad sends a telegram for a lunch date), but LCDR Bulkeley is a man who only does things the right way. Lunch with Joe Kennedy Sr lasted from 1 to 8PM, with John Bulkeley agreeing to interview Jack the next time he was at Northwestern, and would accept him if he measured up. From “Sea Wolf: The Daring Exploits of Navy Legend John D. Bulkeley” by William Breuer: A Cat In The Brain dvd

Twenty-five-year-old Jack Kennedy passed muster with flying colors. In his interview, the handsome young man appeared fearless and eager, and had sailed his own sloop in Cape Cod since he was 15 years old. These assets would make him and ideal PT-boat- skipper.

The two men would next meet at JFK’s inauguration in 1961. And then once more, team up to fight the enemy, this time at a small island base named Guantanamo Bay.

Back to the tale of this day long ago:

You do so well in training you get a gig as an instructor, before shipping out to the Solomon Islands. When you arrive, they give you the hanger queen: PT-109. It needs work and you don’t have a crew yet. You put on your shorts and grab some tools and go to work. It’s hot, it’s humid and you’re an officer, but you crew arrives to find you, not wearing a shirt or rank insignia and you have a scrapper or paint brush in your hand. They arrive, you keep working along side them.

Eventually, you take your boat to sea to patrol Blackett Strait. No RADAR, just seaman’s eye and judgment are your main sensors that moonless night. You had 10 seconds warning to take evasive maneuvers. Not enough time to clear the stem of steel headed your way.

Much of the tale of the events that transpired from Aug 2 to Aug 9th, 1943 have been captured for the record. What I found striking in the article in this month’s America in WWII magazine about John Kennedy is John had always been a man plagued with medical issues, but he was a man who, for whatever reason, had been taught to “cowboy up” and “get ‘er done,” in today’s parlance. The accepted story is his back problems of later public life were a result of being rammed by a Japanese destroyer going 40 kts. Not true, he had already been suffering for years, and it seems out in theater, only his XO knew.

So, as the story goes, JFK decided the crew that served him worthy of being saved, even if he perished at night, alone, in the ocean currents, hoping to flag down a patrolling PT boat miles from shore. In retrospect, the ship sinking survivor stories of WWII are replete with the terror of the shark attacks, snatching men to their death from below. John Kennedy went out two nights alone after the first arrival ashore.

The bottom line? He took care of his men, and specifically the badly wounded. He did not avert his gaze, he did not declare some one beyond hope, fitting to be left behind to die alone in the sea. He swam them to safety, not once, but twice.

Bad back, bought of severe abdominal distress, under normal conditions, he did not waver, he did not fail, he did not give up, he did not surrender, and he did not forget those who could do a job. But, it all started with a man not taking the lead in getting into the military, but being shamed into it by those around him joining up. The end result? A great leader emerged, to take on the Soviet Threat and to take the US and the world to the moon.

The editor’s column asks for a post card vote to say if the Navy Marine Corps Medal JFK was awarded should be upgraded to a Navy Cross. After reading this story, once more, but in light of a man graded not fit for active service, but who did all that anyone else was required anyhow, I think my vote is “Yes.”

You can mail you vote to:

America in WWII – JFK
PO BOX 4175
Harrisburg, PA 1711-0175

Write “Navy Cross for JFK – Yes” or “No”

Related: Last year’s PT-109 post Madhouse trailer , which includes a link to Robert Ballard’s location of the wreckage of PT-109.

40 years ago, the USS CORAL SEA (CV-43) “hosted” the carrier trials of the F-111B.

I found this bit of history covered in more detail at the USS CORAL SEA’s website. The Return of a Man Called Horse movie download

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Octopussy movie On that page, you’ll find a link the Ship’s Store, where you can purchase a 20 min DVD of the trials, as well as three links to the background story of the TFX program (done by SteelJaw Scribe buy One Hour Photo

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) about the navalized version of the Air Force’s F-111A.

Update 7/5/2008:

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From DefenseLink:

More Than 1,100 Troops in Iraq to Re-enlist in Independence Day Ceremony
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2008 – More than 1,100 servicemembers stationed in Iraq will celebrate the nation’s birthday tomorrow by re-enlisting, the senior enlisted leader for Multinational Force Iraq said today.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin L. Hill said 1,157 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines will re-enlist at the Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory, in Baghdad. This may be the largest re-enlistment ceremony since the all-volunteer force began in 1973, Hill said via phone from Baghdad.

This is becoming an annual blockbuster event for the command. Last year, 588 servicemembers re-enlisted.

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments we have made in security on the ground as well as proud of all of our great warriors for the work they are doing since they arrived in theater,” Hill said. “We recognize the sacrifices they make and the sacrifices their families and communities make as they serve in Iraq.”

These servicemembers know the cost of war and they are still re-enlisting, Hill said. Some serve in “the most austere conditions — meaning they are in patrol bases and combat outposts,” he noted. Some of the re-enlisting servicemembers are in places where the troops “hot-bunk it” — that is, they take turns using limited sleeping space — and burn human waste because they lack plumbing. Others are based in more comfortable surroundings.

The vast majority of the servicemembers tell Hill and others that they are re-enlisting because “they are doing what they joined the military to do,” he said.

“If they joined to be a rifleman, they’re doing it in combat,” the sergeant major said. “If they joined to fix helicopters, they’re doing it and doing it in combat.”

Often in years past, he said, some warriors probably felt they weren’t doing what they joined the military to do, he said.

“Now, since we’ve been fighting this global war on terrorism … these warriors are doing what they joined to do,” he explained. “They can see the fruit of their labor and see the fruit of the sacrifices of those who have gone before them. It makes them feel good about what they are doing.”

The ceremony will be broadcast on the Pentagon Channel, Hill said. Multinational Force Iraq Commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus will preside. Hill and Petraeus will speak at the ceremony, then Petraeus will administer the oath of enlistment.

A 50-gun salute will honor of the nation’s birthday, and then all will sing “God Bless America.” The ceremony will end with a medley of service songs.

All components of the military are represented in the ceremony. Officials said 738 active-duty soldiers, 188 National Guard soldiers, and 122 Army Reserve soldiers are re-enlisting, along with 54 Marines, 39 sailors and 16 airmen.

“…to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America…”

Commitment in capital letters, with 1,100 raised right hands taking an solemn oath.

Update 7/4/2008 later in the day: Early this AM, when posted, this was what was to be. Today, it is now part of history and 115 more service members came to the event, for a total 0f 1215 re-enlistees in the combat zone, while the Nation is at war, while many of use are preparing for friends and family to come over and sit without worry, to watch fireworks displays. Wow…just wow. How can we thank them?

A quite interesting lesson in history popped into view today, on the anniversary of the famous Battle at Little Big Horn. From the LA Times, an article about how the aftermath of that battle was one of, and still is Indians who have served in our military proudly:

[…]
What few Americans know is that the command of about 600 men Custer led into battle in 1876 included about 35 American Indians, mostly Arikaras but also six Crow and a few Santee Sioux. Some of the Indian scouts would die alongside the 7th Cavalry at Little Bighorn. Others would ride away as the fighting began and spend the rest of their lives recounting what little they saw of the battle. What almost no one knows is that men from the same tribes that fought against Custer would, one year later, be riding alongside the U.S. Army as scouts in the campaign against the Nez Perce — or that the Indian scouts who served the Army in the 19th century became one of the precursors to the Army Special Forces, also known as Green Berets.
[…]

More of the tapestry that has become the legacy of the intertwined people who comprise this great nation.

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Required reading: Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 116 and Eagle1’s “How to aim ship’s guns (Part III).”
BT

Not all who make contributions wear a uniform. Today, my thanks to a Department of the Navy civil servant who labored long into the nights and on weekends, so sailors could better prepare for battles at sea.

Allen Stennett was his name. I belive I have the name right phonetically, but I may not have it spelled correctly. Allan worked for “Code 2” at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Pt Hueneme Division (PHD), Fleet Combat Direction Systems Support Activity (FCDSSA) on the Fleet Combat Training Center, Atlantic (FCTCL), Code 2 was the Programming Department, largely composed of civilian personnel. Allen was assigned to the Battle Force Tactical Trainer (BFTT) project in the 1993 – 1995 time frame whan I walked the halls of FCDSSA. At the time, the project had stretched the limits of the workforce, for it was not merely a programming challenge, but a systems design project, using some of the then newest off the shelf technology of the VME card chassis and single board computers. In addition to absorbing that challenge and attacking it with an aggressive approach, the BFTT Team, added a digital voice capability (we now have it on our desktops called VOIP) to simulate radio circuits, within the program. In addition to being “interesting” at those levels, Capt Kahler, the program manager, had managed to convince many other program managers that much of what was needed for the project already existed in developed work, and this project could knit together all that software to the financial benefit of the taxpayers. That, of course, was an unheard of practice, beacuse it would require the sharing of the rice in each bowl in DC for he projects affected, and therefore sharing power.

Allen was a major playing, under the radar, in the early stages of the develpment of BFTT. He worked on the database issues and on more than one occasion, his name came up for developing some software tools to manage the inputs from other commands and agencies, that helped the project make the rapid advancements it did under the program management of Capt Herb Kahler, USN.

It was often I would be walking the halls at the end of the day to catch up on last minute things before getting my last things done, that Allen would still be at his desk. I would check in with him regulalry, and finally one late day, I told him how much I appreciated his extra efforts and how he needed to get home to his family, for his committment to the taxpayers was a regular working schedule, not the 24/7 I had. Besides, I told him his work was being tracked like a regular schedule, and future progam managers would wonder why they couldn’t attain the same production rates as BFTT demonstrated, because he was skewing the numbers.

I just wanted to put the name of a hard working, dedicated Civil Servant on the record, as a counter to the numerous slights, slams, not so complimentary names and jokes about those who’s pay check come from the US Treasury, but don’t wear the uniform. They, too, are part of the success of the US Military, and in this case, the US Navy.Fried Green Tomatoes on dvd

The date of the event 20 years ago slipped by, but it is a moment in the history of the US Navy worth keeping in mind: 4/12/1988, the day the Crew of the USS SAMUEL B ROBERTS (FFG-58) tangled with an Iranian mine and came out winners.

I found my way to a story in the Mayport Mirror of the 20th anniversary ceremony held at Bath Iron Works in Portland, Maine by backtracking search engine hits on this blog:

USS Samuel B. Roberts Honors Ship’s Past

From USS Samuel B. Roberts

USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) joined former shipmates in remembering a blast in the ship’s history.

On April 14, 1988, Sammy B. was rocked by a mine blast while underway in the Persian Gulf. USS Samuel B. Roberts Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Wally Lovely, and five other crew members traveled to Portland, Maine on April 11 to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the mine blast. The weekend of remembrance included a welcoming reception, a presentation from Bath Iron Works Corporation, the company that built Sammy B., and concluded with a ceremonial dinner in downtown Portland.
[…]

Noted in the text of the article:

Retired Capt. Paul X. Rinn, the first commanding officer of Sammy B., was in command during the mine incident. He gave accounts of the heroism, loyalty, and devotion to duty which he saw firsthand. Rinn referenced a brief he received from Naval Sea Systems Command who determined that the mine blast “should have sunk the ship in less than thirty minutes.”

He ended his remarks by stating that “the ship would have sunk had it not been for the expertise and hard work of the members of BIW, and the dedication and determination of the crew.”

Words worth considering about professional ship builders, team work and training. If you haven’t read the “long form” of this comment, then you have missed a well done documentation of the entire history of this fateful day by Brad Peniston. Get your hands on a copy of “No Higher Honor” Children of the Corn divx and settle down for an engaging read.

In the meantime, BZ to the Captain and Crew of the Sammie B who spilled their blood and sweat to bring her home and the BIW workers who put her back to sea.

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Memorial Day, 2008. I’m going to take a moment to talk about a man who never had a ship named after him, but he is someone I knew, no longer with us, who served, so this is my memorial to him.

CDR David Martin, USN. I met CDR Martin 4/4/1977 as part of my check in process aboard my first command assigned as ship’s company. He was the Executive Officer of USS MILWAUKEE (AOR-2). He was an 1110 (Surface Warfare Officer) working for a captain who was a submariner.  As we sat in his stateroom/office in the after superstructure and he scanned my service record (it was pretty thin back then), he said “Great! You’ve been to Legal School!”  I don’t recall a lot more of the conversation, but it was a Monday, I had sort of dropped into their lap on short notice, but, they had a need for a Combat Information Officer (CICO), as ENS Ralston was leaving soon, and I was it.

Dave was tall and thin. Bald on top, a smoker, and a seeming no nonsense guy. I recall is that in the about 18 months I served with him, I never heard him raise his voice. What he directed to be done just was. The one time I did see him upset was when the “trolls” (his term for the shore establishment) had screwed us over. I don’t recall what it was they did, but, given his temperament it had to have been something of great significance. That lesson stays with me, as a model of leadership that did not have to be shrill, profane or abusive to have a well run organization.

He got things done, with out directing. He took everything in stride and flexed to keep the organization running. To add to this story, the MILWAUKEE being what she was, was manned with a significant number of experienced crew members, to include many limited duty officers and warrant officers. That made his job easier, but he certainly was a major element in setting the command attitude.

I think the second week I was aboard, we went underway in the VACAPES OPAREA to conduct replenishment operations with a CVN. CDR Martin had indicated I would be assigned to the collateral position as Helicopter Control Officer (HCO), which, in this case, meant I was the “airport supervisor.” I worked from the control tower, located between the two helo hangers. It was an interior spaces, equipped with the controls for the traffic light to indicate deck status, radios and internal communications circuits and room for three people comfortably. It was about 3AM one morning when Dave knocked on my door and told me it was time to start learning. We headed up to the helo tower and it was so dark, all that you cold see was the scene on the flight deck, illuminated by red flood lights. There was no moon and it was overcast, so everything else around us was pitch black. That began my time as the person sitting in the tower and coordinating the movement of the twin rotored CH-46 SeaKnights for two years. I assume, and I never thought to ask, Dave had been responsible before that, but I might be mistaken. Hours later, well after the sun had risen and the clouds had cleared, I had seen my first of many major ammo moving evolutions of my career. I was on my way to being the person responsible for ensuring the safe and efficient execution of many more event such as this.

As Public Affairs Officer and Legal Officer, I spent many hours in CDR Martin’s office going over issues from Courts Martial proceeding, administrative separations, Captain’s Mast (Article 15) and Hometown News Release stories. He was fair minded and through, but not a micromanager. He had a dry sense of humor and did regularly refer to the trolls on the beach. Along with just business came much subtle career counseling.

Being but a young married Ensign, and having one car, Dave indicated he would be happy to pick me up and bring me home. In my inexperience, I certainly noted the economy, but failed to understand, before saying yes to the offer, that I would be working the XO’s hours. That, actually, didn’t come to be a conscious thought until much later on. Anyway, Dave’s house was in the Princess Anne Plaza area of Virginia Beach, and I was in the Pembroke vicinity, not far from the mall in an apartment. The other car pooler, who always rode shotgun, was LCDR Leo Pivonka, the Ship’s First LT. I was relegated to the rear seat, and was able to listen in on the many discussions between two very experienced officers had regarding a variety of topics, mostly dealing with the operation of the ship. That was an education you couldn’t have paid for, then or now.

The XO and First LT always worked beyond the end of the work day, but the advantage was more work got done, and you still got home about the same time. If you left around 4PM, you sat on I-64 and/or the Virginia Beach “Expressway” in traffic, and you got home in about an hour. If you waited until about 4:45 to 5PM to leave the Norfolk Base, you pretty much drove straight home in about 30 minutes (it was 18 miles to my door). Dave taught me that, not by telling me, but showing me during our time inport.

Dave left during our Med Cruise and was relieved by CDR Al Leightly. I recall he left and went to the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), but he may have gone to the Propulsion Examination Board (PEB) first. After he departed, he continued to mentor me along, now in a more obvious format, via letters, providing guidance in response to my questions.

As Dave approached his retirement, he went for his final physical exam. While having and EKG, they noted he had a minor heart attack. A few days later, three days from retirement, CDR Martin passed away in his sleep. He left behind his wonderful wife, Mame and two teenage sons.

CDR Martin also left an indelible mark on me. How to lead was the deepest one, and throughout my career, I constantly would consider the model he presented for me as to how to approach the next challenge, particularly while I was in my XO job.

The only other piece of Dave’s career I can remember is him telling me he had been the Navigator for the USS NORTHHAMPTON (CC-1). I thought he was a graduate of King’s Point, but a check with them doesn’t show him as a student at the Merchant Marine Academy.

Not all those who served have ship’s named after them, yet they all are part of the engine of freedom. CDR Dave Martin is one of them.