A trackback, now and then, would be nice, but…no pressure.

Continuing in the vein of the last two weeks, more on the (mundane) life at sea: The SHs. Ship’s Servicemen. Function: Four main things, to me, a non-Supply type, looking at how it affected my life:

• Ship’s Barbers
• Ship’s Laundry
• Ship’s Store Operator
• “Gedunk” Machine Fillers

First: Ship’s Barbers – Yes, they cut hair. Somewhere on the ship, there is a small to medium sized space, in my case I have seen from 3 chairs (on an AOR) to one (DDs/FFGs). On the door, the day’s appointment times, maybe tomorrows, too. Walk by and scribble your name in the 15 minute block. Some ships allow call in appointments to all, some to officers and chiefs. The shop isn’t open 24/7, but usually human like “business hours” and some evening periods, too. For me, an an XO, the Barber shop had more than one purpose. It was a 15 minute Q&A period with an SH1, plenty seasoned and with a finger on the pulse of the crew, where information flowed both directions. He would clue me in on issues not getting a fair shot, I could provide more detailed explanations for situations/operations for the general edification of those not getting the gouge via the chain of command, or in need of clarification. It was a great safety valve. Not only was this a feature I used, but one day, the CO asked me to schedule him for a haircut. I later provided him the time. That evening, as we sat after 8 o’clock reports covering the day, he commented: When you set me up for a haircut, it’s with SH1….we smiled, knowing why. Done, was the response, and it always was henceforth.

Readers: Got a good “sea story” about the barbers aboard? Drop it off in the comments. I know there are plenty. Other SH stories? Hold them and come back weekly to connect them to the functional areas above, please! The last week of SH stories will be noted and then batteries released for any topics not covered.

Next week: The Ship’s Laundry and activating the bleach.The Fog hd Juno ipod

Required reading: Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 104, Eagle1’s first person report of being captured by modern day pirates and now, CDR Salamander opens fire on the new Maritime Strategy document. Toss in Eagle1’s Sunday Ship History: Aerial Mining post, too (with an old post of mine related to the subject, because it discusses one Navy admiral’s view on the minings in Vietnam).
BT
Last week, I reported on Father O’Callahan, one of the Medal of Honor awardees aboard USS FRANKLIN. There is background information there, and links to other references about the attack on the FRANKLIN, which support this post as well. Consider it pre-reading to frame the writing below.

Born in July 23rd, 1903, Donald Gary enlisted in the Navy in 1919.

Serving in the enlisted ranks, he eventually was commissioned in 1943 to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in 1943. His assignments, prior to the one that is the subject of this week’s story were: Third Naval District, New York City; the Office of Assistant Inspector of Machinery, B&W Company, Ohio; the staff of Commander Submarine Group ONE, New York; and the Naval Disciplinary Barracks, Terminal Island, California. His sea duty tours included ELCANO (PG 38), HANNIBAL (AG 1), SWAN (AM 34), IDAHO (BB 42), and INDIANAPOLIS (CA 35) for two tours.In 1944, LTJG Gary was assigned to the USS FRANKLIN (CV-13) in the Engineering department.Aboard the FRANKLIN on March 19th, 1945, he survived the attack by the lone Japanese dive bomber, and was instrumental in saving the FRANKLIN. Not only did he save 250-300 men trapped below, and organizing firefighting on the hanger deck, he found his way to below to one of the boiler rooms and got one boiler on line, thus providing a source of power for the ship.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as an Engineering Officer attached to the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy aircraft during the operations against the Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, 19 March 1945. Stationed on the third deck when the ship was rocked by a series of violent explosions set off in her own ready bombs, rockets and ammunition by the hostile attack, Lieutenant Gary unhesitatingly risked his life to assist several hundred men trapped in a messing compartment filled with smoke, and with no apparent egress. As the imperiled men below decks became increasingly panic-stricken under the raging fury of incessant explosions, he confidently assured them he would find a means of affecting their release and, groping through the dark, debris-filled corridors, untimately discovered an escapeway. Staunchly determined, he struggled back to the messing compartment three times despite menacing flames, flooding water and the ominous threat of sudden additional explosions, on each occasion calmly leading his men through the blanketing pall of smoke until the last one had been saved. Selfless in his concern for his ship and his fellows, he constantly rallied others about him, repeatedly organized and led fire-fighting parties into the blazing inferno on the flight deck and, when firerooms 1 and 2 were found to be inoperable, entered the No. 3 fireroom and directed the raising of steam in one boiler in the face of extreme difficulty and hazard. An inspiring and courageous leader, Lieutenant Gary rendered self-sacrificing service under the most perilous conditions and, by his heroic initiative, fortitude and valor, was responsible for the saving of several hundred lives. His conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and upon the United States Naval Service.

From the WW2DB, this bit on the later part of CDR Gary’s career:

Gary was subsequently promoted to the ranks of lieutenant and lieutenant commander. After the war, he remained with the ship until she was decommissioned in Feb 1947. He was then assigned to the Naval Disciplinary Barracks at Terminal Island, California, United States, where he served until retirement in Jun 1950. He was promoted to the rank of commander while on the retirement list. He passed away in [April 9th,]

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1977. He now rests at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California, United States.

Around the web, there is little information about Donald Gary. The Naval Archives does have his collection of his personal papers,

Metroland film

but they are not published.

On November 17th, 1984, the USS GARY (FFG-51) was commissioned to honor CDR Donald Gary, USN. GARY is part of the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY guided missile frigate class and remains in active service today, stationed at Naval Station San Diego, CA, having spent much of her service time forward deployed to the Naval Station at Yokuska, Japan.One of the GARY’s historical missions was to be the first US warship to visit Cambodia since the Vietnam War. She made a port visit to Sihanoukville in February, 2007.

300 hd

“Bad Voodoo’s War,” a film filmed by the soldiers about their deployment to Iraq, is the second of this type of work that I’m aware of. The first one was “The War Tapes,” also a project by Debra Scranton.

I have been privileged enough to be one to see the sneak preview of “The War Tapes,” and meet the soldiers who were the subject of that movie, I later met Debra and her team of “The War Tapes” at the 2006 MilBlogging Conference. Add to the fact that JP Borda, a blogger and creator of the MilBlogging.com” website, is the soldier leading the way for this movie, I suspect this will be a significant piece of history, with a view that is most often avoided by the MSM.

To get a feel for her vision, and insight, watch a talk by her in 2007.

The Zombie Diaries film

download The Breakfast Club

She’s on to something “telling the story from the inside out.” It’s 17:48 minutes of your time worth taking, (I just did), not just for the philosphy she has, but also for the end with a powerful challenge to the “I support the troops, but not the war” people.

Set your Tivos/DVRs up for the broadcast on 4/1/2008 on PBS, or be ready to sit down and enjoy it as it’s broadcast.

Press Release:

press release

FRONTLINE presents
BAD VOODOO’S WAR
Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS

“Here we are. It’s about 2:30 in the morning on the 2nd of October. We have been on the road for a while. … Wasn’t too excited to get this change of mission. The stretch of road between Anaconda and Speicher, known as IED Alley, it’s probably one of the worst stretches of road in theater.”
-Sfc. Toby Nunn, during his second Iraq deployment, to his personal mini-DV camera

FRONTLINE goes to war in Iraq with a band of California-based National Guard soldiers who call themselves the “Bad Voodoo Platoon” to tell their very personal story in Bad Voodoo’s War, airing Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET (check local listings). To record their war, from private reflections to real-time footage of improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on the ground, director Deborah Scranton (The War Tapes) creates a “virtual embed,” supplying cameras to the soldiers of the Bad Voodoo Platoon and working with them to shape an intimate portrait that reveals the hard grind of their war. Says Scranton: “What compels me is telling a story from the inside out, to crawl inside their world with them to see what it looks like, feels like and smells like. It’s really important to give soldiers the chance to press their own record button on this war.”

Through their daily experiences, acting platoon leader Sgt. 1st Class Toby Nunn, originally from British Columbia and the father of three, and Spc. Jason Shaw, a 23-year-old from Texas, give us a firsthand look at the impact of the U.S. military’s policy of multiple deployments to Iraq and how the Army’s role has changed on the ground.

Spc. Shaw is on his third deployment to Iraq. After the invasion in 2003, he was awarded the Silver Star for valor during the battle for the Baghdad airport. Shaw volunteered for his third tour in Iraq, but is haunted by the loss of so many comrades during his earlier deployments. “I’ve had six of my good friends die,” he explains. “When I lost all of my buddies, I just kind of lost hope. I used to be religious. My last deployment totally made me think otherwise. You know, you pray all the time to keep everybody safe, and then something happens.”

Sfc. Nunn, responsible for the safety of the 30 men in his platoon, worries endlessly about their welfare. “I’m worried about my guys,” he confides to the camera one night. “Right now I’m out here talking to you while they’re inside sleeping because I can’t sleep. Can’t rest, you know.”

Many of his men, highly trained veteran combat infantrymen, are deeply frustrated by their primary mission: providing security for convoys transporting supplies throughout Iraq to fuel President Bush’s surge. “A lot of our guys don’t like this mission,” says Nunn. “We’re used to kicking in doors, taking the fight to the enemy. Now you’re driving on the road for hours and hours and hours and days, waiting to get blown up and not allowed to fight back.”

The platoon is also struggling with a new relationship with the Iraqi security forces, whom the Americans depend on for their own safety. Nunn reflects: “I told myself last time I wanted to train the Iraqis the best I possibly could, because it was my ticket home. … But here I am, three years later, saying, ‘Will the Iraqi security forces enforce anything out there?’ Every time I talk to these guys, you know, my trust meter isn’t reading in the green all the time.” This constant second-guessing, combined with the relentless monotony of the desert highway, the fear of deadly IEDs and the memories of lost friends, keep the soldiers in an unending state of anxiety. This is Bad Voodoo’s war.

Bad Voodoo’s War is a Clover & A Bee Films production for FRONTLINE and Independent Television Service (ITVS). The writer, producer and director is Deborah Scranton. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Park Foundation. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. FRONTLINE is closed-captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the Media Access Group at WGBH. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. The executive producer for ITVS is Sally Jo Fifer. The FRONTLINE executive producer for special projects is Michael Sullivan. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is David Fanning.

pbs.org/pressroom
Promotional photography can be downloaded from the PBS pressroom.

Press contacts
Diane Buxton
(617) 300-5375
[email protected]

Alissa Rooney
(617) 300-5314
[email protected]

Ciao ipod

ships belong at sea.

One of “our own” (a MilBlogger that is: LCDR Chris van Avery), heads out on an underway period as Executive Officer aboard USS RUSSELL (DDG-59). The Ship’s blog will provide some just about real time details of life at sea. Favorite/bookmark Destroymen The Invisible Boy hd The Ballad of Josie release now and check the posts often.

So far, there are three authors identified for the blog, Chris, ET3 Kirkland and ENS Scheimer. That provides a cross section of the crew, but missing is representation by the backbone of the Navy, a member of the Goat’s Locker. I bet there will be great sroties for all coming our way.

Robin Hood dvd

Brian Regan: I Walked on the Moon move

Nubs the dog from Iraq and his adopted USMC owner are reunited in San Diego. The Changeling move

• Brian Regan: I Walked on the Moon ipod

Brick movie download

From the St Petersburg Times:

Published Saturday, March 22, 2008 10:43 PM

Nubs, a mongrel befriended by a Marine major in Iraq, is petted after arriving in San Diego in February.
[Associated Press]
Nubs, a mongrel befriended by a Marine major in Iraq, is petted after arriving in San Diego in February.
Breaking News Video

SAN DIEGO — A San Diego-based Marine major from St. Pete Beach was reunited on Saturday with one of his closest war buddies, a 2-year-old dog named Nubs.

Nubs greeted Maj. Brian Dennis at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station when the fighter pilot returned from Iraq.

It was the first time the two were together since Dennis’ family and close friends helped raise $3,500 to fly the dog to San Diego about a month ago. Nubs wasn’t allowed to stay on base in Iraq.
[…]

Quite a story of loyalty there.

More background on this story from a Feb 2008 report on ABC News.

Required reading: Airborne mine sweeping history by Eagle1 and Maritme Monday 103 by Fred Fry.
BT

Born May 14th, 1905, he was destined to serve his Maker and our nation many years later.

LCDR Joseph T. O’Callahan, USNR (ChC) in 1945 Shortly after completing high school, Joseph entered the Society of Jesus shortly thereafter, to begin a 13 year path to ordination as a priest in 1934. Earning his Bachelor’s and master’s degrees along the way, he specialized in mathematics and science, as well as religious studies. In August, 1940, he entered the Naval Reserve as a LT(jg) in the Chaplain’s Corps.Father O’Callahan’s assignments are listed at CatholicMil.org:

At the outbreak of World War II, Fr. O’Callahan entered the chaplain corps and began a ministry focused on the sailors destined to serve in the Pacific. He was assigned to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, from 1940-42, then served at sea aboard the U.S.S. Ranger from 1942-44, and returned to shore duty at Pearl Harbor into early 1945. His final assignment of the war was to the carrier U.S.S. Franklin, which was given orders taking it close to enemy territory.

Arriving aboard USS FRANKLIN (CV-13) seventeen days before March 19, 1945, LCDR O’Callahan was assigned duties as the Ship’s Chaplain. On the 19th, while sailing close to the Japanese coastline, a lone Japanese dive bomber penetrated the defensive screen of the allied forces, and dropped a single bomb on the aft of the FRANKLIN’s flight deck.SteelJaw Scribe detailed the struggle for the very life of the ship that resulted in his recent post. SJS gives a brief description of a bomb, slicing several decks down, wrecking combat loaded planes on the flight deck and ripping open AVGAS fuel lines below, which began an inferno that killed many of the crew, and threatened to sink the ship. The training and response of the surviving crewmen, working alone, in small and large groups, ended up saving the ship, with essentially no command level direction due to the battle damage.

This past week, I found the Spring 2008 issue of MHQ has an article by Joseph Springer about the attack on the USS FRANKLIN, too, but that is but an extracted piece from a newly published book: “Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle to Save USS FRANKLIN in WWII” by Springer.

Chaplin O’Callahan was everywhere. Besides performing his duties to the dying and wounded, he helped jettison munitions into the sea, and made several trips below decks to lead his shipmates to safety. He organized firefighting teams to water down ammo magazines and was credited with saving 700 men. The Commanding Officer of the FRANKLIN said of him: “he is the bravest man I have ever seen.” As a result of his heroic efforts, LCDR O’Callahan was awarded the Medal of Honor.Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Chaplain on board the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy Japanese aircraft during offensive operations near Kobe, Japan, on 19 March 1945. A valiant and forceful leader, calmly braving the perilous barriers of flame and twisted metal to aid his men and his ship, Lieutenant Commander O’Callahan groped his way through smoke-filled corridors to the open flight deck and into the midst of violently exploding bombs, shells, rockets and other armament. With the ship rocked by incessant explosions, with debris and fragments raining down and fires raging in ever increasing fury, he ministered to the wounded and dying, comforting and encouraging men of all faiths; he organized and led fire-fighting crews into the blazing inferno on the flight deck; he directed the jettisoning of live ammunition and the flooding of the magazine; he manned a hose to cool hot, armed bombs rolling dangerously on the listing deck, continuing his efforts despite searing, suffocating smoke which forced men to fall back gasping and imperiled others who replaced them. Serving with courage, fortitude and deep spiritual strength, Lieutenant Commander O’Callahan inspired the gallant officers and men of the Franklin to fight heroically and with profound faith in the face of almost certain death and to return their stricken ship to port.

Retiring from the Naval reserve as a Captain in 1953, he passed away March 18th, 1964.

The Navy honored the life of Father O’Callahan with the GARCIA Class frigate USS O’CALLAHAN (DE-1051) (later FF-1051), commissioned July 13th, 1968. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, she was stationed in San Diego, CA. In 1968, she was decommissioned from service in the US Navy, then leased to the Pakistani Navy as Aslat (F-265). Eventually, she was broken up for scrap in Hong Kong.

Required reading: Eagle1’s tale of the “MoBoard”

• Moondance Alexander dvd

The Brothers Solomon move

, the indispensable tools of officers and enlisted alike, who made a profession of handing ships at sea and Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday 102 @ the gCaptain Maritime site.
BT

Arthur J. Elliot was born April 9th, 1933 in Maine. The oldest of three boys in the family, and a sailor at heart, having grown up in and around the family owned shipyard Dunn and Elliot in Thomaston, ME. Completing his Bachelor’s degree in 1955, he applied several times to the Navy Officer Candidate Program and finally was accepted in 1956. Arthur was began his commissioned career in the Engineering Department of the USS LYMAN K. SWENSON (DD 729) in 1956, where he also served as Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer and Gunnery Officer. After this tour, he resigned from active duty, but retained his Naval Reserve commission, only to volunteer to return to active duty in 1960, when he was assigned to the USS LITTLE ROCK (CL-4). Other assignments followed as the Flag Aide for Commander, Service Forces, Pacific Fleet, and then Operations Officer aboard USS JOHN KING (DDG-3) (One of my sea stories about my interactions with USS JOHN KING (DDG-3) during my career is here). LCDR Elloit volunteered for duty in Vietnam and in 1968, was assigned as Commanding Officer of Patrol Boat Squadron 57. On December 29th, LCDR Arthur Elloit was killed in action in the operations in the Mekong River Delta area. He received the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for heroic achievement in coordinating suppressing fire and personally directing his patrol boat to provide covering fire for the other units during the action in which he was hit by enemy rocket fire. In honor of LCDR Elliot, the fifth ship of the SPRUANCE Class destroyers was put to sea: USS ELLIOT (DD-967).The USS ELLIOT was assigned to the Pacfic Fleet and conducted 12 forward deployments after her commissioning on January 22nd, 1977.One of the highlights of the ELLIOT’s service was the detection of the newly built Soviet aircraft carrier, the MINSK

in the Indian Ocean. In addition to just locating the ship, ELLIOT’s embarked SH-2F Sea Sprite helicopter was able to photograph the MINSK and a Soviet frigate conducting alongside underway refueling operations. The method of refueling while alongside and underway had long been the domain if the US and Allied Navies, but was still in it’s infancy in the Soviet Navy at that time, so this was quite an intelligence gathering opportunity. More details of that story in the Ship’s history are found here.The USS ELLIOT (DD-967) was decommissioned on December 2nd, 2003 and sunk in the Coral Sea as a target for US and allied forces on June 24th, 2005.Update 3/25/2008: RMCM Robert Grey, USN (Ret) left me a note about RIVDIV 572’s web site Just Buried ipod , where LCDR Elliot served as Commander of River Squadron 57. Get over there and read and see more about the Navy’s “River Rats” in Vietnam.

• Yes Man video

I found this chasing links via Little Green Footballs.

Not only does this man tell us something of the actuality of Al Qaeda in Iraq, before 2003, but also of how they are among us now, and others are being actively recruited as they arrive in the US. The oft asked question: Where are the moderate Muslims? Here he is, and he is not just saying it, he is engaged in helping in the hunt to track and contain the very real threat to our very safety while doing that for the sake of his family. His vision is a large one, which seeks to protect us all, in order to protect his family All I can think is how is he being selfish for us all and I’ll accept that any day from a fellow human being. He’s more than moderate, he’s a man we should one day be able to bring into public and award him for his courage and desire for real peace among humanity.

The “teaser,” but I’d recommend you sit and read the entire interview at FrontPage Magazine carefully. Sobering, insightful, myth destroying, and uplifting to know at least one man will take a stand, even if Harry Ried, Nancy Pelosi and their majority will not:

Al Qaeda in Iraq Under Saddam
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, March 13, 2008

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Osama al-Magid, a former police officer in Iraq (1992- 2003). He can be contacted at [email protected].

FP: Osama al-Magid, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Al-Magid: Thank you Mr. Glazov. I hope to provide information to the American public that will help them understand that terrorism in the U.S. from Al Qaeda did not end on September 11th, 2001. There are currently supporters of Al Qaeda not only outside of the U.S. but also inside of it.

This is my first interview pertaining to many of the issues I am going to discuss with you. Right now I can provide some details, but as time goes by I will be providing the Americans with more about the truth in Iraq. There have been friends of mine who have tried to inform the American people about things in Iraq before 2003 and after the Americans came to Iraq, but for some reasons the information has not been widely publicized. I will tell the American people that a person who is like a brother to me has risked his life to tell people about many important issues in Iraq. I met Special Agent Dave Gaubatz in 2003 (Nasiriyah). Dave and I started working together to obtain intelligence about threats against the U.S. forces. We traveled in Nasiriyah and other cities. We protected one another and today in 2008 we are still working together. I can’t explain everything right now for security reasons, but we are traveling through America and trying to identify terrorists and their supporters who want to attack America like in 2001. We are trying to help law enforcement so they can protect America.

Both of us have families and we do not want the children in America, Iraq, or any country to suffer from terrorism.
[…]

A man for the times. A man who stands for a future of peace, exactly the left says they want. Will they acknowledge him and lend their support?

Update: Maybe we are witness to the dam breaking, first the article above, then about a Muslim who equates Islam with fascism. Brave men, these two, and needed urgently to stay strong.

It seems some senior citizens have found a way to help out where they could: Clipping coupons and sending them to families deployed overseas to help stretch their military paychecks:

Elderly enlist as coupon clippers to aid military
Small army of old ladies is determined to do its part in the war on terror

By William Wan
updated 2:29 p.m. ET, Tues., March. 11, 2008

GREENBELT, Md. – Some are frail, their bodies riddled with arthritis. Others are confined to walkers or wheelchairs.

Spread out across the country is a small army of old ladies determined to do their part in the war on terror. Their weapons of choice: scissors and coupons.

They cut out a couple hundred each day, a few thousand a week, and send them to military families in the Middle East and elsewhere overseas, who redeem them at commissaries. It may not seem like much, the ladies say, but every little bit counts.
[…]

Ingenious and very helpful. BZ to these women who would devote their time to save money, and a BZ to the Washington Post for highlighting this work done by these women.

• Clambake divx

The Military Cross, no less.

The whole article is here.

Brave man, desperate times, and victory…