Heroes

It looks like sons of the CO may have located the remains of USS GRUNION, lost near the Aleutian Islands in the early days of WWII. In the month before her loss, GRUNION had sunk two Japanese submarine chasers and heavily damaged a third. Sailors, rest your oars.

Thinking of the men who fought so gallantly during WWII makes one wonder how our modern submarine force would aquit itself in battle. Would a 3 small skimmers for 1 SSN be an acceptable exchange ratio in today's risk averse environment (quick answer - no!)? Is there any situation in which we would risk losing a submarine? Or an aircraft carrier? Has the blue-water Navy become too expensive to be used effectively in battle?

One thing is certain, mankind has not seen the end of battle on the high seas. The U.S. Navy has not been really tested since WWII and, despite the ongoing War of Terror, remains at heart a peacetime navy, with the path to senior leadership paved with staff duty (vice operational assignments). Masters Degrees, Joint Service, ROI, and Lean Six Sigma will quickly become meaningless nonsense when the incoming ordnance is for real. Sadly, as in WWII, the first few months of our next major conflict probably will see high casualties until the careerists are flushed out (or killed - along with their crews) leaving the true operators in charge. 150 men and $2.2B per CO's mistake is a pretty steep price to learn we've focused on the wrong things.

Hope I'm wrong...

- Gee

More Cool Submarine Video

For those of you who can't get enough, check out the motivational video over at Bubblehead's site.
- Gee

"One...Away", "Two...Away"...

It warms my heart to see my former ship returning to the forefront of our nation's defense. Then it was deterring the Soviets; now, it's delivering precision strike where and when it's needed. This amazing video shows two of FLORIDA's 154 Tomahawk missiles being delivered on target. Our enemies are soiling their shorts. If they're not, they should be.



- Gee

S.C. police detain 2 for suspicious item

According to AP, two men pulled over for speeding "were being held pending a charge of unlawful possession of an explosive device." There is one report that the men were of Middle-Eastern descent. They were pulled over about 7 miles away from the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek. Of course, Michelle Malkin and others are all over it.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else is that, among other things, the Naval Weapons Station is home to the Navy's Moored Training Ship (MTS) site. For non-submariners, MTS's are former ballistic missile submarines that have been affixed to the pier where their still operational propulsion plants are used for training Navy nuclear operators.

If they were trying to deliver a bomb, and if they were going to the Naval Weapons Station (two big "ifs"), if makes one wonder what their target might have been.

As an aside, why do so many [alleged] criminals get tripped up when they get caught for some minor, unrelated offense - or the police just get lucky (the millennium plot, for example)? Either these people are really stupid, God is on our side, or some combination of the two. Getting nailed for speeding while you're driving around with a bomb in your car - geez...
- Gee

Obama: "I am not prepared to be Commander in Chief"

Well, that's not exactly what he said, but that's what Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama signaled when he recently proclaimed, "'I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance...'" Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he may have been misquoted (does anyone have a video?), or he may yet come forward with a more coherent statement clarifying his position. If not, this was a presidential career-ending statement. By declaring that he is unprepared to use the full range of military options, even if circumstances dictate, Obama has removed himself from serious consideration for the job of Commander in Chief.

August 2, 2007 - the day Barack Obama's run for the Presidency ended. Mark it.
- Gee