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060928-N-6363M-003 Pacific Ocean (Sept. 28, 2006) – An EA-6B Prowler assigned to the “Yellowjackets” of Electronic Attack Squadron One Three Eight (VAQ-138) makes an arrested landing aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).
You know, I hate to start out all negative and everything, but its the middle of the week, its been raining the last 2 days, work bites and I have this problem with professionals and a lack of attention to detail.
Viewing the above image (full image can be found at http://www.news.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=39572 ) and then reading the accompanying caption (from Navy News) should set off the aforementioned “lack of attention to detail” alarms I spoke of before.
Like most aviators, and naval aviators in particular, you hate to see screw-ups in popular media that pertain to your chosen field. I remember watching the film adaptation of Clancy’s book, “Hunt for Red October” when there was a ramp strike on the carrier they were on. They showed 3 different aircraft in the whole mishap evolution, one aircraft on approach, a different, second aircraft as it nears the ramp and yet a different, third type from archived footage of an actual ramp strike. The collective groan that came out during that sequence from the crowd I was watching it with (naval aviators all) was highlighted by rather spectacular and colorful curses towards whomever was the military consultant on that film who apparently didn’t think “attention to detail” was a big deal.
Getting back to the above mentioned EA-6B photo, and it may be small, but glaring in its buffoonery nonetheless, when an aircraft makes an arrested landing on an aircraft carrier, ITS TAILHOOK NEEDS TO BE DOWN.
The words of Gunnery Sergeant Washington, USMC, my drill instructor at Aviation Officer Candidate School, still echo in the vast emptiness of my brain…”Attention to detail, girls!”
–Posted by Pinch
Thanks for letting us watch the place while you were gone! We’ll…ummm….clear out all those beer bottles in a bit. And that hole over by the stove in the kitchen? Nicholas was trying to put out the fire from the oven when we tried to dry out the rug from the hallway after the hose sprang a leak when we were trying to wet down that ornery racoon I brought in to see if we could make it sit up on its hind legs and dance after we saw this real cool video on your computer (I don’t know why it isn’t booting now….does water affect a motherboard?) from you tube that had some real neat guys from Alabama doing it with an armadillo!
Ornery racoons dont’ dance.
Seriously, thanks!
Um…..don’t go in the garage. Yet.
Interesting artist rendition of the new class of US aircraft carrier on the Navy News this morning. Those of you who are familiar with carrier design will recognize most of the changes, and for those of you who do NOT, that’s what the Pinch is here for!
Newport News, Va. (June 30, 2006) – Artist Rendering – A conceptual rendering of CVN 78, the first of a new generation carrier design, CVN 21, for the US Navy, underway at Northrop Grumman Newport News. Construction is slated to begin in 2007. U.S. Navy Illustration courtesy Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding (RELEASED)
The link to the Navy high-res version is here. There are some significant differences and improvements to the design when compared to the existing fleet of carriers, and to save bandwidth here on Murdoc, I’ll discuss some of these changes with some zoom-ins of the particular changes over on the Instapinch.
In a nutshelll, though, we need a new carrier because the capabilities and requirements of the 21st century airwing has outgrown the capabilities of the current NIMITZ design to effectively support it. Oh, we’ve upgraded the carriers as much as we can through Service Life Extension Programs (SLEP) and major overhauls (the NIMITZ class carriers are starting to reach their 25-year nuclear-fuel refueling limits, with NIMITZ and EISENHOWER completed and now VINSON in the drydock – these are 3+year evolutions), but there is only so much you can do when constrained by the physical design of a ship.
For example, the F-35, the Joint Strike Fighter, will have something called the Autonomic Logistics System (ALS) built into it where the pilot, upon returning from a mission, can send a burst data-link transmission of aircraft health data back to the ship. This will provide the maintenance wrench turners and planners a huge leg-up on turnaround maintenance that may be needed for the aircraft, having parts and maintenance ready to go as soon as the aircraft lands. However, you cannot just simply send this data-link transmission to the ship when you consider the myriad other data-link and electronic transmissions and requirements that the ship currently needs, and you cannot just simply hang new data-link receivers all over the boat. So, building this capability into a new design builds on and sets the table for future aircraft capabilities.
Again, more will be over on the Instapinch later today – if I can drag myself out of the pool on this beautiful pre-July 4th Saturday holiday weekend!
Reader Zapper passed on this South Florida Sun-Sentinel correction to their article (blogged on Murdoc here) that reported Rep John Murtha (D-PA) stated the United States is “…more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran”.
Instead, the Sun Sentinel corrects, Murtha was “misinterpreted”:
Murtha was citing a recent poll, by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, that indicates a greater percentage of people in 10 of 14 foreign countries consider the U.S. in Iraq a greater danger to world peace than any threats posed by Iran or North Korea.
Color me unimpressed. Murtha has a long track record over this last year or so of hyping the worst of the US situation in southwest Asia, the least of which would be his automatic, pre-investigation condemnation of his former service, the US Marine Corps, and the events that occurred in Haditha. Other prime examples are his constant rambling that we cannot win this thing, the forces are trashed, morale is low, etc so on and so forth.
Balderdash, all.
As far as this Pew Poll goes, I’ve never been one to be too concerned about how “other” nations perceive the United States and what/how we do things. A nod in the direction that this can be a slippery slope in some cases with regards to the international community we exist in, but that’s how it is, folks. I’m not concerned that other nations think we pay too little in taxes, have too many cars, spend too much on our military, export too much of our culture (people conveniently forget that other nations gladly accept those cultural exports), are too concerned with terrorism, over concerned about freedom and democracy around the globe, etc. The case is crystal clear, as far as I’m concerned, that something had to be done in Southwest Asia, because if it had been allowed to fester and develop along its own clear-cut lines, in a very short time we’d be facing a much more significant, dangerous and deadly threat from radical islamic terrorism.
So, correction noted, fine, wonderful, got that check in the block. Doesn’t change things with regards to Rep. Murtha, though, in my opinion.
Busy news cycle today, so wanted to get this out. The Hamdan decision is at the top of the fold, now.
Just breaking now….
The ruling, a rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti- terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and Geneva conventions.
5-3 ruling. This will get interesting.
I swear….Murdoc needs a “Murtha” category….
Murtha says U.S. poses top threat to world peace
MIAMI — American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to an audience of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon.
Taking out the name “Murtha” from the above paragraph, you’d think that quote came from some US-hating Eurodweeb or from a state-run mouthpiece in North Korea or even the mullocracy in Iran itself. But no, this is one of the leading democrats in our nation, the champion of the hard-core left. A man who wants to be Majority leader, the number 2 position in the House, should the dems win back that branch of congress this coming November.
Keep that in mind.
Murdoc was right – send money to this man and make sure he gets out on the stump nationwide, so he can keep this up!
—posted by Pinch
UPDATE: To catch up, if you haven’t yet, read the original post below.
More reaction, and pictures (NYT reporters, call your desk! Stop the presses!) to the hoards of steely eyed, robotic rabid US military invaders in Ireland!
First pictures to come out from this heinous violation of international peace! Note the American seditionists as they emerge from the River Shannon!
Wait….wrong picture. HERE are some of the Bushbot Storm Troppers from the Dark Side, being detained in Ennis:
This just gets better and better. More images and comment (oh yes, by all means, read the comments) at Indymedia Ireland
Thanks again to Toejam for staying on this.
And don’t forget…this is the Pinch take on international buffoonery, not Murdoc’s! Any and all derision, tomatoes and otherwise organic or verbal or non-verbal perishables hurled at Murdoc Online need to be redirected to the Instapinch!
—ORIGINAL POST BELOW—
The headlines of the Irish Independent Newspaper, Saturday, June 24, 2006 says it all…!
ACTIVIST PLACED U.S. SOLDIERS UNDER ARREST!
Scandalous! More heinous violations of US troops, turned into walking zombies by the stress of war? Terrorizing the hearth and homes of the good people of Ennis?
Not exactly….
SIX United States soldiers on their way home from service in Iraq were placed under citizen’s arrest after an anti-war activist spotted them walking around a town in their uniforms.
Shannon-based peace activist Conor Cregan said yesterday that he briefly detained the six on Thursday afternoon after finding them walking on the Limerick Road leading out of Ennis.
“I placed the soldiers under citizen’s arrest because these soldiers are not supposed to be walking freely on the streets of Ireland in uniform. It is a breach of the Irish Constitution and Irish neutrality, he said.
The six were part of a group of 238 troops who were forced to stay overnight on Thursday in due to technical problems experienced by their aircraft at Shannon airport.
They were staying at the West County Hotel in Ennis and met Mr Cregan near the hotel on a public footpath.
He said yesterday: “I immediately called for the six to stop and said to them ‘I am placing you all under citizen’s arrest. Do not move’.”
The men remained on the footpath as Mr Cregan contacted emergency services. “I was put through to Ennis Garda station, but the Garda (Irish Police) on duty made light of the matter,” Mr Cregan said.
Good for the Garda! Making mirth of buffoonery is always in the best interest of mankind and should always be encouraged and rewarded.
Green party leader Trevor Sargent said yesterday that US troops walking in uniform in this country “was a flagrant breach of Irish neutrality. An army of another country can’t flaunt itself in uniform and it was an important gesture by the anti-war activist to ensure that the law is being upheld,” Mr Sargent said.
Now, hopefully there will be some Ireland experts out there who may be able to shed some light on this, if any light needs to be shed. At the very worst, prepping the soldiers for interaction in the host country where there may be a rule restricting “uniformed soldiers” from appearing in public as such may need a bit of a going over, but to claim these 6 GIs were “flaunting” is more than a bit of a stretch, methinks.
Link here – registration required.
Thanks to Toejam for the tip!
—posted by Pinch
Suez Canal, Egypt (May 29, 2006) – Crew members gather on the bow for a Foreign Object Damage (FOD) Walk down as the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) transits from the Mediterranean Sea to the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility in the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Airman Jhi L. Scott
Transiting the Suez Canal has become a staple of today’s carrier deployments as deployed strike groups leave the Sixth Fleet AOR (basically Med) and chop into the Fifth Fleet Area of Responsibility (northern Indian Ocean/Arabian Gulf) for part of their deployment. I never got to make the transit – back in “my” day we were at the tail end of that old thing called the Cold War (children, open your history books to page….), so all of our focus was on that region.
If you look close at the aircraft on the deck, you can see them buttoned up pretty tight. Reflective covers on the canopies to keep the incessant suns rays from damaging the “office” equipment (bake anything in an enclosed area at 150 degrees long enough and stuff starts to break), aircraft panels taped shut to keep dust and sand from mucking up the works.
The crew are performing a FOD walk down, or looking for those little objects that can be sucked into an engine. Most likely in this case, though, they are probably getting ready for helo operations since you won’t be launching aircraft during the transit.
—posted by Pinch
Or the Integrated Catapult Control System, commonly referred to as the “Bubble”.
Pacific Ocean (March 13, 2006) – An F/A-18D Hornet assigned to the “Rough Raiders” of Strike Fighter Squadron One Two Five (VFA-125) launches from the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Mark J. Rebilas (RELEASED)
Continuing with our informal tour of an Aircraft Carrier (begun with the Jet Engine Test Cell of a few days ago), the ICCS is where catapult officers run the aircraft catapult sequence/system.
Air conditioned with comfortable (relatively) seats, it is the ideal place to monitor, from deck level, all the required checks and double-checks that need to be done before the “LAUNCH” button is pushed and you send a 42,000 Hornet flying.
I still remember the litany that we repeated before every launch, as the sequence began:
“Taking tension….good stroke, good hook. Flaps, slats, panels, pins…man’s out, thumbs up…winds are….27 knots. Crosswinds are good. Thumb’s up, final checkers. Looking for burner….good burner. Scannin’ (working a quick scan backwards from the bow to make sure everything is ok for launch, looking at the catapult track, the deck crew and their thumb’s ups, the aircraft, the pilot, the final checkers behind the aircraft, the Island (with its green launch light), back to the aircraft, and lastly at the pilot), there’s the salute (from the pilot, signifying he’s all set to go flying), “520 and clear’ comes from the Bubble Petty Officer, facing the opposite direction to me, the bow)…”Roger, 520 and clear” (the “520″ meaning we had 520 psi of steam available)…with the last word being mine, “Launching”
On IKE when I was cat officer we tried to get out of the bubble as often as we could so we could do the traditional naval aviation cat officer aircraft launch ballet (sans tutus). It was always so much more fun when you were directing the evolution up on the deck, amidst the noise and heat and exhaust and aircraft – and when it was raining and cold, you scored a bunch of points with the enlisted flight deck guys who had to be out in that mess all the time, anyhow.
—Posted by Pinch
From the Valiant Shield home page:
PACIFIC OCEAN (June 18, 2006) — USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) carrier strike groups steam in formation during a joint photo exercise (PHOTOEX) in preparation for Valiant Shield 2006. The PHOTOEX featured 14 ships as well as 17 aircraft from Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corp including a B2 bomber. The Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group is currently participating in Valiant Shield 2006, the largest joint exercise in recent history. Held in the Guam operating area (June 19-23), the exercise involves 28 Naval vessels including three carrier strike groups, more than 300 aircraft and more than 20,000 service members from the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Jarod Hodge)
3 aircraft carrier strike groups plus a formation of F-16s, F-15s, F/A-18s and a B-2. The power projection side of me says “Woo flippin’ hoo!!!!! The logistical side says “Getting gas to that gaggle is gonna hurt!”
—Posted by Pinch
