It's not just a job

It's an adventure:

A plebe, or midshipman 4th class, listens for instructions before starting an obstacle course during Sea Trails at the U.S. Naval Academy. Sea Trials are divided into six phases to provides physical and mental challenges to test the plebes teamwork and mental stamina through shared adversities. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Todd P. Cichonowicz

New Chinese Sub Base
China's new naval base triggers US concerns China's new underground nuclear submarine base close to vital sea lanes in Southeast Asia has raised US concerns, with experts calling for a shoring up of alliances in the region to check Beijing's growing military clout. The base's existence on the southern tip...[READ]

Unfit for combat
Details of the USS Stout (DDG 55) and USS Chosin (CG 65), which both failed their InSurv recently: Problems included numerous safety violations, guns unable to fire, missiles unable to launch, and inoperative radar and CIWS systems. Click the image for an interactive display....[READ]

No bids on LCS?
Shipbuilders may decline to bid on next LCSs Littoral Combat Ship problems continue: Sources at Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics confirm that officials are hard at work preparing responses to the Navy’s March 31 Request for Proposal (RfP). But they say the Navy’s desire to transfer risk to the contractors...[READ]

16" of Boom
Received this amusing poster in the inbox. Click below to view due to naughty word alert....[READ]

Hornet Flyby
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the "Bounty Hunters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2 performs a fly-by over the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86) during an air show for the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham...[READ]

Boarding Party
Visit, board, search and seizure team members from the guided-missile frigate USS John L. Hall (FFG 32) take control of Landing Craft Utility (LCU 1661) after boarding the vessel by rigid hull inflatable boat. Phoenix Express (PE) 2008 is the third annual exercise in a long-term effort to improve...[READ]

Interview: BB-67 Montana Author
Here is a quick interview with W. Frederick Zimmerman, author of BB-67 Montana: Why She Matters Today. 1. What made you decide to put together a book on the BB-67 USS Montana? I had been experimenting with new formats for micropublishing (see Publish A "Nimble" Book With Us) and I...[READ]

Can't hide while you're broadcasting your position
New Wars looks at Stealth at Sea. I don't care what they do with the hull and superstructure and coatings. As long as DDG-1000s are radiating what modern warships radiate, there is no stealth. Adopt the behavior of nuclear missile submarines and maybe stealth would have a chance. Or, maybe,...[READ]

Argentina talking smack about the Falklands
Argentine president lays 'inalienable' claim to Falklands Argentine President Cristina Kirchner tells her people that the Falklands are a "shameful colonial enclave in the 21st century." And Vice President Julio Cobos said in the southern city of Rio Grande that "we must recover this territory that is ours, that...[READ]

Hong Kong, here we come
Hong Kong port call approved for Nimitz The Kitty Hawk battle group tried to make a long-scheduled visit to Hong Kong last Thanksgiving, but was told upon arrival that officials there had not received notification from Beijing to grant access. Here's a shot of the Nimitz from last summer: U.S....[READ]

UPDATE: Gunfire in the Suez
It appears that the Egyptian claims that one man was killed by warning shots when his boat approached a US Navy-contracted ship were correct....[READ]

DD(X) Losing Congress
Lawmakers' Support for DDG 1000 Program Ebbs Construction contracts have been given for the two lead Zumwalt-class ships, but the program is in serious trouble. Advanced Gun System (AGS) firing Long-Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) The Navy has advertised the first two ships as costing $3.3 billion each to build,...[READ]

Navy's ERGM Cancelled
I was going to post about how the EX 171 Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM) was in trouble, but I wasn't quick enough and now it's had its funding stopped. The end comes after the Navy spent more than $600 million on unsuccessful efforts by Raytheon to produced a...[READ]

Gunfire in the Suez
Navy-contracted ship opens fire in Suez An American cargo ship under contract to the U.S. Navy fired warning shots at a small Egyptian boat while moving through the Suez Canal, the military said Tuesday in a statement. Egyptian authorities said at least one man was killed in the incident....[READ]

JFK headed to mothballs
Tugboats tow the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) through the Delaware River to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Penn., March 22, 2008. Kennedy was deactivated March 23, 2007, following approximately 40 years of service. The ship will remain in Pennsylvania until the...[READ]

Shocking development
Navy Short on Shipbuilding Funds Who would have ever seen this coming?...[READ]

Sinking Feeling
USS Forrestal (CV 59, bottom) and USS Saratoga (CV 60, top) mothballed at Newport, RI Navy sink list includes Forrestal, destroyers The Navy plans to sink 15 decommissioned ships and scrap an additional 24 in the next five years, according to the latest shipbuilding plan. In fiscal 2009, the Navy...[READ]

Nuclear Burke Cruisers?
USS Bainbridge firing a Harpoon missile in 1992. Could a nuclear-powered version of the venerable Arleigh Burke DDG 51-class destroyer become the next missile cruiser for the U.S. Navy? "Venerable"? Anyway: Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., chairman of the seapower subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, said March 6 he...[READ]

Rooskies once again interested in the USS Nimitz
U.S. jets scramble to turn back Russian bomber U.S. and South Korean fighter jets scrambled to turn back a Russian bomber that approached a U.S. aircraft carrier during training exercises, South Korean and U.S. officials said Thursday. The Russian aircraft flew close to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in waters...[READ]