Why Not The Best?

It's my opinion that every adult can lay claim to being the "first" or "best" in the world (or at least the country) at something. In much the same way that probably 95% of everyone asked would consider themselves to be an above-average driver, making this claim can sometimes require a little bit of self-deception, but no real harm is done.

For me, my claims to fame are that I run the world's most popular submarine blog, I was the fastest ever submarine Engineer on Alpha Trials (at least in the U.S. -- it depends on if the Soviets let their Alfas get up to flank on their initial sea trials, which I kind of doubt), and I lay claim to having written more Admiral's letters enclosures than any Eng in the history of the Submarine Force. (I wrote about 60, having been initial manning Eng twice; letters were due every 4 weeks in the shipyard.)

What's your claim to being the best?

♪♫ "And Another One Gone..."♫♪

Well, another CO in another submarine-related command got the ax this month, and this one is quite a surprise. RDML (sel) Greg Thomas was temporarily relieved as CO of Newport News Norfolk Naval Shipyard back in May; the CO he replaced in 2010 was also fired. Navy Times reports that command climate was the reason for the firing:

In mid-May, Naval Sea Systems Command temporarily yanked Thomas, a rear admiral selectee, from his perch atop Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. A naval inspector general investigation completed Aug. 31 found Thomas’ conduct “went beyond the limits of professional conduct expected of persons in authority.” The firing was made permanent Oct. 25 after Thomas was formally reprimanded for conduct unbecoming an officer.
The IG interviewed 45 witnesses who served in various leadership positions under Thomas during his nine months as commanding officer of the shipyard. Nine said they were subjected to “demeaning, insulting or profane language or intimidating behavior” privately as well as in public. All names other than Thomas’ were redacted from the report, which was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
An active-duty officer with more than 30 years in uniform told the IG that while some of his interactions with Thomas had been amiable, “There have been times when it rises to the worst experience of my naval career in terms of dealing with a superior who will not listen, who wants to be very vocal and loud, and who just wants to dress [me] down. I don’t know that I’m being treated differently in that case.”

What's surprising to me is that Thomas was selected for flag in the first place. I would be very surprised if all the people on the board (particularly in a community as small as EDOs) didn't know the guy had an "unpleasant personality", and given the risk-averse nature of most Navy senior personnel decisions nowadays, I figure that would have been disqualifying.

Reading Thomas' biography, I was surprised to see he went EDO right after finishing initial training, but still got assigned to a submarine later on. Normally guys who go ED before getting their dolphins are the ones who develop some disqualifying medical condition during training. However, given that he was probably "assigned" to USS San Juan (SSN 751) in 1988, when I think the boat was in PSA, I could see them giving a medical waiver for a guy to get his ED Dolphins in that situation. However, the fish Thomas is wearing in this photo look real.

Did you ever work for an asshole? I did. And do you think that assholism may be required in some situations? (Maybe like when you're taking over for a CO who was relieved because the command wasn't getting the job done?)

Bell-ringer 1620 16 Nov: Off-topic but still of interest, here's a story by the Michael Melia reporter about the ongoing investigation into cheating on nuclear qual exams.

"94 Percent Availability Of Commodes"

From an article in Navy Times:

The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier has a messy problem. Since deploying in May, the Norfolk, Va.-based carrier George H.W. Bush has grappled with widespread toilet outages, at times rendering the entire ship without a single working head. But it’s no laughing matter. Sailors tell of combing the ship for up to an hour to find a place to do their business, if they can find one at all. Others have resorted to urinating in showers or into the industrial sinks in their work stations. Some men are using bottles and emptying the contents over the giant ship’s side, while some women are holding it in for so long that they are developing health problems, according to sources on the ship. The sailors blame the ship’s vacuum system. But the Navy is blaming sailors for flushing “inappropriate material” down the toilets. The ship, commissioned in January 2009, is wrapping up a deployment in the Persian Gulf. Three sailors who spoke to Navy Times on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media said the problem has been persistent at least since Bush began its first deployment in May. Throughout its deployment, there have been at least two times when all 423 commodes in the ship’s 130 heads went offline, the sailors said. More often, they said, all heads either forward or aft of the middle of the ship have gone out of service, or clusters of heads scattered through different departments have been shut down.

Any good stories about the unavailability of the heads on your boat?

Coming Home Safely

Welcome home to the officers and crew of USS Springfield (SSN 761), who returned to Groton yesterday after a six month deployment to the CENTCOM AOR. Here's a picture:

Some more pictures of the homecoming can be found here. As we celebrate Veteran's Day, we honor all those who have served our nation, whether they returned home safely like the men of Springfield or if they were not so fortunate. How can we, as a nation, best honor our veterans and their families? Alternately, why did you join the military? (My story isn't very uplifting -- it was the old "got involved with the wrong girl and stupidly threw away a lot of chances, and looked to the Navy as a way to restart my life" tale. I'm hoping some of my readers have better narratives.)

While you're pondering, here's a teaser for an upcoming CNN report on veterans of the Submarine Service during the Cold War.

You Pick The Topic!

I'll put it up to a vote. For my next post, would you like a) a discussion of the most recent SOBC graduation, or b) an essay about national politics? Vote in the comments!

Update 1611 10 Nov: While you're voting, here and here are a couple of random "Best of Bubblehead" posts from the "Toilet" division.

Bell-ringer 1717 10 Nov: From the comments, here's a cool "Spirit Spot" from USS North Carolina (SSN 777) for the upcoming Carrier Classic:
 

Update 0549 11 Nov: And here's the response from one of the USS Michigan (SSGN 727) crews.

Hitler The A-gang LCPO

An submarine-related entry in the classic "Hitler reacts to current events" video meme:

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I kinda get into the holiday.

Update 1620 04 Nov: I wanted to add this link to an amazing young couple who are trying to adopt. If you know anyone who is looking for a loving home in which to place a baby, you couldn't find a better family than this:

USS California (SSN 781) Joins The Fleet

PCU California (SSN 781) becomes USS California this morning in a commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk. You can watch the ceremony live at 1100 EDT here; it should also be available after the ceremony for viewing at your convenience. A timelapse video of the boat and crew preparing for commissioning can be found here. Some comments from RADM Breckenridge can be found here. And a message from the Lieutenant Governor of California is here.

Are you a plankowner?

Update 0855 29 Oct: Based on this picture on Facebook, it looks like the weather might have driven the ceremony indoors. Wusses. I stood outside in bitter December Groton cold for the commissioning of Connecticut in 1998. (As Eng, my job was to stand in front of the formation of the crewmembers who didn't have any specific role in the ceremony. That's the job I've seen the Eng do at every commissioning I've attended.)

Update 1407 29 Oct: Here are some pictures from the ceremony. And here's a picture of the crew "manning the ship and bringing her to life":

I'm sorry, but I think a commissioning ceremony is one of those times where it's OK to have the crew wear their dress uniforms topside. It's not like they're actually going to handle lines. Call me old-fashioned...

Update 2000 30 Oct: Either I didn't read the caption correctly the first time, or they've since changed it, but the caption now explains the picture above was taken during rehearsal, so it's perfectly fine that they're not in Dress Blues.

PED Owning SubPac Submariners SOL?

Word on the street is that at least some bases in the COMSUBPAC sphere of influence are looking at banning personally-owned electronic devices from the boats, and that possibly COMSUBPACINST 2075.1 is the instruction that establishes this ban. Any truth to this, or just waterfront rumors running amok?

Another Sub Skipper Fired

CDR Joseph Nosse, Commanding Officer of USS Kentucky (SSBN 737) was relieved of command by the SUBRON 17 Commander today:

“Cmdr. Nosse exhibited inadequate leadership and oversight of the crew in the areas of operations and administration,” Early said. “The determination came after a series of external assessments and observations.” Early did not have details immediately available on the specific shortfalls, who had first observed them or when and whether Nosse’s relief was the result of an investigation.

CDR Nosse began his CO tour with the Gold Crew in February 2010, and accepted the Omaha Trophy on behalf of his crew later that year. He assumed command of the combined crew in August of this year in preparation for the boat's mid-life refueling. Nosse is the 20th Navy CO fired this year. This is getting old. Even if he did used to be an officer detailer, no one wants to see someone's career end like this.

USS Boise Crew On Namesake City Visit

The Commanding Officer of USS Boise (SSN 764) and three crewmembers are in town for a namesake city visit today through Saturday. I was able to meet them at a Rotary Club meeting, and snapped this picture of three of them:

I hope they enjoy their time in Boise, and that the people with whom they interact better understand the sacrifices these men make. For my readers -- did you ever get to be the CO's "liberty buddy"?

Drydock

As the Navy prepares for the upcoming commissioning of PCU California (SSN 781) and supports the beginning of the "two submarine starts per year" era, PCU Mississippi (SSN 782) passed an important milestone when she was "floated off" at Electric Boat:

I never liked being in drydock that much, especially after my boat was shaken by two earthquakes while in one in June 1992. Since it's been a couple years since we last discussed it, I'll ask again for the new readers: What are your favorite drydock stories?

PD Fun!

Here's an old picture of USS Key West (SSN 722) at periscope depth:

What's the most interesting thing you've ever seen out of the 'scope at PD?

"Get The Grease!"

At work yesterday, for some reason the conversation between me and one of the other Submariners I work with turned towards some of the pranks we boat types used to pull on each other. Some of the more disturbing ones involve things done to people while they're asleep or otherwise incapacitated. Whether it's a Shellback getting silver nitrate "teardrops" applied to his face as he sleeps during the 'Wog Rebellion or the poor guy who got stuck behind some piece of machinery having unmentionable things done to him, the lesson we Submariners learn early is "don't leave yourself vulnerable".

Confession time: what's the worst thing you've done (or seen done) to a shipmate who was unable to effectively defend themselves?

Longer SSN Deployments?

Check out this AP story; excerpt:

Vice Adm. John Richardson told the AP this week that keeping subs out longer is one of several options the Navy is considering as the number of attack subs is projected to continue dropping in the next decade and beyond. “I think we’re looking at all the options,” he said. “As you try and maintain the same presence with fewer hulls, there are all sorts of variables in that equation. One would be extending deployment lengths. So that’s certainly on the table.”

As usual, the story by the Michael Melia reporter has to get something wrong ("Enlisted crew members on the attack subs sleep six to a room...") but it seems to be fairly accurate overall. Have you ever done a deployment of greater than six months? What do you think of the potential change? (Alternately, what do you think about the increase in sub pay for E-8/E-9s with over 18 years of submarine service?)

Bell-ringer 1550 01 Oct: It turns out that Virginia-class boats do have several 6 man berthing spaces, so I stand corrected. Only one I was ever onboard was the lead ship of the class in the shipyard, and they didn't have the module with the berthings spaces there when I left.