WeekEnd Sub Roundup - 2 Nov 2007

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USS Hampton Incident Getting A 'Hard' Look
'I Think They Were Pushing The Easy Button,' Commander Of Sub Force Says
We have a group of individuals, not a single individual, but a group who were working together, and they compromised their integrity,” Donnelly said. “I think they were pushing the easy button, perhaps to avoid the pain of long hours and hard work.

Molten Eagle's opinion is that 'Hard Look' really means all the rigor with less public fanfare than the safety standdown earlier this year. The move will underscore the adequacy of existing review mechanisms and avoid further undue publicity. Instead, ELTs and CRAs fleetwide will be individually debriefed by their XOs (Engineers may be present) and the UCMJ will be addressed with recent examples at hand. Don't expect the nukes who lost their billets to find prize employment opportunities in the civilian nuclear world. They really did not escape easily, nor should they have. USS Hampton's (SSN-767) CO will fare better, since he was not part of the conspiracy. Will the underlying monitoring be streamlined as a result? No, the Navy does not operate that way. When one of the USNA grads studies the situation and proposes an elegant, cost-saving improvement, it will still take years to implement. (Would be pleased to be wrong.)

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Navy's Strategy Stresses Teamwork
Cooperative Role For Submarine Force Outlined
McLean, Va. — The submarine force will play a critical role in a new maritime strategy that stresses cooperative relationships with other countries, Vice Adm. John J. Donnelly said Wednesday. ... Focused on high-level strategic imperatives for U.S. sea power to protect global trade and governance, discussions stressed that preventing wars is as important as winning them. 'Our challenge as a Navy is to apply sea power in a manner that protects U.S. vital interests even as it promotes greater international security, stability and trust.' Donnelly said.

Molten Eagle's opinion has always been that re-introduction of a few submarines to combat piracy would probably be the fastest way to protect large cargo and tanker vessels. All piracy is tied to anarchy, an environment in which terrorists thrive. Though the U.S. and its partners cut off conventional financing for terrorists, unconventional financing methods (like piracy and hostage-taking) may be attempting to fill the funding gap. Imagine the terror a SEAL team could strike in the pirates. (updated to remove extraneous word)

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In case you missed this submarine site, check out the Golden Web Award winner 2002-2003 here. The Turkish site is not only distinctive, it has handy links like this (somewhat dated). The interesting terrain following Tomahawk cruise missile graphic (below) is one example. For non-sonar types, turn your sound off or there's an annoying ping.


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Here is a don't miss" Chinese (model) submarine YouTube video. Can Chinese submarine technology really be lagging 10 years behind?




Not even a nuke!

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Ready for a few a quick change of pace? WARNING: Bad language in this 14 second YouTube.
Oh, well, the surface navy has it up moments.