Perplexing Suggestion from former Sub Rear Admiral

Q&A
Perplexing Submarine Suggestion from former Rear Adm. Padgett (background)

1- The article identified at least four (4) capacities in which the good admiral may have been speaking. Obviously, he is a) a resident of Connecticut and b) an admiral with decades of submarine experience. What are the other two capacities?
ANS: c) national president of the Naval Submarine League; d) vice president of business development and strategic planning for General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) Division since December 2003.

2- The admiral made one very perplexing suggestion (the others we have likely heard before); what was the suggestion that raised obvious questions not answered in the article?
ANS: Padgett "called on EB to increase payloads and sensors."

It is hardly unusual to propose that customers buy additional products. Calling on EB (Padgett's employer) to increase payloads and sensors, however, begs questions. Why might a contractor have to be pushed to accept new business from a major customer (i.e. Navy)?

Either the Navy customer has not expressed an interest, or it has expressed interest at bargain basement pricing. We know the Navy has expressed an interest, however:

According to our new CNO, Admiral Greenert CNO's Sailing Directions (pdf):

Over the next 10 to 15 years, the Navy will evolve and remain the preeminent maritime force.

• The reach and effectiveness of ships and aircraft will be greatly expanded through new and updated weapons, unmanned systems, sensors, and increased power.

If the Navy's interest is limited to pricing that cannibalizes a fair return, however, EB's incentive might be too small to cover the huge costs attendant to new product design and development, government contracting expenses and warranty risks. In other words, while our government wastes taxpayer dollars thrown at foolhardy stuff like Solyndra, which obviously had only a fantasy business plan, it may be downright hostile toward our most reliable submarine contractor, one that has been able to reduce prices with its proven business plan.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Perplexing Submarine Suggestion from former Rear Adm. Padgett

Background

A little-noticed story in the Norwich Bulletin last month was titled Submarine force facing ‘serious challenges,' retired admiral says.

No, it is not about what one might expect if thinking it concerned women crew, which has the potential to develop into serious challenges for sub missions, recruitment and retention.

Former Rear Adm. John B. Padgett III, a Norwich native who lives in Old Lyme, said he was very concerned about what will happen when the Navy goes below 48 attack submarines. The force is at 52.

“At that point, you’ll be deciding to do things you shouldn’t be doing,” he told a lunch gathering of the Nautilus Chapter of the Naval Submarine League in Groton. “The industrial base is facing many challenges, as well.”

Still sound like the women thing?

QUESTIONS of the WEEK

1- The article identifies at least four (4) capacities in which the good admiral may be speaking. Obviously, he is a resident of Connecticut and an admiral with decades of submarine experience.
What are the other two (2) capacities?

2- The admiral makes one very perplexing suggestion (the others we have likely heard before); what is the suggestion that raises obvious questions not answered in the article?


ANSWERS: Friday, 30 SEP.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Big Question this Week 23 SEPT 2011

Background
Definition
Obfuscation (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
transitive verb
2 a: CONFUSE <obfuscate the reader>

Timeline

Dec 20, 1999 - An experiment to send neutrinos from the CERN particle physics lab in Geneva to the Gran Sasso underground in central Italy, 730 km away, was approved last week

May 31, 2010 - Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus (OPERA) Researchers announce first observation of a first tau neutrino candidate event in a muon neutrino beam.^[1]

February 17, 2011 - Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Lynn, along with the head of the USAF Space Command, Gen. William L. Shelton, expressed concerns about potential GPS interference from the LightSquared network.^[25]

September 15, 2011 - Gen. William Shelton said the White House tried to pressure him to change his testimony to make it more favorable to a company tied to a large Democratic donor.
A new wireless project by a satellite broadband company in Virginia called LightSquared, whose majority owner is an investment fund run by Democratic donor Philip Falcone.

September 16, 2011 - LightSquared Scandal Explodes LightSquared is owned by the Harbinger Capital hedge fund, headed by billionaire investor Phil Falcone. He visited the White House and made large donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Soon after, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted LightSquared a highly unusual waiver that allows the company to build out a national 4G wireless network on the cheap.

September 22, 2011 - Speed-of-light experiments give baffling result at Cern subatomic particles seem to have beaten the speed of light. If experiments can be replicated independently, results be inconsistent with Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity.

September 23, 2011 - CERN PRESS RELEASE Given the potential far-reaching consequences of such a result, independent measurements are needed before the effect can either be refuted or firmly established.

QUESTION of the WEEK

Given that:
OPERA has measured over 15,000 neutrino events in 16 months; and
OPERA has reported higher discrepancies in light velocities (e.g. See errata CERN 98-02: 7% for 1 atm of Helium instead of vacuum) in the past; and
OPERA has known for a long time that its velocity measurement is suspect (20 parts per million above the speed of light).

Is such sensational, tentative science ( CERN scientists claim to break speed of light ) making news now due to political (HINT) >>>>>>Obfuscation <<<<<<, or mere coincidence?

The answer will be abundantly obvious in coming months, and NO, the speed of light for neutrinos will not have broken the speed of light.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Ouch! - The Ultimate Postumous Penalty?

For the time being, all death row inmates in Texas are going to be cursing the memory of Lawrence Russell Brewer, 44, the white supremacist who was executed yesterday for the grisly murder of James Byrd, Jr. , a black man.

Prison officials say ribs, enchiladas and ice cream are common last meal choices. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons, however, listed Brewer's selection as follows:

1 pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream
1 slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts
3 fajitas with fixings
3 root beers
2 chicken fried steaks smothered in gravy with sliced onions
1 triple meat bacon cheeseburger with fixings on the side
1 cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapenos
1 large bowl of fried okra with ketchup
1 meat lovers pizza
One pound of barbecue with half a loaf of white bread

When his last meal arrived, however, Mr. Brewer claimed he was no longer hungry and did not touch any of it before his execution.

Consequently, Texas prison officials say they're stopping the practice of special last meals for inmates facing execution. after a state senator complained about an extensive request from a man involved in a notorious dragging death.

Sen. John Whitmire said Thursday he wanted the "ridiculous" and "inappropriate" practice ended or he'd seek a state statute banning it. Prisons director Brad Livingston agreed and said the practice was ending immediately. He said condemned inmates will get the same meal as other offenders.

Sailors can imagine the foul language among Texas's temporary death row inmates. Mr. Brewer never knew how his name would be extremely reviled even by his fellow white murderers.

Good old lawyers are probably already suing Texas to prevent withholding of last meal rites.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

ANSWERS: Mystery Questions of the Week: 9/11/2011

Impetus for this week's questions come from the near sinking on 23 August 2011 of Australia's HMAS Farncomb. Background may be found here:

Q & A

1- The RAN SUBSAFE document notes that most submarine mishaps are caused by some form of human error. What estimated range (percentages) of human-error caused mishaps is given? ANS: 70 - 80%.

2- RAN SUBSAFE mentions (see pdf document) loss of USS THRESHER in 1963, as bringing submarine safety into focus in a tragic way. Six additional submarine mishaps are cited by submarine name. Three of the 6 relate to U.S. subs. What are the names and hull numbers of the other 3 U.S. subs? ANS: USS Bonefish (SSN-582), USS GUITARRO (SSN-665), and USS SEAWOLF (SSN-21).

3- What are the nationalities and names of the 3 non-U.S. subs cited? ANS: Peruvian sub BAP PACACHO, the UK sub HMS UPHOLDER, and the Dutch sub HNLMS WALRUS .

4- The document credits which U.S. service (branch and specialty) with improving its Operational Risk Management (ORM) safety record from worst to best among the four U.S. military services 'in three short years'? ANS: The U.S. Army Aviation Corps improved its safety record out of the four services from worst to best in three short years.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarine CN-NU Episode IV: You could not make this up

As they say, "You could not make this up."

M.E. first brought you the story of the Calabrian based Italian Mafia's submarine Importer (Ndrangheta) back in 2006 Submarine CN-NU. Since then, we can recall several, less sophisticated drug subs from South America have been captured by authorities, some with cargoes.

In 2007, Graceful Submarine Exit Portrayed as Radiation Relief in Sardinia M.E had predicted:

My guess is that the U.S. is either assisting Italy in identifying the true source of contamination, or has already shared that information. We may never hear about resulting arrests, because submarines are always silent and strange.

Then in 2009, Submarine Prediction Appears to Have Been Correct M.E. linked a report that:

Mafia accused of sinking ship full of radioactive waste off Italy

Our Ndrangheta story continues...

Associated Press -Sept. 15, 2011 Reports: Top Italian mobster escapes from custody Antonio Pelle escaped from a hospital in Locri, in the southern Italian region of Calabria, where the 'ndrangheta crime syndicate is based. Pelle had been given house arrest because he is anorexic,

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Not what we expected, but WHO would know?

If this sounds like a famous Abbott and Costello "Who's On First" comedy routine, claimed to be their best ever, sober up, it is not comedic at all; it is not only deadly serious, but rather surprising for most North Americans.

Associated Press - Sept. 13, 2011 - WHO issues chronic disease country scorecards

The World Health Organization published a report Wednesday showing the prevalence of Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, stroke, diabetes and cardiovascular illness around the world, along with countries' abilities to cope with the growing number of people affected by them.

So-called NCDs killed more than 36 million people in 2008, the most recent year for which global data is available. About a quarter of those deaths _ some 9 million _ were classed as "premature" because they occurred in people under 60, WHO said.


Now, for something really interesting:

The WHO mortality map shown in the preceeding link looks swell (lowest mortality rates) for North America, most of Europe, and about a third of latin America, doesn't it?

There is just one thing, you are looking at a distribution for FEMALE mortality rates only. To view the corresponding rates for males, click on the "View more indicators" tab near top left and select Male.

My, how the map changes: only Canada and Australia still reflect the lowest mortaliy rates!

Common, modifiable risk factors underlie the major NCDs. They include tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity, overweight/obesity, raised blood pressure, raised blood sugar and raised cholesterol.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarine Mystery Questions of the Week: 9/11/2011

Background for this week's questions derive from the near sinking event of HMAS Farncomb this August 23, 2011. More here: Submarine Laundry Aired Publicly - Mildew Evident.

An earlier RAN submarine safety document, however, claims that the Australian program is unique among the rest of the world's submarine safety programs, and recognised as the premiere submarine safety organisation of its type due to the composition of its SUBSAFE Board.

QUESTIONS:

1- The RAN SUBSAFE document notes that most submarine mishaps are caused by some form of human error. What estimated range (percentages) of human-error caused mishaps is given?

2- RAN SUBSAFE mentions loss of USS THRESHER in 1963, as bringing submarine safety into focus in a tragic way. Five additional submarine mishaps are cited by submarine name. Three of the 6 relate to U.S. subs. What are the names and hull numbers of the other 2 U.S. subs?

3- What are the nationalities and names of the 3 non-U.S. subs cited?

4- The document credits which U.S. service (branch and specialty) with improving its Operational Risk Management (ORM) safety record from worst to best among the four U.S. military services 'in three short years'?

ANSWERS: (Comments off) Will be posted Friday 16 SEP.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Limerick for 9-11 - Navy Tribute

9-11's aftermath finally proved,


That boundaries will not protect the crude;


Nor has foot washing cured,


Odor which endured,


Before crabs ate our choice of "al-Qaeda" food!

- Juan Caruso

Submarine Laundry Aired Publicly - Mildew Evident

The incident will not help the troubled reputation of the Collins-class fleet, which has been plagued by technical problems...

August 23, 2011 about 20km off the northwest coast of Rottnest Island (Not Revealed at the time)

According to several crew members' versions, the Farncomb slowed to a virtual halt, tilted nose up and began to slide backwards towards the ocean floor. The tilt was so steep that sailors eating in the mess room had to grab their dinners as they slid off the table. Those in the sleeping quarters found themselves "on top of each other". ...

Navy claims the EPU "would be sufficient to maintain control of the submarine in such situations". Submarine experts dispute this and say that, if this was so, why did Commander Miles not use this option rather than order the more drastic blowing of all ballast tanks.

"The EPU is only designed for surface propulsion and there is no way that it could have controlled a 3000-tonne submarine heading backwards towards the seabed," said one expert, who asked not to be named. source article - The Australian, September 10, 2011

Submarines are always silent and strange.