Wednesday Whodunnit & Why

Background: Tuesday State of the Union Address

"Viewership for Obama's State of the Union addresses has been in decline since 2009, when he drew 52.4 million television viewers. Subsequently, 48.0 million watched on television in 2010, 42.8 million in 2011, 37.8 million in 2012, 33.5 million in 2013 and 33.3 million in 2014." -CNN 

An Administration Manufactured Event?

"Ten American sailors have been taken into custody in Iran," he said in a statement. "But President Obama completely omitted this latest example of Iran's provocative behavior so as not to interfere with his delusional talking points about his dangerous nuclear deal with Iran. - House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy 

News of this curiously unexplained capture (including 1 woman)  preceeded the East coast's dinner hour to generate interest just-in-time for Obama's final S.O.T.U.  a few hours later at 9 PM.

So despite a perfectly-timed, human interest story Obama's viewership still declined by almost 5%, attracting ONLY 31.7 million viewers (1.6 million fewer than in 2015).  

Questions:

What would viewership have been without the sailor story?

Answer: Even more embarrassing for the administration.

Was the Iranian capture event manufactured with or without SECNAV Mabus's knowledge?

Answer: If a manufactured event, it could not have been without his implicit approval. 

Would such a manufactured event have to have been coordinated in advance with Iran?

Answer:  Certainly.

What inducement(s) could Iran have been offered to go along with the event? 

Answer:  Let's think; besides humiliating the U.S. navy, what does Iran wish that the U.S. can possibly hasten? Hints: (sanctions, 'peaceful' nuclear developments), and then there is PR (photographic one upmanship): 

Finally, would Secretary of State Kerry have been involved in coordinating such an event with Iran? 

Answer:  Draw your own conclusions. During his tour of duty as an Officer in Charge of Swift boats, Kerry led five-man crews on patrols into enemy-controlled areas.

Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN's Dana Bash that he expected the sailors to be released "very soon" but would not be more specific. He was speaking at the Capitol ahead of the start of Obama's speech.

A senior State Department official, though, told Fox News that there was “no apology from Kerry” to the Iranians.  

Submarines are always silent and strange.

 

Tuesday Notes & Tidbits (2015, #005)

Submarines are always silent and strange. - Tidbits  No. 05

+

Politics - Transparent Pre-election Pandering   2 July 2015 -  Mabus triples maternity leave from six to 18 weeks 

Women in the Navy and Marine Corps hoping to raise families while advancing their careers are about to get a big boost. Starting immediately, paid maternity leave is tripled to 18 weeks for moms, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced Thursday.

"When the women in our Navy and Marine Corps answer the call to serve, they are making the difficult choice to be away from their children — sometimes for prolonged periods of time — so that they can do the demanding jobs that we ask them to do," Mabus said in a release. "With increased maternity leave, we can demonstrate the commitment of the Navy and Marine Corps to the women who are committed to serve." -  NavyTimes

M.E.:   Secretary of the Navy Mabus, a Democrat attorney with skimmer experience paints a compassioate face on his concession to women.  Surely, 18 weeks is only a starting point to this madness. Servicewomen, like men make huge sacrifices for DEFENSE readiness.  This move, which will be hugely more disruptive for secretive submarine force missions than for the surface vessel crews will have three unfortunate impacts on the sub force:
1- Pregnancies are being encouraged.
2- Training, qualification and sequalia will be disrupted for female sailors who become pregnant.
3- To some uncertain extent, the overall readiness of the U.S. submarine force will have been needlessly sacrificed for more votes.  

++

Disappointing Disclosures  2 July 2015 -  Confessions Of A U.S. Navy Submarine Officer
Excerpts:

• "After the meal you go on watch. That means you might not get to the bathroom for six hours so you better have some good bladder control. I knew a lot of guys who had to piss in a bilge funnel. I remember more than one time someone not getting a watch relief and shitting in a bucket behind the switchboards. One guy must’ve had a weak stomach because he shit his pants on multiple occasions."
• That’s what makes sub hunting so hard and so nerve racking. And it’s not as important as a mission as it was during the Cold War. I’d bet we’re losing our proficiency at it to be honest.”
• A movie played in the [1} Wardroom, [2] Crews Mess and [3] Chiefs Quarters every night. Those are the only two [sic] places to really socialize.

• ”I think I got two days off in four months. Like I said, that captain was a jerkoff and worked us to death.”
• For me, being in such close proximity to everyone wasn’t usually an issue, but everyone would get sick of it once in a while. No personal space other than your rack. Trying to sleep when you know the guy in the rack below you is whacking off to weird porn with a plug in his ass... Just sick of knowing that much about everyone. Sick of smelling feet and ass and guys who don’t shower

M.E.: No question the guy is a "nuc",  but this is NOT how commissioned "officers" are supposed  to talk about subs out of school unless authorized by higher authority [Mabus again?].  What kind of woman would be encouraged to volunteer for subs by such confessions, particularly the six-hour wait to pee?  While you think about that, is someone actually trying to discourage women?  The "officer" interviewed gives more or less the standard political answer to why women have been "overdue" for sub service.  In other words, he saves himself from a political heave-ho. 

Beware of This Clever Deceit to Disarm

Background

Oct 22, 2013  -  CBO Says Navy Shipbuilding Plan $76 Billion Short

 "In particular, the plan would lead to temporary shortfalls relative to the Navy's goals for ballistic missile submarines, attack submarines, large surface combatants, and amphibious warfare ships," the report said.

Nov. 22, 2013 - Markey Seeks Cost Options for Modernizing Ballistic-Missile Submarines
Washington -- A proposed amendment to the U.S. Senate's fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill would require the Navy to update Congress on cost projections for different alternatives for modernizing the nation's ballistic-missile submarine fleet.

The measure submitted by freshman Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) would give the Navy until the end of March to report on the latest cost projections for all options for replacing the expiring generation of Ohio-class nuclear-armed submarines.

The estimated $90 billion expense of modernizing the sea-based leg of the country's nuclear triad has worried some lawmakers and Defense officials, who say it could eat up a huge chunk of the service's available shipbuilding funds for many years to come.


More Recently

Obama Administration Leader

February 2014 -Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in late February told a think tank audience there should be public debate over how to fund the submarine-modernization program.  <<<<<

Democrat Followers

March 12, 2014 - Some U.S. Lawmakers Eye Funding New Submarines Outside Normal Process Some U.S. lawmakers are calling for funding the Navy's new fleet of ballistic-missile submarines outside its regular shipbuilding budget, Inside Defense reports.  U.S. Representative Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) contend that the tens of billions of dollars needed to build a successor fleet to the Ohio-class submarine should not come out of the usual funds because the vessels are a national strategic asset.

"I think this is a debate that, between now and 2019, which is now inside the five-year defense budget, that we need to have because we need to build these [submarines]. ...    <<<<<

****************

At a time when the U.S.  has wasted $billions in taxpayer subsidies on dozens of solar outfits (Solyndra), healthcare premiums are rising for the unemployed (Obamacare), the Sequester is beginning to effect us all, and nuclear is still (Fukushima ) a very bad memory, how many people does anyone know that even cares about somethiing few understand and even
fewer will ever see --- Trident submarines?

At the very time P.O.T.U.S. has unilaterally proposed warhead reductions, inadvertently injected fear and uncertainty into U.S. foreign policy posture, provoked ire among Europe's leaders (NSA phone intercepts), concern among our allies as to the ongoing value of military commitments (Benghazi, Ukraine), and raised concern in the Middle East (Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia) about U.S. steadfstness, Democrats (so far, but soon to be joined by RINO lawyer-politician colleagues) suggest having public debate over how to fund a successor fleet for a strategic asset.

The outcome of such a debate would produce only a bigger question, the same one D.C. lobbyists working for elite, one-world globalists have pushed since WW2: Why have nuclear weapons and subs, at all.   

At stake:  Just perpetuation of Liberty, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Don't be one of those fooled by their transparent ploy.


Submarines are always silent and strange.

Liberal Success in Quest to Subvert the Best

Background

Women now comprise about 14 percent of the nation's 1.4 million active military personnel.  US President John F Kennedy announced the creation of a Navy special operations force in 1961. The Navy has a 75 percent dropout rate at the 21-week Coronado training course known as Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S.).

"Under the schedules military leaders delivered to [Defense Secretary Chuck] Hagel, the Army will develop standards by July 2015 to allow women to train and potentially serve as Rangers, and qualified women could begin training as Navy SEALs by March 2016 if senior leaders agree. Military leaders have suggested bringing senior women from the officer and enlisted ranks into special forces units first to ensure that younger, lower-ranking women have a support system to help them get through the transition."  source

Reactions

(pro)

“I would say with a lot of training a handful of women could do that,” Rowe said. Still, if she was interested in the military, “that’s where I’d want to go.”   Brittany Rowe, 27,
San Diego lifeguard

(con)

– First, the standards in place are combat-proven standards – there can be no slackening of standards. The run times and pull-up minimums are the same for all. On the 100-yard buddy-carry sprint–I carry you and your combat load and you carry me; it doesn’t matter if I’m a 150-pound SEAL (which I was) or a 220-pound SEAL, as many are today. Your life and mine depend on my ability to get you out of a kill zone and safely to cover. There can be no compromise.
    – Second, those women who can meet this standard have to do so in more than ones or twos. It is unreasonable to open training to 200 women to find two who can meet standard.
    – Third, and finally, there is the cultural issue. Do we as a nation, and an American culture, want our mothers, sisters, and daughters in the business of sustained, direct, mortal, combat?   - Dick Couch, former SEAL and a leading authority on U.S. military special-operations training. 

 *************

Coincidence or Scripted?

The US Navy Seal who went from Chris to Kristin

Chris Beck spent 20 years as an elite US Navy Seal, often operating in secret behind enemy lines.  After retiring from the US Navy as a highly decorated serviceman Chris Beck wrote "I am now taking off all my disguises and letting the world know my true identity as a woman." Chris had become Kristin Beck.

YouTube: Transgender Navy SEAL Chris Beck U.S. War Hero becomes Kristin Beck, Rated R

                                                            

 Submarines are always silent and strange.

Sub Questions for Balance of Obama Term

Background

23 May 2012 - USS Miami (SSN-755) was severly damaged due to arson at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.  
The Navy Department debated on whether to scrap the ship. Both US Senators from Maine—where the shipyard is located—advocated repairing her. The United States Navy asked Congress to add $220 million to the operations and maintenance budget for emergent and unfunded ship repairs which would be used to help repair the Miami. The final [sic] outcome was a choice to repair the submarine at an estimated total cost of $450 million, the USS Miami was expected to return to service sometime in 2015. However, congressional inaction to fully resolve the United States fiscal cliff had put this in doubt. 

****

11 June 2012 -  Molten Eagle Predicted:

The total probability of the possibilities discussed above (Scrap- 52%, MTS- 2%, Repair- 21%, and Accommodate women- 25%) is estimated to be 100%. Time will tell us.  

(Note:  6 August 2013 entry - ME's highest probability prediction outcome has been confirmed: SSN-755 to be scrapped.).

5 Sep 2012 - The Navy has said it will fix the submarine by April 30, 2015, because the Miami still has 10 years remaining in its roughly 30-year service life, making it eligible for at least five more deployments. - Navy expected to award EB two major contracts for USS Miami repairs, The New London Day, Jennifer McDermott.

6 Aug 2013 -  Navy discovers more damage, decides to scrap submarine Miami  The New London Day, Jennifer McDermott.

****

Questions (for Balance of Obama Term):

Note: Time alone (through the end of Obama's final term) will reveal the answers

1 ) - The accurate probability analysis predicting the scrapping USS Miami included a possibility of converting the sub to accomodate women crew.  Now that Miami is to be scrapped, another SSN sub would have to undergo such alterations to accomodate women crew in order to fulfill SecNav Mabu's promise to have women on SSNs next year (by 2014).  Will Mabus go "low-budget" (blaming ongoing sequestration limitations) to squeeze females in as one of the guys?  That would certainly be among good guesses.

2 ) - Though not obvious, it is clear SecNav Mabus had pushed for refurbishing USS Miami. Obviously, the choice to repair Miami not only had Mabus's support, put it was being pushed in the final hours of the scrapping decision.  How do we kow this? ANSWER: A key admiral has been quoted promising 10 (not 5) five full-length deployments for the Miami's remaining post-repair, 10-year life expectancy.   

3) - Repair cost estimates increased as predicted from $450 million to $700 million from unexpected hull cracking.  Wrong!  It had been expected by submarine metallurgists ever since the fire. In fact, the reason the admiral in 2) increased the promise to 10 deployments was to hold the average cost of deplotment without payroll and operating costs to an average of $70 million. This was a political maneuver.  Who was behind it? ANSWER: SecNav Mabus would clearly be suspected among the best possible answers. 

4) -   Will PNS receive major submarine work in the future without a submariner in command of the shipyard ?  

Submarines are always silent and strange.