Salty Submarine Quote of the Month

BACKGROUND

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to crew of USS Kentucky (SSBN-737) at Naval Base Kitsap, Bangor, Wash. on August 9, 2017. Edited news story here.

Note:  Molten Eagle applauds Gen. Maddog Mattis's use of plainspoken, un-politically correct language and combat appropriate attitude.

The Quote

"That means you're not some pussy sitting on the sidelines [color emphasis by M.E.], you know what I mean, kind of sitting there saying, “Well, I should have done something with my life.” Because of what you're doing now, you're not going to be laying on a shrink's couch when you're 45 years old, say “What the hell did I do with my life?”  Why? Because you served others; you served something bigger than you." - August 9, 2017, Unedited News Transcript, "Remarks by [U.S.] Secretary [of Defense Gen. James 'Maddog'] Mattis, USMC at a Troop Event in Naval Base Kitsap, Washington"

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Answers to Submarine Q.O.T.W. from AUG 11, 2016

Related information, photo(s) and links for questions are found in the original posting. 

Questions of the Week (Q.O.T.W.) with ANSWERS

1 - Which, if any, of the 5 closures on the SecDef's 2005 hit list were major naval installations?
ANSWER:  Two - (1) Naval Submarine Base New London and, (2) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. 

2 - Which, if any, of the major naval installations on the SecDef's 2005 hit list were submarine related installations?   ANSWER:  Originally, Naval Submarine Base New London and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, but both were later removed from the original closure list. [ibid]

3 - How many members are appointed to serve on the BRAC Commission?  ANSWER: The latest (2005) Defense Base Closure and Realignments Commission (BRAC) was comprised of 9-members.  [ibid.]

4 - Who chaired the 2005 BRAC Commission?  ANSWER:  Anthony Principi 

5 - When did a SecDef last seek a new BRAC Commission, and who was he?  ANSWER:  On March 2015,  Defense secretary Ashton Carter directed his (acting) Asst. Secretary of Defense, John Conger to request authority for another BRAC during Congressional testimony.  

6 - What high ranking Navy appointee spoke very recently of a new BRAC round?   ANSWER:  Navy Seretary Ray Mabus was quoted August 9th as supporting another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round.   

 7 -  State officials recently claimed that there are national security interests in keeping waterways clear for the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn., and U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.  What state expressed such a claim, and in what context was that claim made?  ANSWER: Connecticut, of course, made the national security claim to defend its controversial plan to relocate dredged materials into New York state Long Island Sound.    

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarine QOTW 11 AUG 2016

Background

BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) is the federal government's method of assuring Department of Defense efficiency in use and upkeep of U.S. military installations. More than 350 installations have been closed in five BRAC rounds since 1988.  The current process was created in 1988 to reduce pork barrel politics when facilities in Congress's home states face reduction.

The most recent process began in May 2005, when the U.S. Secretary of Defense forwarded his recommendations for realignments and closures to the  BRAC Commission.  The BRAC Commission removed 5 major installations from the Secretary of Defenses's closure list.

Questions of the Week

1 - Which, if any, of the 5 closures on the SecDef's 2005 hit list were major naval installations?

2 - Which, if any, of the major naval installations on the SecDef's 2005 hit list were submarine related installations?

3 - How many members are appointed to serve on the BRAC Commission?

4 - Who chaired the 2005 BRAC Commission?

5 - When did a SecDef last seek a new BRAC Commission, and who was he.

6 - What high ranking Navy appointee also spoke recently of a new BRAC round?

7 -  State officials recently claimed that there are national security interests in keeping waterways clear for the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn., and U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.  What state expressed such a claim, and in what context was that claim made? 

ANSWERS:  Monday, 15 August

Submarines are always silemt and strange.

Prediction: A Quite Unannounced Secretary of Defense Hopeful?

Background

The Secretary of Defense is number 6th in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treasury.  

Senator Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham is running for POTUS on a peculiarly, practically one-plank military security platform.  Senator Graham faces a very embarrassing problem, however:

"South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wants voters to understand he would make the best commander in chief, but not even those in his home state agree with him. According to a poll by Public Policy Polling, 78  percent of South Carolina Republicans want Graham to stop running for president. Fifteen percent want him to keep running, and 7 percent were unsure."  source

Little acquaints the nation with name recognition for a senator from an obscure state better than a presidential run.  This retired Air Force colonel (JAG officer) had recently received unfavorable press for his military rank progression with less than usual merit:

"Since leaving active duty in 1989 and joining the Air Force Reserve, Mr. Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who is running for president, appears to have performed very little substantive work for the Air Force. Yet, he rose in rank to colonel and remained in the service until his retirement in June, which entitles him to a monthly $2,773 pension."  source

Additionally, John McLaughlin of The McLaughlin Group predicted at then end of his September 18th broadcast taping that Lindsey Graham would be the next Republican candidate to drop out of the race.   So, one might naturally wonder:  

• What has John Mclaughlin heard from inside the beltway sources?  

• What was Graham's real aim in entering the 2016 presidential race? 

• Has Graham's real aim been largely achieved at this point?

Suppose Graham had obtained Hillary Clinton's (and/or Jeb Bush's, or Rubio's, etc.) assurances that he would be appointed Secretary of Defense in their prospective cabinets.  Nothing highlights a Bronze Star award for a retired Air Force colonel like the national publicity of his presidential campaign.  Moreover, his campaign identifies Graham as Republican (in his home state political primaries are open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation).  

Republican party affiliations are often seen as a political necessity in administrations perceived as militarily weak.  President Obama retained George W. Bush's Defense Secretary, Republican Bob Gates (former Air Force officer), and later appointed another republican, Chuck Hagel (Army infantry sergeant, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge).

Graham has consistenly denied suspected liberal preferences during his lifetime of unmarried, unattached and aisle-crossing public service.  If Graham does drop his campaign, it could be an indication he knows the legal weight of Hillary's accumulating baggage will block her eventual nomination.  In that case, any hopes of embellishing her administration's popularity with liberal support as the first SECDEF to come out of the Republican In Name Only (RINO) or (other) closet would be derailed by an aborted Clinton campaign. Time will tell...

M.E. Predictions

1 - If Graham ends his campaign before April 30, 2016, expect Hillary to abort hers shortly thereafter.

2 - If Graham stays in through April 30, 2016, expect him to have some very laudatory things to say about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Submarines are always silent and strange.