Skimmer Captain Speaks Truth to Submariners

Do you think some U.S. submarine accidents may have been caused by pretending days are only 18 hours in length?  Back to 24-hour days. Duh!

Translated [my bold & underlined]
On board a submarine, "sleep is a luxury and stay[ing] awake is an honor." Yet respecting the circadian rhythm reduces crew fatigue, improving operational alertness and efficiency to reduce accidents.

More depth and background may be found in in A Sea Change in Standing Watch, (subscription required)

Proceedings Magazine - January 2013 Vol. 139/1/1,319 by Captain John Cordle, U.S. Navy, with Dr. Nita Shattuck.

Le Figaro (untranslated original text)
A bord d'un sous-marin, «dormir est un luxe et rester éveillé est un honneur», déplore le Capitaine John Cordle dans son article. Pourtant, respecter le rythme circadien pour diminuer l'état de fatigue de l'équipage permettrait d'améliorer leur vigilance et leur efficacité lors des opérations mais réduirait aussi les accidents. -  Capitaine John Cordle,  Le Figaro, 30/04/2014, Sous-marins : des conditions de vie extrêmes, . 

Should not a U.S. submarine force O-6 (or above) officer have made a similarly candid and published admission by now?  Admission of what, you may ask? Some of these accidents:

2001 USS Greeneville (SSN-772)
2002 USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723)
2003 USS Hartford (SSN-768) grounding (#1)
2005 USS San Francisco (SSN-711) with seamountain
2005 USS Philadelphia (SSN-690)
2007 USS Newport News (SSN-750)
2009 USS Hartford with USS New Orleans (#2)
2012 USS Montpelier (SSN-765)

Submarines are always silent and strange.

 

Being Fair to India's Navy

Molten Eagle's last post, Ominous Portents for "Infant" India with Nuclear Subs, sought to place India's male literacy rate in a proper context with its advanced nuclear submarine (naval) ambitions. It was pointed out, for example, that India's male literacy rate was below Swaziland's (82.6%).

As rightfully pointed out by an Australian reader, however, Ominous Portents might offend Indian people, particularly in comparison with naval accidents and deaths of other major navies.  "For example if one looked at submarine accidents worldwide since 2000 you would see highly literate Chinese and Russian subs being lost with all hands." 

Fairness and accuracy are always important objectives of Molten Eagle.  The U.S. Navy's own checkered submarine accident record could be a prime example for comparisons if not for the thoroughness of boards of inquiry and some highly sophisticated investigations like this one.

Readers may find the following postscript interesting and more to the point of India's inadequate literacy.

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Opening remarks about Indian professionals in 'Ominous Portents' should salve India's national pride. Having worked with high-performance Indian people myself I can also attest they are among the world's most industrious people.

I do not think I am wrong in pointing out what I see as a looming shortcoming in their national defense ambitions for which many of us continue to hold great hopes.

It is the quality of their "get well" plans that matters most. Russia's major problem has not been know-how; until recently it has been $$$$. China's problem has been neither discipline nor $$$$, it has been inexperience.

Mistakes with nuclear vessels (propulsion and armaments) can be compounded ten-fold. India's navy is still learning to crawl, finding "heavy siltation", "unskilled labourers", and the "tide suddenly receded" at the root of  some of its recent naval accidents.

Readers here may find actual opinions of Indian naval officers helpful, too. What ails the Indian Navy's blue water aspirations?  Annotated excerpts follow [color emphasis mine]:

Consider this incident, not so much for its obvious humor, but for the absence of discilpine it evidences:

"Last week of December, 2013: A shell from the Coast Guard ship Sangram landed inside the premises of the Indian Navy in Mumbai when the ship was clearing its gun upon its return into the harbour."

Finally, quoting from the same link, there is an indigenous suggestion to underscore the importance of Indian literacy:

"It is high time that people realise the need to adhere to laid down procedures." - Vice Admiral (retd) RP Suthan, former Vice Chief of the Naval Staff

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

ANSWERS: Sub Questions of the Week - 28 OCT 2013

Background and related links to last week's questions are available here.

Q & A

1.  Unlike rods and cones, which send their signals to the brain's visual cortex, the retinal light receptor governing your body clock sends information to another part of the brain. What is that special area of the brain called and where is it located?  ANS: The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), is located on the brain's midline directly above the optic chiasm. 

2. What is the official name of "DoD's First Choice for Undersea Biomedical Research"?  ANS: The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) located at New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut.       

3. Who are the principle collaborators with the military on this new study, and from what institution do they come?  ANS: Drs. Mariana Figueiro and Mark Rea, Director of of RPI's Lighting Research Center (LRC),  the world’s leading university-based research and education center devoted to lighting.

4. In straightforward terms one of the civilian collaborators was described by an authoritative publication as "working with the U.S. Navy to investigate how light can increase performance and alertness in submariners." Identify the authoritaive, civilian publication.  ANS:  RPI News, published by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarine Questions of the Week - 28 OCT 2013

Background

"why red light is used inside the submarines?"? 

Best Answer (from Yahoo Answers):

I served on Subs during the 70's. On a sub, there is no "night and day" The "day" (at sea)was actually only 18 hrs vs 24 as there were three watches consisting of 6 hours each. You work 12 with 6 off to sleep,study etc. then back to work. Your body clock got very confused, you might get up from sleep only to be served dinner or lunch rather than b'fast. Red lighting in the control room (the only place other than in berthing that the red lights were used.) was only used in preparation of coming to Periscope depth (or the rare surface) or during battle stations when it was dark topside Rig for red served two purposes.First was to acclimate the eyes to darkness of those that were in preparation of going topside during the darkness, and to prevent light from being emitted from the raised periscope. Even though there was a "blackout blind" in the scopes, the crew could not take the risk of light being emitted as it would be able to be seen for miles.  source

More (excerpt):

Red light has minimal effect on night vision because its energy level is so low that the eye doesn't register it strongly enough to produce a compensatory reaction. In near-absolute darkness, both cone and rod cells compensate by pumping out more light-sensitive chemicals. The more time spent in darkness, the more chemicals are produced. In about ten minutes, cone cells max out, producing as much as they are capable of holding.- Hawk

Submarine Questions of the Week

1. Like those giving the above answers, U.S. Submariners probably learned about rods and cones, "the two kinds of receptors in retinas of your eyeballs" during Sub School. But there are several more light receptors in your retina. One of them is essential to maintaining the body's clock. Disruption of the circadian rhythm not only affects body temperature, alertness, appetite, and hormone secretion, etc., research now suggests it may contribute to depression, immunity, and disease.

Unlike rods and cones, which send their signals to the brain's visual cortex, the retinal light receptor governing your body clock sends information to another part of the brain.  What is that special are of the brain called and where is it located?
 

2.  The "DoD's First Choice for Undersea Biomedical Research" recently announced a collaborative study to phase-shift and/or phase-lock circadian rhythms to optimize operational readiness. Its overall mission to protect the health and enhance the performance of warfighters through submarine, diving and surface biomedical research solutions (see Question 4. below for a simpler statement of goal). What is the official name of "DoD's First Choice for Undersea Biomedical Research"?

3.  Who are the principle collaborators with the military on this new study, and from what institution do they come?


4.  In straightforward terms one of the civilian collaborators was described by an authoritative publication as "working with the U.S. Navy to investigate how light can increase performance and alertness in submariners." Identify the authoritaive, civilian publication.

ANSWERS:  Wednesday, 30 OCT 2013

 

Submarines are always silent and strange.

working with the U.S. Navy to investigate how light can increase performance and alertness in submariners. - See more at: http://news.rpi.edu/content/2013/10/25/mariana-figueiro-elected-fellow-illuminating-engineering-society#sthash.EbEhwhKy.dpuf

working with the U.S. Navy to investigate how light can increase performance and alertness in submariners. - See more at: http://news.rpi.edu/content/2013/10/25/mariana-figueiro-elected-fellow-illuminating-engineering-society#sthash.EbEhwhKy.dpuf