Submarine Nuggets of the Week - Women, Cells Not Allowed

The following excerpts were snipped from Silence, tight quarters and no women: On board Israel's most advanced submarine  By Amos Harel Sep 09, 2016 (read all few pages)

Haaretz’s military correspondent joined the crew of INS Rahav, the Israel Navy’s newest submarine, on a brief training cruise. He learned about the unique physical and mental demands of service on the IDF's most expensive war machine, its technological capabilities and why Israeli subs are still off-limits to women. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

( color and underscoring emphasis added by M.E. )

Nugget  1

“Discussion on the integration of women on submarines is legitimate.  ...  No one here would refuse an order for women to serve on submarines.  ...  It’s also not a matter of restraint. Possible sexual tension on a long cruise could make it more complex, but that won’t break a submariner – he’s used to giving up a lot of things.”  - Col. Doron, outgoing commander of Shayetet 7, the Israel Defense Forces submarine squadron. [Israel Defense Forces (IDF) censorship forbids publication of  officers’ surnames.]  

Nugget  2

Some countries, such as Italy and the Scandinavian countries, decided that this need not be a limitation. Women and men dress together in the same room. It’s not perceived as a sexual thing. The Italians concluded that their effort was a failure. [ibid]

Nugget  3

This might be justified if there were a large number of potential female submariners, not just one or two. “We asked the U.S. Navy for input – they’ve had women on submarines for the past two years,” Doron says. “But they have 72 subs, some of which are bigger than ours, so they have room for maneuver. The Australians have six women in their submarines, which are also larger, and they allocate them a specific area. If a woman gets sick, she is replaced by another woman. But assignment problems arise.   

Nugget 4

One outstanding feature of submarine service is the need for total severance from the outside world during long missions – almost unparalleled in other operational units. Is such a disconnect still feasible in an era when 20-year-olds are as active in the digital world as they are in the real one, if not more? Doron acknowledges that this has become a problem and necessitates more intensive preparation. “In the submariners course, they already can go weeks without a cell phone,” he explains.
 

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Tuesday Notes & Tidbits (2015, #004)

Submarines are always silent and strange. - Tidbits  No. 04

CURIOUSLY ENTERTAINING  19 JUN 2015 - "After more than three decades Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden finally has what he’s always wanted – a Top Gun school for surface warfare officers."  The Naval Surface Forces commander emceed the ceremony earlier this month to celebrate the establishment of the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC) at San Diego's navy Base. 

M.E.:  Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but co-location must have been over the top:

"The new school will be located at the Top Gun school at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada." - NavyTimes (18 JAN 2015)

++

EMBARRASSING  23 JUN 2015 - "US Navy Picks First Female Enlisted Sailors to Serve Aboard Submarines... 

"Under pressure from lawmakers and Pentagon leaders to integrate more military jobs to women, the Navy in 2011 began allowing female officers to serve on submarines.  Women, meanwhile, make up 15 percent of the [entire U.S.] sea service."

With more interested female candidates than there were open slots, Navy officials said qualified sailors not chosen for the jobs will be placed on an alternate list and automatically considered for the next group to be chosen. 

M.E.: Really?  Apparently an "open slot" is not due to an actual shortage of male submariners, but an allocation of enlisted billets to slightly fewer interested female candidates. The result: Slightly more female candidates than appropriate billets.

+++

SUBLIME CAPITALISM (by China) 26 JUN 2015 -"How Did China Just Win Thailand’s New Submarine Bid?"

The official line from military sources is that the decision to go with Chinese-made submarines was based largely on value. In a separate report, The Bangkok Post cited various sources from the navy and the procurement committee as saying that China was chosen because its submarines were not only the cheapest, but of good quality as well contrary to concerns on this score. But a committee member also disclosed that Beijing had offered military technology transfer and training as part of the package, which other countries would otherwise charge more for. That member likened buying submarines to a car purchase. “If we are able to buy a Mercedes but have no money left for petrol, we should look at a top model Toyota instead, which would still leave some money for petrol,” the source said.

M.E.:  The U.S., German and South Korean auto industries had better take notice!

++++

BOON for LITIGATION ATTORNEYS  26 JUN 2015 - "Here are the most fascinating innovations in underwater travel"

"British travel company Oliver’s Travels created a specially adapted submarine in St. Lucia known as Lovers Deep, an underwater vessel where couples can spend the night in a private accommodation. The submarine, which is already available for use, is staffed by a crew of three, a captain, chef, and butler, and can be taken to locations chosen by the customer.

It’s not cheap, at £175,000 per night ($US274,694), but each interior of the private submarine room is set to be designed and manufactured to your specifications and includes a two-person bathroom and double bedroom with ocean views. Speedboat transfers come with the package, but you can also request helicopter transfer with a beach landing through the company’s Concierge Service.

M.E.:  Well, although very few "dates" may willingly wish to spend even one night in a submerged suite, evasion of certain statutes will attract some well-heeled sex predators.  There is also an ever-present risks of fire, drowning, and asphyxiation.

China's Navy Deep Sea Insurance Projects

Background

Via Chinese navy watchers at The Times of India's:

[1]

Apr 1, 2013 - Chinese navy signs up Uygur Muslim women for deep sea missions

BEIJING: The Chinese military has began recruiting Uygur Muslim women for its navy in what appears to be first such experiment to open up its ranks for minorities, especially from volatile Xinjiang province where Islamic militants are fighting a separatist movement. Twenty Uygur women were recruited for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) who now started their voyage missions on naval ships, according to state-run China Daily.

[2]

Jan 5, 2015 -  Chinese submarine dives into Indian Ocean to hunt for gold

BEIJING: A Chinese submersible vessel has conducted its first deep dive in the Indian Ocean in search of rare metals. The project involves collecting samples of hydrothermal fluid and sulfide, a kind of seabed deposit containing copper, zinc and precious metals such as gold and silver.

The project, which involves exploring the Indian Ocean for 120 days, reflects China's hunger for resources, and its long-term development plans, sources said.

Analysis

[1] 
China’s campaign against separatism and terrorism in its mainly Muslim west has now become an all-out war on conservative Islam, residents here say. ... “The police are everywhere,” said one Uighur resident. Another said it was like “living in prison.” Another said his identity card had been checked so many times, “the magnetic strip is not working any more.”  - September 19, 2014 

 M.E.: China may intentionally assign Uygur women to ships in harms way. Imagine the familiar Muslim outrage were a nation defending its coastal waters from Chinese interlopers somehow cause harm to these Uygur women.

[2]  China now joins the United States, Russia, France and Japan. The achievement will allow China to explore more than 99.8% of the ocean floor, Liu Cigui, director China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA), told the media.

 M.E.: China may also clandestinely plant sensors, mines, and whatever it wants in offshore locations wherever it may choose (the Indian Ocean, or Pacific NW for instance, where Jiaolong also spent 2 months on research expedition.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarine Shower Video Oversight

The most intriguing answer relating to questions about the USS Wyoming (Gold) video irregularities is the one insiders have been keeping to themselves. Molten Eagle asked that question here in mid-December:

Who actually distributed a shower video copy to an officer on another sub?
a) an enlisted man
b) the Chief of the Boat
c) one of the women officers (RED FLAG)
d) the Wyoming (G) XO or CO?
e) Nobody (it is part of the Navy cover up) 

And, we thought we had covered every likely possibility. Alas, we we had been mistaken.  How many readers realized that there had been one more possibility?

f) an anonymous crewmember may have asked a girl friend (not his) to forward the video to an officer on the other sub, or not, in order to maintain anonymnity.
(RED FLAG)

The title's pun was intended.  

Rumor has it that at least one NCIS (the popular CBS-TV series) writer has been toying with an episode based on actual USS Wyoming events.  Names, ranks, gender, etc. would be changed. Will there be a 13th season for NCIS?  Don't hold your breath, submariners.


Submarines are always silent and strange.

Journalists in the dark or assist Navy Cover-Up

BACKGROUND
A "shower scandal" is the latest stain on the U.S. Strategic Nuclear Force discipline, brought about by unnecessary integration of women into one of the most highly sensitive and highly disciplined military commands before needed. The press has aided cover-up attempts by Congress, the Air Force and Navy to minimize the potentially dire consequences of degraded discipline in our ballistic missile forces, by never publicly pointing their fingers at the root cause - mixing MEN and WOMEN.  In the latest scandal rather serious impacts of unanswered questions are being minimized for a VITAL reason: VITAL NATIONAL SECURITY. The cartoon below entirely misses the gravity of the scandal, which has also gone unnoticed by most of the public (U.S. only).

 

"Up to a dozen sailors are suspected of viewing secretly recorded videos of their female shipmates undressing in a submarine shower over a period of 10 months, according to a new investigative report obtained by Navy Times. ..." -NavyTimes  

"The scandal has marred the Navy's gender integration effort begun four years ago. ... there may be [sic] separate military consequences for bringing recording equipment onto a submarine or viewing the videos without reporting them."  NavyTimes


ME:  Does anyone assume conducting unofficial filming (videography) aboard Fleet Ballistic Missile subs has not marred the Navy either?

ME:  The scandal reportedly only broke after an officer on another sub was sent a copy of the shower video, and reported the violations within another chain of command. If that sory is actually true,  then the CO, XO and COB of USS Wyoming (G) are probably headed for desk jobs (initially). Talk about assigning women due to a looming shortage of male volunteers is bogus. Integrating women (more and more reluctantly, I might add) will amplify any shortage, and the PC-motivated (DACOWITS) move to assign womenn to subs seems to be backfiring. 

Who actually distributed a shower video copy to an officer on another sub?
a) an enlisted man
b) the Chief of the Boat
c) one of the women officers (RED FLAG)
d) the Wyoming (G) XO or CO?
e) Nobody (it is part of the Navy cover up)

Submarines are always silent and strange.