Submarines

Traveling with CNO — Trident Training

By Lance Bacon on March 24, 2010 leadership, Navy, nuclear weapons, ordnance, Submarines

Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon took a day trip with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead this week. This is the play-by-play report. Sailors assigned to the guided-missile submarine Florida practice skills controlling the boat in the Ships Control Team Trainer at the Trident Training Facility in Kings Bay, Ga. (photo by MTCS (SS) Nicholas Davies) 0930 We are in the “Ships Control Trainer,” where the gold crew from the guided-missile sub Florida is being put to the test. The diving officer of the watch is giving direction to sailors manning the helm on his right, which controls…

Traveling with CNO — Kings Bay

By Lance Bacon on March 24, 2010 leadership, Navy, nuclear weapons, Submarines

Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon took a day trip with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead this week. This is the play-by-play report. 0900 Scoop Deck is aboard Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., where one-half of the nation’s guided-missile and ballistic-missile submarines are based. We have Lt. j.g. David McCabe at the helm, also known as the steering wheel of a Mod 1 Type A 15-passenger van. He is a very knowledgeable young man, as well he should be having graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in mechanical engineering. If you are wondering why the Navy…

When finite funds meet infinite needs

By Lance Bacon on January 19, 2010 Aviation, Ballistic missile defense, Carriers, leadership, Maritime operations, Mine warfare, Navy, Pirates, Ships, Submarines

It’s no secret the naval fleet has more gaps than O.J.’s alibi. The Navy is lacking surface vessels, especially amphibs. Submarine and aviation gaps are on the horizon. Even the carrier fleet will drop below requirements for at least three years beginning in 2012. Adding the crushing blow on this already sizable dog pile is the fact that SSBN(X) will cost $80 billion — which the Navy doesn’t have. Unless Congress coughs up the cash, the shipbuilding budget will be cut by half for a whopping 14 years. Ouch. Since it’s very unlikely the Navy will get everything it needs,…

Lest we forget …

By Lance Bacon on December 31, 2009 Blogs, Historical, Navy, nuclear weapons, ordnance, Submarines

Thanks to Joel “Bubblehead” Kennedy, who reminds us of the 50th anniversary of the commissioning of USS George Washington (SSBN 598), the first ballistic missile submarine. What must it have been like to be there July 20 1960, when the skipper sent a burner 1,100 miles downrange, then sent President Eisenhower the message: POLARIS — FROM OUT OF THE DEEP TO TARGET. PERFECT. I think Bubblehead says it best: Service in SSBNs might not be as glamorous and exciting as being on an attack boat, but the bottom line is that our strategic capability is the cornerstone of our national…

And you thought your duty was tough

By Lance Bacon on December 31, 2009 Foreign navies, Life at Sea, Maritime operations, Morale, Navy, Submarines, The Pacific

If it seems like U.S. ship builders are spitting out subs at breakneck speed, it is with good reason. They are. Lawmakers put the Navy on a 60-month construction span by the end of the Block II contract, which calls for two $2 billion submarines each year starting in 2011. Basically, they want subs better and cheaper … and delivered yesterday. India seems to be taking a slightly different approach. The country is planning a 10-year lease of a Russian nuke, the Nerpa. Not sure if that lease has an option to buy. For the crew’s sake, I hope not.…

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