OT: USS Ohio & USS Michigan wake up Beijing
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599200237800
Along w/ USS Florida, it seems we did a "Tomahawk triple-play".
The Florida missiles were faster and more nimble than the Ohio and Michigan missiles, but scouts all say the Ohio and Michigan missiles had more grit.
How did the Florida missiles handle the colder weather?
They were also very hard on Michigan and Ohio's use of the "fatman"
"Power projection from the sea."
"More alarms likely were sounded when the USS Michigan arrived in Pusan, South Korea"
Nice. Leaders and best.
Pusan is much closer to Beijing than Subic Bay is.
An awful lot of territory to defend.
Can we name the missiles?
"Henne launches one in Manningham's direction!"
Wait, it's to Tacopants! Look out North Korea!
and prove you're more awesome than me once again, didn't you.
!!!!!
Well obviously the new skipper on the USS Michigan is to blame for the ship leaving port so late.
Hayyyyoooooooo
left enough high quality seamen on the ship to actually get it out of port the same way they have been doing it for the last 40 years......And by "high quality" I mean guys who got a 4 or 5 (out of 5) on their latest ASVAB or PFA scores.....
Double Hayyyyoooooooooo
Statement in bold: OK, I lobbed a nice easy one, right down the middle, someone hit it out of the park now....
you make an ass of u and me.
What? Was that not the easy one you were talking about?
I see someone was watching "Bad News Bears" re-runs last night....
reporting that the ships spent to much time practicing this?
Unless they were previously carried on the USS Schembechler I don't know if we can rely on them.
How about this little nugget from the Ohio-class submarine wikipedia page?
Ohios were specifically designed for extended deterrence patrols. Each submarine is complemented by two crews, Blue and Gold (standard practice for U.S. FBMs), with each crew serving 100-day patrols.
Hail.
I was raised that it's Maize, not Gold. Blue and Gold are two of the colors of our Leprachan friends.
I haven't served on a submarine since 1995, but now that the submarines have cruise missiles instead of Ballistic missiles, plus scuba gear for their Seal friends, I'm pretty sure they only have one submarine crew now, and operate just like a Los Angeles class fast attack.
I bet MGoShoe is pretty jealous of this event. Submarines were designed to stay completely hidden, and now they are being used as a show of force that typically was only done by the Surface Targets of the Fleet.
I love the irony.
...the Navy is a total force -- its various parts all support its other parts in a symbiotic system of combat power that are projected forward to protect the country's vital national interests. I'm not into inter- or intra-service rivalries. They're counter-productive.
I thought they preferred tUSS Ohio.
with their tomahawk cruise missiles give a whole new meaning to "spread offense."
Blue and gold are the colors of the Naval Academy.
...the official colors of the U.S. Navy are blue and gold.
Also, most of you are familiar with Anchors Aweigh and recognize it as the Naval Academy fight song. It's also the Navy's official March and is played along the other service songs (The Army Song (The Army Goes Rolling Along...), The Air Force Song (Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder...), the Marine Corps Hymn (From the Halls of Montezuma...). What you may not know is that it's the only service song that's also a drinking song. Therefore, it's the best service song.
Here are the original lyrics that contain the ode to raising a glass to one's shipmates and explains the Blue and Gold:
Stand Navy out to sea, Fight our Battle Cry;
We'll never change our course, So vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y.
Roll out the TNT, Anchors Aweigh. Sail on to Victory
And sink their bones to Davy Jones, Hooray!Anchors Away, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to foreign shores, We sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
Through our last night on shore, Drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home.Blue of the Mighty Deep; Gold of God's Sun
Let these colors be till all of time be done, done, done,
On seven seas we learn Navy's stern call:
Faith, Courage, Service true, with Honor, Over Honor, Over All.
I learned this as I'm going through the official patch design for my squadron, in the Air Force the colors ultramarine blue and Air Force yellow must be used on official patch designs. this really pissess off the officers I serve with from OH-NO.
Ocean, bitches. Ocean.
What is weird shot at the Navy at the end of the article?
Sure, the Navy could have retired the four additional subs and saved the Pentagon some money, but that's not how bureaucracies operate.
That's a dumb throwaway line that kind of pisses me off.
216 flag officers for the Navy
284 ships in active service.
Lots of myths/rumors about how the Navy senior staff is outsized for its capabilities, and this quote is just another twig on the fanning flame. I think the program they instituted turning nuke subs into conventional precision strike platforms is a brilliant re-use of platforms instead of an entirely new naval ship building program, but hey, whatever.
...in the statement is saying that the SSGN conversion was due to bureaucratic behavior. It was actually due to the standard iron triangle dynamic between interests in congress, the Navy and industry. Not all decisions that are made as a result of this dynamic are inefficient or perverse. Sometimes vested interests get it right.