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Life Member Ltjg Joe Hanisko Transferred to New Construction DDG inBath, MainePosted July 20, 2017

Joe writes: Sorry that I've been out of touch for so long, it's been a busy couple of months moving back to the States.

I left Japan in early June and I am transferring to PCU THOMAS HUDNER (DDG 116) where I will bethe Strike Warfare Officer and will also be a part of the ASW team. Currently fitting out at Bath IronWorks in Maine, THOMAS HUDNER will be the 66th Arleigh Burke class destroyer. The ship is namedfor CAPT Thomas Hudner, an aviatorwho was awarded the Medal of Honor forhis actions in trying to save his wingman atthe Battle of Chosin Reservoir during theKorean War. The ship is scheduled tocommission in Boston next summer andwill then be homeported at Naval StationMayport in Florida. It's going to be a lotof hard work but I am looking forward tobeing a plank owner.

I've attached a picture of me with a few ofthe sailors who worked for me on thecruiser in Japan; there are some realwinners standing next to me in that picture(too bad they're all skimmers...)

Hope that all is well on your end. Pleasepass along my best to Steve and all theother guys at the base.

V/R,

Joe Hanisko

Exploration of USS Bugara (SS 331) Posted July 19, 2017

Welcome Aboard:Posted July 19, 2017

Jan Stiffey (Aspro, Thomas Jefferson, William H Bates, Michigan, Sam Houston & Whale), TomacheVargas (Alabama, Michigan & Nebraska) and Chuck Gibbs (xfer from Bowfin Base), (Seafox &Gurnard)

Bremerton Base July Monthly Meeting Summary Posted July 19, 2017 Base Commander Steve Corcoran opened meeting at 1900, Tuesday, July 18 with traditional openingceremony followed by the introduction of new members noted above. Attendance with larger thannormal. Steve introduced retired Senior Chief Commissary Mess Management Specialist Mick Hersey who gave usa slide show with his narration of the many military memorials and plaques in Kitsap County that he, withthe help of volunteer active duty aircraft carriers' personnel assisting in the work, have accomplished overthe past few years, After a break, the business meeting was conducted. Details will be noted in base minutes which will beavailable before the next meeting.

Dilbert (Humor)Posted July 12, 2017

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Refresher

Middle Ages

Western Europe in Collapse

By the fifth century, the Roman army was weak. It couldno longer fight off enemies. Finally, the empire’sgovernment broke down. People left the towns and cities.Travel andtrade became unsafe. The people of Rome turned tomilitary leaders and the Catholic Church for help.

The military leader Charlemagne brought order to muchof the Roman Empire. The Pope made Charlemagneemperor. The government grew strong again underCharlemagne’s rule. Education also improved. AfterCharlemagne died,Western Europe was left without agood leader.

The Middle Ages is also known as the medieval era. Itwas the time between the fall of the Roman Empire andthe beginning of the modern world. Medieval lifecentered around the church. The church held worshipservices andtook care of the sick, poor, elderly, andorphans. Monks andnuns gave their lives to the church.

Nobles and the church owned most of the land. Theybegan feudalism and manorialism to protect their land.Under feudalism, a noble gave land to a lesser noble,called a vassal. The vassal agreed to protect the morepowerful noble with knights, soldiers, and weapons.

Under manorialism, peasants lived on a lord’s manor.The peasants farmed the land and gave the crops to thelord. In return, the lord protected the peasants.

Medieval Ways of Life

Manor houses and castles had thick walls and fewwindows. They were dark, cold, and damp. Peasantslived in small homes with dirt floors and straw roofs.They often kept farmanimals in their homes.

New ways of farming began by the middle of the 11thcentury. More crops were grown in Western Europe.Fewer farmers were needed. As a result, people moved totowns. They bought property and started businesses.Later, guilds were formed. A guild was a special groupthat protected workers’ rights. The guild set wages andprices and also settled arguments.

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America May Soon Find Itself In An Underwater War With ChinaMattis Blasts Pentagon for Complacency and WastefulnessBremerton manufacturer offers submariners privacyPreliminary findings suggest Navy at fault in Fitzgerald collision, reportsays

The Arctic Ocean-Hot Times In A Cold PlaceUSN Lends Helping Hand to ROKNAllied Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. It is a priceless piece ofhistoryTyphoon Sails All Way In Surface Position

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America May Soon Find Itself In An Underwater War With ChinaMattis Blasts Pentagon for Complacency and WastefulnessBremerton manufacturer offers submariners privacyPreliminary findings suggest Navy at fault in Fitzgerald collision, reportsays

The Arctic Ocean-Hot Times In A Cold PlaceUSN Lends Helping Hand to ROKNAllied Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. It is a priceless piece ofhistoryTyphoon Sails All Way In Surface Position

America May Soon Find Itself In An Underwater War With ChinaLyle J. Goldstein, National Interest, July 24

Strategists contemplating Asia-Pacific strategy quickly come to the conclusion that the undersea campaign is decisive. Fixed targets are vulnerable in the age ofprecision strike, meaning that air bases do not have a chance against a barrage of missiles. And with advances in ISR (Intelligence, surveillance andreconnaissance) sensors and ever expanding missile ranges and power projection platforms, surface warships may not fare much better. Thus, it is no laughingmatter to consider rumors that China has pulled off some breakthroughs in submarine quieting or that the PLA Navy submarine force has ambitions to enter boththe Arctic and also the Atlantic as part of a much enhanced pattern of operational deployments.

But undersea warfare is not static and some have speculated that higher computer processing speeds combined with myriad new underwater sensors couldrender even remote parts of the ocean more and more transparent, undermining submarine stealth and survivability. Some of China�s recent achievements inthese developments have been noted in this space. Another question hovering over the undersea warfare planner is the question of how important undersearobots, both unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) could be. Will they come to assume the same vital role thatunmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have assumed? A Dragon Eye column has dipped a toe into this discussion before by examining the role that the new U.S.Navy anti-submarine unmanned surface ship (USV) Sea Hunter (with an extraordinary range of 10,000 miles) could play in the evolving U.S.-China maritimerivalry. This column will dip another toe into this pond and explore several Chinese platforms in development of this nascent unmanned contest unfolding onand under the waves.

A first Chinese UUV of significance is the so-called Haiyi or �sea wing,� which is a standard looking glider. It should be said that this is hardly Beijing�sonly glider program. Gliders in the UUV context refer to vehicles originally developed in the West that are literally self-propelled in that they lack a largebattery or fuel for propulsion. Instead they rely on small changes in buoyancy to maintain propulsion through a constant process of ascending and descendingthrough the water column. According to a description of Haiyirecently published in the Chinese military magazine Ordnance Industry Science andTechnology, �since there is no power propulsion, the acoustic signature is extremely low. That characteristic suggests that [this platform] can have greatsignificance for the military domain. Produced by a Shenyang robotics laboratory, Haiyi is two meters in length and weighs 65kg, dimensions quite in line withWestern analogues. The project was initiated in 2003 and a prototype was ready in 2005. An extended test in 2012 explored the area proximate to theDongsha islands in the northeastern South China Sea. A map included with the article actually shows the vehicle�s precise track, exploring the sensitivewaters west of the critical Luzon Strait. The article further notes that, due to Western sanctions on glider technology, the Haiyi was �completely developedindigenously.� It is apparently of some significance that a subsequent report boasts that this glider has set world diving records and reached a depth of6,229m. This is significant because sound propagation is more efficient in deeper waters, so deep-diving gliders could possibly be related to submarinedetection missions.

On the subject of Chinese glider development, one might also highlight the rather more mysterious �dolphin-shaped underwater glider,� a picture and shortdescription of which appeared in the December 2016 issue of the Chinese defense magazine Contemporary Military Affairs. Fitted with both fin and tail, it isnot clear whether the design from the Beijing company Weisheng represents an application of biotic (animal-like) technologies, a subject of high interestamong Chinese defense researchers, or is simply intended to befuddle would-be drone snatchers. More on that point at the conclusion of this essay, but theshort description does suggest that this �dolphin� glider has the advantage of low acoustic signature and, among other missions, could be deployed for themission of providing �sonar countermeasures.�.

Two other undersea robots are profiled in detail in the first Ordnance Industry piece discussed above. They are designated Qianlong 1 and 2. Unlike thegliders, these are both autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) but their shapes and presumably their intended purposes are starkly different. Qianlong-1,which had its first ocean test in May 2013, resembles a torpedo and is reported to be 4.6m in length with a weight of 1,500kg. It can maintain two knots overtwenty-four hours. From the enclosed photo, this platform would appear to have side scan sonar capability. No information is provided regarding its likelymissions, but it was reportedly China�s first 6,000m undersea robot, and it is said to be capable of avoiding obstacles in �relatively complex ocean bottomenvironments.� Its cousin, Qianlong-2 looks completely different, distinctly resembling a massive tuna rather than a torpedo. Completed in March 2016,Qianlong-2 is reported to have been involved in no less than forty separate ocean test missions, including one apparently as far away as the southwest IndianOcean. The 1.5 ton fish-looking AUV seems to have been primarily developed for ocean bottom and resource exploration and extraction missions.However, the next vehicle profiled here is plainly designed for military purposes. Revealed in yet another issue of Ordnance Industry is an �Indigenous NewType Anti-submarine, Anti-Frog Man Unmanned Boat�. These particular USV boats come in two variants, 4m and also a larger 8m version.

The boats are said to have a top speed of forty-five knots and to be capable of ranges up to 1,500km in sea conditions up to sea state 5 or even 6. Theproject was initiated in 2014 and the prototypes are built of polycarbonate plastic, fiberglass and kevlar. The boat is a semi-submersible and may operatemostly submerged with only a mast protruding that has various sensors. For detection of submarines, the boat has side-scan sonars that are capable of seeingtargets �at relatively long distances�. A spherical array is said to be optimized against frogmen. The platform does not have any weaponry and is intendedonly as an ISR platform intended to relay a warning to the command headquarters. The effort may be part of a larger �net-centric� doctrine that relies, to alarge extent, on using longer range missiles to put torpedoes onto relatively distant undersea targets. On the other hand, the designer also does point to a wholevariety of non-military missions, including scientific research and aiding the fishing industry as well. According to this article, the Shenzhen designer alreadyhas five prototypes built and is looking to secure a formal contract for sale, potentially first to the Chinese Coast Guard.

Many USV research and development programs obviously exist in China today. For example, the same article that profiled the dolphin glider above alsodiscusses two USVs, one produced in Dalian called S18B and another from Shanghai. The latter has developed a series called Jinghai [精海] and this hasbeen used as far away as in the Antarctic, as well as in the East and South China Seas. Indeed, Jinghai-1 is reported to be in service with the PLA Navy SouthSea Fleet and is apparently tasked with mapping. There is yet another USV that closely resembles the rather unique design of a Northrop Grumman ACTUVfor a semi-submersible USV. This Chinese model, designated as BQ-10 and produced in Shenyang, is said to be well adapted to military applications, becauseof its stealth. With its length of 6.1m and its mast height of 5m, the platform is said to be capable of tracking both surface and underwater targets.

The multiple programs discussed above offer some perspective into the highly dynamic development program that China has put in place to apply roboticstoward building its �great wall at sea,� both on and particularly underwater. In the years ahead, it seems likely that Chinese and U.S. drones will be facingoff and interacting in a high stakes cat and mouse game. A glimpse of this �game� was revealed, of course, back in December 2016 when China snatcheda U.S. underwater glider in the South China Sea. One Chinese-language review of that crisis that appeared in Global Times [环球时报] notes that�Pentagon sources said the UUVs would be used to create databases . . . which would be used to track China�s growing submarine force.� There wasadditional speculation in the Chinese article whether the snatch had been a bit of retribution for President Donald Trump�s early phone call with the leaderof Taiwan. A Chinese military source quoted in this report published after the drone was returned by China did not comment on that sensitive issue, but didobserve that �bilateral crisis management mechanisms were relatively effective.� We can only hope that future iterations of the Drone Wars between thesuperpowers will likewise feature such restraint with many humans in the loop, lest a robot inadvertently sets in motion a catastrophic war.

Lyle J. Goldstein is an associate professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Theopinions expressed in this analysis are his own and do not represent the official assessments of the U.S. Navy or any other agency of the U.S. government. Mattis Blasts Pentagon for Complacency and WastefulnessAssociated Press | 24 Jul 2017 | by Robert Burns

WASHINGTON � Defense Secretary Jim Mattis scolded the Pentagon bureaucracy for "cavalier" use of taxpayer dollars, citing an episode of wastefulspending on private-label uniforms for the Afghan military that has caught the attention of Congress.

In a memo obtained Monday by The Associated Press, Mattis pointed to a June report by the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan that said thePentagon had spent as much as $28 million more than necessary over 10 years on uniforms for Afghan soldiers with a camouflage "forest" pattern that may beinappropriate for the largely desert battlefield.

The Afghan uniform episode is to be a focus of a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday. Mattis said it is emblematic of an attitude in thePentagon that allows poor spending decisions to be excused, overlooked or minimized.

In his July 21 memo to three of the Pentagon's most senior officials overseeing resources for the war in Afghanistan, Mattis said the wasteful spending onuniforms is an example of "cavalier or casually acquiescent decisions" that undermine the mission in Afghanistan and undercut public trust.

"In my view, the key finding of the ... report is not just that it exposes waste, or that it captures how funds are diverted away from other mission priorities,but rather that it serves as an example of a complacent mode of thinking," Mattis wrote.

"I expect all (Defense Department) organizations to use this error as a catalyst to bring to light wasteful practices -- and take aggressive steps to end waste inour department," he added. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/07/24/mattis-blasts-pentagon-complacency-and-wastefulness.html (check outassociated video) ^

Bremerton manufacturer offers submariners privacyEd Friedrich, ed.friedrich@kitsapsun.comPublished 10:00 a.m. PT July 23, 2017 | Updated 4:40 p.m. PT July 23, 2017 BREMERTON It's curtains for coed Navy submarines. No, the integration of women into sub crews isn't over. It's hardly begun. Those really are submarine privacy curtains being manufactured at aCharleston business. Unique Experience Custom Embroidery is under contract to produce 175 curtains for entries, showers and bunks on the guided-missile sub USS Ohio. The Navy's first sub conversion for enlisted women, of the Bangor-based USS Michigan, was completed in November as part of a 14-monthmaintenance period at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, before the local shop was hired. The Michigan proceeded to complete the Navy's first submarine deployment with a fully integrated crew, including a port visit to South Korea in Aprilwhen tensions with North Korea ran high. Next up is sister ship USS Ohio, at the shipyard now. Faye Flemister, who owns the Callow Avenue shop with husband Ron, and seamstresses RemyBrown and Roseann Ruston will provide the sailors a bit of seclusion. On Wednesday, lead contractor Electric Boat delivered a 125-yard roll of chocolate brown, fire-retardant fabric and specs for bunk curtains. ByThursday, the women had created a full-size paper pattern, cut the fabric and sewn a sample. The curtain, about 2 feet tall, illustrating a sub's crampedquarters, waited to be taken to the sub and tested. The diminutive Brown is the equivalent of five seamstresses, Flemister said, "but she doesn't like the numbers at all," Flemister said. That's Ruston'sarea. "What's so complicated is there are no patterns so you have to go from drawings with all these measurements on them and make them make sense," saidFlemister, a former Bremerton councilwoman. "That's the hard part, not sewing the curtains. They're pretty much straight lines. It's making sure themeasurements are all correct that will be the major hurdle. Once we get the first one done, it's full speed ahead." Female officers three per crew have served aboard some of the 14 Ohio-class subs, including the Michigan and Ohio, since as early as 2011, butno structural changes were needed. The three share one of five officer staterooms. There is one shared head for all officers, with a sign saying whetherit s in use by a man or woman. With about 30 enlisted women coming aboard, changes became necessary. Two or three chiefs will share a living space and washroom. The other 27will split into nine-person bunk rooms and share a head. Unique Experience Custom Embroidery has been operating for 27 years, providing local sailors, soldiers and emergency responders with uniformalterations and cleaning, patches, badges, logo caps, custom belt buckles and coins, and businesses with promotional items. It began contracting withthe Navy about a decade ago, producing specialized tablecloths with ship and sub emblems for captain's quarters and other items. Read All ^

Preliminary findings suggest Navy at fault in Fitzgerald collision, report saysNavy Times | By: Geoff Ziezulewicz, July 21, 2017

Early findings in the investigation into the June 17 fatal collision between the destroyer Fitzgerald and a container ship suggest the Navy crew committedmultiple errors and failed to take action before the collision, CNN reported Friday.Navy officials would not confirm the report Friday and said it was "way too early" to be discussing specifics of the investigation.

The collision with the ACX Crystal container ship off the Japanese coast ripped a gaping hole in the destroyer'sstarboard side, sent water gushing into berthing compartments and caused the death of seven sailors.

One defense official said the accident "will wind up being our [U.S. Navy's] fault," according to CNN.

Another official said the crew did nothing until the last second and that "a slew of things went wrong."

The officials also told CNN the Fitzgerald crew failed to acknowledge the cargo ship approaching, and failed to take preventive measures.

Sources with knowledge of the collision told Defense News last month that sailors had about a minute to evacuate their berthing after the collision as seawater flooded into their rack.

There was also no indication the ship sounded a collision alarm, which would have alerted sleeping crew members to the looming collision, sources said.

Defense News

Navy struggles with approach to fix crippled destroyer Fitzgerald, as investigation continues

Investigators are also assessing whether the Navy ship was traveling at a higher-than-normal speed to reach a destination it was due to arrive at the followingday.

Cmdr. Chris Servello, spokesman for Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, said Friday it was "way too early" to discuss specifics orfindings of the investigation.

He said any official release of details remains a few weeks away.

"Once the investigation is complete, we will spend time with the families to ensure their questions are answered and then share the findings publicly," Servellosaid.

Officials said it remains unclear whether the commanding officer was ever called to the bridge, CNN reported.

The commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was trapped in his quarters after the collision and was later medically evacuated from the ship. He wastemporarily relieved of command earlier this month to recover from injuries.

The preliminary findings of the investigationwill now be sent to 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, according to CNN.

Aucoin praised the crew after the deadly collision for saving the ship and preventing the potential loss of even more lives. ^

The Arctic Ocean-Hot Times In A Cold Place

Climate change is warming the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of our planet. As a result, theArctic Ocean�s highly reflective sea ice cover is decreasing quickly.

In winter, this ocean is covered completely by ice ranging from 6- to 12-feet thick. Duringsummer months, the ice cover is reduced by half. Because of warming, however, scientistsestimate that by 2040 the Arctic Ocean will be ice free in the mid-summer months. The iceloss rate has been estimated at 3 percent per decade, but this may be too conservative. Inrecent years the rate seems to be increasing. These numbers apply to the ocean�s surface,but a more troubling number is loss of ice volume (mass). Research has found that over thepast four decades the thickness of the polar ice has been reduced by 65-85 percent.

Bordered by five nations, the Arctic Ocean is the smallest, shallowest, and least known ofour planet�s five oceans. Despite being the smallest ocean, its surface area is one and ahalf times that of the continental United States. It is 17,900 feet at its deepest, although itsaverage depth is just 3,400 feet. (World ocean average is 12,100 feet.) It is the least salineocean because of ice melt, rivers that flow into it, and small losses of water by evaporation.

This ocean contains nearly 22 percent of the world�s continental shelves. At the height ofthe last ice age 22,000 years ago, huge volumes of seawater were converted to ice thatcovered many land areas. As a result, sea level was about 460 feet lower than today. As the

ice gradually melted, wave action of the rising waters pushed back shorelines forming relatively flat submarine shelves.

During continental shelf formation these shallow coastal areas received massive streams of organic and inorganic materials as runoff. This was the basis forthe formation of huge seafloor hydrocarbon deposits, and added massive amounts of nutrients to support sea life. It is estimated that 25 percent of theworld�s undiscovered hydrocarbons are in the Arctic Ocean. It also hosts more fish species than any other ocean.

From hydrocarbons to fishery stocks and new sea routes, a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean could offer vast new opportunities. Russia is blessed with theworld�s largest continental shelf, having a maximum width of more than 1,000 miles and an area of nearly 1.5 million square miles.

The Arctic Ocean�s ice cover has made it difficult to assess and exploit its resources. Explorers and scientists have been working in the Arctic since the late19th century but knowledge of this ocean has been hard won. Today, aircraft, satellites, fixed bases on the ice, and military submarines help collect data. Theresearch ship, however, is the most productive platform, even though working in an ice-covered sea is difficult.

In August 2007, two Russian Mir manned submersibles dove 14,000 feet to the seafloor at the geographic North Pole and planted the Russian flag. Publicitysurrounding this event, mostly in the Russian media, was somewhat breathless and implied this gave Russia vast added territorial rights. Legal experts did nottake the claim seriously. But governments of the four other nations bordering the Arctic Ocean did take note, leading to decrees, promises of increasedactivity, and some new investments�though fewer than four million people live above the Arctic Circle.

Will the Russians eventually have rights to an extended continental shelf? Possibly. Denmark (Greenland), Norway, and Canada have made similar claims, butsuch claims cannot be made unilaterally. Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea Treaty, an international commission will rule on seafloor claimsmade by all coastal nations to extend their continental shelves. While this might be politically significant, the deeper waters of the Arctic Ocean have littlevalue in terms of resources. Accessible riches reside on the shelves.

There are really two Arctic Oceans: the political one of competing territorial claims, and the economic one with great potential resources. �Potential� is thekey word. It will be some time before this wealth can be economically exploited. In the meantime, the political Arctic Ocean will continue to have vibrantactivity.

Don Walsh , a marine consultant, is a retired naval officer and oceanographer. During his naval career he served at sea in submarines and ashore inocean-related research-and-development assignments. ^ USN Lends Helping Hand to ROKNAfter the Korean WarAll Hands | July 1954 | Page 8

BUILDING A NAVY is like brewing a good pot of coffee-they both takeknow-how and he proper ingredients, plus plenty of time to boil. TheRepublic of Korea lacked time to boil their Navy but they have come upwith an instant recipe for building a Navy that has given definite results.

When World War I1 and the Japanese occupation of Korea ended therewere no trained officers or enlisted men, no ships or anything thatresembled a Navy in the entire country. Now, less than nine years later,the Republic of Korea has a Naval Academy that could pass as a pocketedition of Annapolis; a top notch recruit training center; service schoolsto give training in various phases of modern warfare and a fast growingfleet of ships, many of which have already proved themselves in combat.

The situation looked pretty bleak back in 1946 when the first Americanswent into Korea to lend a helping hand. But, what they saw in the 8Helping Hand to ROKN determined faces of the men they talked withconvinced the Americans that someday they would see Korea with asmall but efficient fleet. Time has proved them right.

In those early days, what is now the ROK Navy became a Coast Guard,with eight officers and seven enlisted men of the U. S. Coast Guard

serving as advisers. Since they were called to Korea without any advance notice or preparation, things were rather mixed up for a short time. Thelanguage barrier presented the biggest hurdle at first, but a little ingenuity in sign language and a sense of humor helped both sides.

Training, not on a large basis but rather for the selected few who were best fitted to pass on the knowledge to others, started almost immediately afterthe Americans arrived. Before the training program got well under way, four 300-ton former Japanese mine planters were delivered to the republic andthe Korean Coast Guard was fast becoming a thing of reality. Shortly afterwards four U. S. LCIs were turned over to the Koreans.

During that same time the Koreans were also busy establishing a communication net between the principal cities where naval bases were to be located. Theequipment was borrowed from the Army, salvaged from old Japanese equipment left from World War II and mixed together with a prayer. It worked. Thebiggest step forward in the program of building up Korea s sea forces came in February of 1947 when, at a colorful ceremony attended by almostevery high ranking Korean and American in the area, the Academy at Chinhae was opened with the induction of eighty midshipmen.

Little more than a year later the Republic of Korea was established and recognized by the nations of the world. Officials decided to turn the CoastGuard into a Navy. The U. S. Coast Guard personnel returned to Japan and a team of American Navymen took over as advisers. Read all with moreimages. ^

Allied Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. It is a priceless piece of historyPPS Presentation (click, be patient, worth the wait)

Click this link to view an excellent PPS review: http://gertrude-check.org/NormandyLanding.pps ^

Typhoon Sails All Way In Surface PositionThomas Nilsen, The Barents Observer, July 19

Why is �Dmitry Donskoy� � the world�s largest nuclear-powered submarine - sailing on the surface all the way south along the coast of Norway?

The giant Typhoon-class sub left Severomorsk on the Kola Peninsula on Monday and is Wednesday still sailing in surface position.

Press spokeswoman with the Norwegian Joint Head Quarters, Major Elisabeth Eikeland says to the Barents Observer that the Typhoon submarine is currentlysailing south of Kristiansund in the Norwegian Sea.

�The vessels are sailing 75 kilometres west of the Norwegian sea baseline,� Major Eikeland tells.

�We don�t know why the submarine isn�t submerged,� she says.

The Russian navy has not said why the submarine sails in surface position all the way en route south. Naval parade with Putin

�Dmitry Donskoy� is sailing together with the Northern Fleet�s nuclear-powered battle cruiser �Pyotr Velikiy� towards St. Petersburg where bothvessels will participate in the Naval Day celebration on July 29.

In St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin will overlook the naval parade taking place at Kronstadt.

Two other Northern fleet warships, the missile-cruiser �Marshall Ustinov� and the large anti-submarine vessel �Vice-Admiral Kulakov� are alreadyanchored at Kronstadt outside St. Petersburg.

But, according to Russian military commentator Aleksandr Khrolenko, the naval parade in St. Petersburg is not the only goal of the powerful voyage.

�Amid the growing military and political pressure from the United States and NATO a parade in St. Petersburg is not the only goal of this naval voyage. Ofcourse, this is also a show of force to Norway, Germany, Sweden, Poland and some other counties,� Aleksandr Khrolenko writes in an up-ed in RIANovosti.

A sobering effect on NATO

�The Baltic region has become a testing ground for NATO-maneuvers,� Khrolenko argues and says Moscow threatens nobody, �only responds to theinfinite expansion of NATO to the east.�Explaining Moscow�s reactions to NATO�s Baltic activities,Khrolenko says �if some of our partners do not understand words, thenmaybe the Russian Navy will send a more comprehensible signal tothem.�Listing the powerful armament on warships Aleksandr Khrolenko writesthat the Northern Fleet�s battleships will have �a sobering effect onNATO� showing that �Russia will not abandon its positions in theBaltics.�Russian, Chinese exercise

Starting this weekend, Russian and Chinese warships will carry out a jointmaritime exercise in the Baltic Sea.

The Chinese naval vessels were greeted by the Norwegian frigate�KNM Otto Sverdrup� in the North Sea on Tuesday. From the NorthSea, the Chinese navy vessels now sails into the Baltic Sea and theexercise will take place from July 21 till July 28.

�This exercise will be yet another reminder for the West about�multipolarity and the advantage of partnership and cooperation,�Khrolenko writes.

It is not known what role the Typhoon submarine and the nuclearpowered battle cruiser will have, if any, in the exercise.

It is the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union that a Typhoonsubmarine sails out of Russian Arctic waters. It is also the first time inhistory that a Typhoon sub sails into the Baltic Sea.

The 172 meters long �Dmitry Donskoy� is the only remaining sub ofthe originally six in the class. Today, �Dmitry Donskoy� does notcarry nuclear weapons, but normally serves as a test-bed for thenavy�s new generation Bulava balltistic missiles. The nearly 40 yearsold submarine has Severodvinsk in the White Sea as homeport.

Powered by to 190 MW reactors, the Typhoon is the most powerfulsubmarine ever built. ^

Navy Announces NEC Code Overhaul and Updated Enlisted Rating Communities and Career Fields Story Number: NNS170713-13Release Date: 7/13/2017 3:42:00 PM A A A Email this story to a friend Print this story From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy announced July 13, in NAVADMIN 174/17 that as part of its Sailor 2025 efforts, the service will implement a newNavy Enlisted Classification (NEC) code construct this October and also realign enlisted rating communities and career fields.

"These efforts are about warfighting readiness and are absolutely critical to the development and implementation of the Navy's Ready Relevant Learning(RRL) and rating modernization initiatives," said Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke. "Not only will these changes improve our personnel andbillet management processes to assign the right individual to the right job, but it will ultimately provide us the ability to train and repurpose elements of ourforce to meet a rapidly changing world."

Beginning in October 2017, NEC codes will have four alpha-numeric characters and be organized into 12 communities and 23 career fields as part of the newconstruct.

These revised communities and career fields, which can be viewed at www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/nec/pages/default.aspx, were developedwithin the rating modernization working group and will replace the current occupational fields and associated ratings listed in the Navy Enlisted OccupationalStandards Manual (NAVPERS 18068F, Volume I). As new NEC codes are developed, they will be created using this new construct.

The new career fields and communities will not only aid the rating modernization effort, but they also more directly translate to civilian occupations and willhelp facilitate licensing and credentialing efforts.

Going forward, the first digit of the new NEC code will be based on a Sailor's community and identify the individual's respective career field. The second andthird digits will be unique alpha-numeric identifiers developed by the Navy Manpower Analysis Center. The fourth digit will represent how many blocks oftraining remain for a Sailor, or if the NEC code is not yet part of blocked training.

For example, the current NEC code for a Logistics Specialist Postal Basic (NEC 2800) would become S000 under the new construct.

- 1st Digit: S (supply career field)- 2nd Digit: 0 (part of unique identifier assigned by NAVMAC)- 3rd Digit: 0 (part of unique identifier assigned by NAVMAC)- 4th Digit: 0 (all blocks complete)1 (1 block remaining)2 (2 blocks remaining)3 (3 blocks remaining)4 (4 blocks remaining) Letters A-Z (NEC code is not associated with blocked training).

Another aspect of the revised NEC construct currently being developed is a two digit suffix to the NEC code which will contain additional information about aSailor's skillset. This is intended to better capture a Sailor's proficiency, experience and currency, which is a fundamental element of the Navy's ratingmodernization efforts.

Quarterly updates, released in NAVPERS 18068F, VOLUME II Navy Enlisted Classifications, will identify the Navy's 1,400 NEC codes that have completedtheir conversion to the revised construct.

No action is required on a Sailor's part - these changes will occur automatically.

NEC codes are used to track skills and training, distribute Sailors to appropriate billets, and ensure operational units have Sailors with the necessary skills tocarry out their missions.

RRL is a Sailor 2025 initiative focused on providing the right training at the right time in a way that Sailors will retain. Block Learning, an important part ofRRL, will divide enlisted Sailors' training into separate courses delivered at multiple points throughout a career to help improve their retention. This will alsohelp ensure that content is refreshed for changing platforms and technologies so Sailors are ready to perform on day one at their new units and help the Navytransform its industrial, conveyer-belt-training-model into a more modern one.

NAVADMIN 174/17 has complete information on these changes and can be found at www.npc.navy.mil.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy

For more news from Chief of Naval Personnel, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnp/. ^ Trump to Commission Carrier after Criticizing New Technology Associated Press | 12 Jul 2017 NORFOLK, Va. � President Donald Trump will preside over the commissioning of the nation's newest aircraft carrier. The U.S. Navy on Wednesday confirmed Trump's scheduled appearance at the July 22 ceremony at its base in Norfolk, Virginia. The president had previouslycriticized some of the new technology on the USS Gerald R. Ford because of cost overruns and delays. The ship is the first of the Navy's new and advanced Ford class of aircraft carrier. The president told Time magazine earlier this year that the Navy should goback to using steam catapults to launch fighter jets because the new system "costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it's no good." The USS Ford will go through various tests and workups at sea before becoming operational in the next few years. ^ No More �Low-Priced Brains� in Defense Planning

About ten years ago, a worrisome trend began in defenseacquisition.

It involved a procurement method referred to as �lowpriced technically acceptable,� or LPTA for short,invented for situations where a bare minimum standard ofquality was needed, but where the Department of Defense(DOD) was unwilling to pay for improvement beyond thatminimum. It was intended for simple commodity purchases,such as when DOD would want to procure acceptablequality toilet paper but felt there was no need to pay extrafor an exquisite product.

The problems began when some defense procurementofficials began hijacking these methods to make it easier forthem to contract out for knowledge-based services such ascombatant commander (COCOM) operational planning,cybersecurity, engineering analysis, and design of some of

the most sophisticated networks in the Department of Defense.

In so doing, they were treating brain-power as a commodity, procuring the �lowest-priced brains� to augment, for example, a COCOM staff planningoperations against the next Osama bin Laden, or a unit defending operational networks against the next cyber attack.

While we may not need anything more than a minimum standard for commodities, our adversaries will not be using their lowest-priced brains in missionplanning. So why would the U.S. Defense Department contract for some of the most intense knowledge-based services this way?

Simply put, LPTA makes life easier for the acquisition folks executing the procurement. Source selection becomes a test requiring no real analysis. To decidewho wins, all the procurement official needs to do is answer one simple question: does the individual a contractor is proposing for a certain assignment meet aminimum standard of qualification? Yes or no. Beyond that, the contractor who offers the lowest price is awarded the contract.

LPTA�s weakness is that it does not provide an option to measure quality. It relies on the least common denominator. One would presume that we need thebest people we can find for knowledge-based work. Unfortunately, the one thing LPTA can guarantee is that the best people will be pushed away to programswhere people are willing to pay for quality. I have never heard an operational commander say �Get me the lowest-priced minds you can find!� Still, whatinvariably ends up happening with an LPTA award is disappointment, often with reduced operational readiness resulting in early contract termination. If it isyour intent to get the lowest tier of experience that barely meets minimum standards, then LPTA is for you.

Senior DOD leaders have recognized that LPTA is causing readiness problems. There have been several initiatives to restrict its use to cases for which it wasintended. Former Undersecretary of Defense Frank Kendall made it one of his major initiatives. But instead of implementing firm prohibitions, his policyoutlined best practices to curtail LPTA�s use. Bureaucrats still found ways to easily circumvent these restrictions.

Recognizing DOD�s failure to implement effective restrictions, a few years ago Congress decided (correctly) that it needed to act. Since then, severalmeasures have been introduced in bills usually titled something like, �Promoting Value Based Procurement.� The problem is if you are a contractor withlittle or no experience in a certain area of government business that you want to break into, then you love LPTA because the barriers to entry into that line ofbusiness essentially are removed. Opposition has been sufficient to prevent any of these bills from being passed.

Nevertheless, the forces for good are at it again this year. Representatives Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Don Beyer (D-VA) have again introduced a�Promoting Value Based Procurement Act of 2017,� which attempts to restrict the use of LPTA procurement methods.

Unfortunately, this bill includes the following language:

To the maximum extent practicable , the use of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection criteria shall be avoided when the procurement ispredominately for the acquisition of information technology services, systems engineering and technical assistance services, or other knowledge-basedprofessional services. (Emphasis added.)

The language bolded above provides a loophole through which one could drive a truck. Contractors and bureaucrats will use this exception with zeal andalacrity. This loophole ensures that, if passed, the bill will be no more effective than previous efforts to correct this dangerous practice.

It is time to close the loopholes and give LPTA the deep six for knowledge-based work. Congress should craft a better bill that allows DOD to bring thebrightest minds to bear on planning for the current and future fight.

Captain Toti is a frequent contributor to Proceedings and was the 2000 Proceedings Author of the Year. Read Comments ^

KC-130 Plane Crash Kills 16 Troops Aboard, Marine Corps SaysAssociated Press | 11 Jul 2017 ITTA BENA, Miss. -- A U.S. military plane used for refueling crashed into a field in rural Mississippi, killing 16 troops aboard and spreading debris for milesand creating a fiery wreckage, officials said. Leflore County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Randle told reporters at a late Monday briefing that 16 bodies had been recovered after theKC-130T spiraled into the ground about 85 miles (135 kilometers) north of Jackson in the Mississippi Delta. Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that a KC-130 "experienced a mishap" Monday evening but provided no details. The KC-130 is used as a refueling tanker. The service in statement released Tuesday morning confirmed 16 service members died in the accident, which occurred around 4 p.m. local time, including15 Marines and one sailor. Their names are being withheld until their families are notified of the incident. ^

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