Thursday, October 30, 2008

Old Subs and Ships of my Past





With the Commissioning of the USS New Hampshire ,I felt compelled to put down a few memories of my old boats and one ship.



It is odd for me to be able to say that I have been part of the decommissioning of all three sea going commands that I was stationed. Two Submarines and one Submarine Tender. I got my sea legs and qualifications on the USS U.S. Grant SSBN 631G. Your first boat just seems like your only boat you have ever truly served, hence the reason we always make statements like " that's not the way we did it on the USTAFISH." I had a little over 3 years on the Grant, being one of the last Boomer crews to do patrols out of Holy Loch Scotland. Looking back now, it was a great experience. Like stripping parts from Building 616 to get under way on time? Even to this day I miss Ferries Fish N Chips and I think it was the Argyle hotel pub or something and another place called the Dolphin Inn were us Missile monkeys got our pints of lagers, Bitters, Ales and Stouts. My recollections are not that good so maybe some others that read this might have better memories of Holy Loch and Dunoon.
When I left the Grant I cross decked over to the USS H.L. Stimson SSBN 655B in Charleston S.C. Not even a year later I took the Stimson around to Bangor and Puget Sound Naval Ship Yard for the same fate (SRP, Submarine Recycling Program) as my former boat. At my first chance, I went over to the dry dock were the Grant sat with what I think was the John Marshall and took a tour.




It was a sad sight to see for a boat that I sailed on for 5 patrols. The interior was almost completely stripped. Massive hull cuts had been made in several sections of the boat for equipment removal. I remember there was a walk out platform like a porch were a hull cut was made off the crews lounge. The missile muzzle hatches had been removed, and the hull split at the reactor machinery room one area.
It was a mind numbing sad experience for what they say is true, ships are alive with their own soul. And the soul had been taken from this old friend who faithfully served its country for over 3o years.

The Stimson was placed in a aircraft carrier dry dock with 3 other Boomer boats for disposal. They had to use a bunch of divers and laser sighting gear and 18 hours of maneuvering watch to sit all 4 boats on the blocks at the same time. Quite an amazing feat. I also remember we got in some trouble with the Yard Birds for some premature locker removal while we were sitting up at Sub Base Bangor after Strat -Offload. We were bored and felt we were just giving the yard a head start. Violated some union contracts or something with PSNS. Go Figure..

Then I was off to the USS Canopus in Kings Bay for two years were one of my new shipmates met me at the quarter deck and said welcome to Hell. Now Submarine Tender duty is definitely different than sub duty, but once you get use to the way the surface guys do business it's not all that bad. I found it somewhat like modified shore duty. But it's Still Surface Ship Duty. Surface Sailors are an uptight bunch. You actually have to use all those skills you learned in boot camp and be held accountable for them. There is a MAA in every passageway that is more than happy to correct your military bearing and appearance. They might even insist on writing you a fancy ticket that you have to go give to your Chief just to make sure your deficiency is properly corrected. Flashback to the Ustafish parked next to the Simon Lake, I remember the COB on my first boat would just throw the things in the trash and say "Go get a F*&^$#* hair cut!!"


One of my first days aboard said surface ship we had a fire drill. Over the intercom they Announced the fire at some compartment and frame number. I asked my new shipmates were that location was so I could head to the scene to assist with damage control. "Relax new guy! We have fire parties for that." So that's what the red shirts are for. Who knew?

No matter what command I was stationed, I always ended up RPPO as in supply.

So as the Canopus started to offload for decommissioning and people separated to move on to their next commands, I slowly assumed more supply tasks until I was the default Weapons Department Supply Officer. I had to document, transfer or dispose of thousands of Items, equipment and tools. I signed so many supply chits, I still have twitch in my hand to this day. I think I developed the fastest unrecognizable signature in the Navy.
Just before I assumed all the other weapons departments leftovers, I was just documenting and transferring equipment for the W-4 Missile Division. The Division Officer had to sign these chits as well. "These better be right Petty Officer Ryle or you better pray we don't share the same cell in Leavenworth!" So this is a good segway into the next part of this story....

So I find some old missile testing equipment and gear that ended up being from the Polaris missile era. I had a magic book for instructions on disposal of SSP equipment (Missile related stuff). If I remember right the magic book had the old Polaris gear still documented as being on board. So that was a good start. Dont want any missing warheads or anything. The instructions deemed these items cleared for disposal at DRMO. A month later or so the rumor mill had it that these items ended up on a boat that was headed to China. Guess who the "G" men(DCIS) come looking for? You got it, yours truly. "Petty Officer Ryle, report to the T-Shed Supply Office!" So I look over and see these guys in suits, badges and guns and I'm crapping my pants scrambling for my magic book. The SSP magic book would be my only savior. So nervously I show the "G" men I did exactly as instructed. Once they saw my paperwork they put their guns away and called off the black helicopters and said carry on.(Ok, thats a little embellished, they were actually nice but still intimidating.) I expected to have more inquires after that even when I went to my next command, but I guess those were the only assets the Chinese were lucky enough to get their DRMO sniffing hands on. I'm sure it was customs that stooped them from taking the stuff. Like I said before, it was pretty old antiquated useless junk, but one mans junk is another mans treasure as they say.

The Canopus Decommissioning Ceremony was a Grand event with much Pomp and Circumstance, trimmings and fanfare. Officers and Sailors in full dress uniform as far as the eye could see. They even had veterans from the first USS Canopus scuttled in WWII. Great remarks were made by both of that currently served and served on board in her past. A fitting tribute to a once proud ship.


Days after the decommissioning ceremony it seemed ghostly to walk her decks. There wasn't very much crew left and you could feel once again a soul was leaving the ship. So I guess that's how it has always worked over our long and proud Naval History. Out with old and in with new.
Thanks for taking a short walk down memory lane with me. Perhaps some of your experinces might be the same.


Eric


Some Related Links:

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

911 Aerial Photos


I was just sent this Power Point Presentation of some amazing photos from that tragic day in our American History 9/11. These photos might have been around for awhile, but it is the first I have seen them in this quality of detail. Really brings Back the memory of that day.
Eric

Monday, October 27, 2008

South Pacific











Deserving of their own blog entry, I wanted to post this video for Satellite High School's Marching rendition of South Pacific. You will see that most of the band is dressed in Navy Dungarees or Navy Nurse Uniforms. About half way thru the show you will see a dance with a Navy Officer and his Girl and a funny shower scene. This Band always puts on great Marching/Stage Shows with outstanding supporting props constructed by their Band Parents Association, in this case a working Volcano. Be sure to enjoy this video of South Pacific.




More Photos

SHS Marching Scorps earn Superior Rating at Marching Districts

Under the direction of the 2008-2009 Drum Major Mr. Adam Drake, the Satellite High School Marching Scorps earned a Superior rating at the 2008 District 10 MPA on October 25,2008. They took the crowd to the South Pacific during WWII where there was a special top secret mission brewing, however all the sailors could think about was how to get to the off limits island named "Bali Hai". Love was blooming between our favorite Navy Nurse Nellie Forsbush and local French plantation owner Emil DeBec. They were in for a rocky romance but as with most musicals Love Prevailed!

See pictures from the festival in the photo gallery.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

War Eagle Pride and Marching Bands Galore







(This is a long post so please make sure to scroll down to see all of it.)

I really enjoy volunteering for the community. Maybe some day I can run for President as a former community Organizer. Anyway, for the past 5 years, one of my favorite projects has been fund raising and working with the Astronaut High School Band. Florida Today Stopped by my Concession Stand at Friday night's game and snapped some photos of the hard working Band Parents.









Chefs all. Cooking hot dogs were band parents from
left: Eric Ryle, Bill Barber, Maggie Barber and Robbi Rochon.

Devoted. Astronaut band parents staff the concession stand. (Florida Today)


The Next day was Band Assessments by the Florida's Band Masters Association.


A rain storm came in that night, but despite the bad weather the show must go on. Astronaut War Eagle Band Played in the rain and still received a Superior rating for their montage of Queen Classics. You can see a better video of the band at this contest in which the band took First Place. You might like our Fight Song here, it is conspicuously just like the old Budweiser song.


Now this next band I had to post because this is some what Navy related. Satellite High School Band puts on these great Marching/Stage shows every year. This year was South Pacific.
The Band was dressed up in traditional Navy Dungaree uniforms and the girls wore Navy Nurse outfits. They even had a working Volcano.

Eric

Great News! John Clear Brings Back His Daily Sub Photo

Remember the Daily Submarine Photo with Music posted by John Clear EMC(SS)USN Ret?

It's Back!!

New Link Here: http://www.usssealion.com/sealion/images/featured_picture.htm
























Eric
TheSubReport.com

Finally a Real Interview

Obama Campaign Cuts Off Interviews With Florida TV Station

Thursday, October 23, 2008

I'm Hot For Teacher


Here we go again with female teacher sexcapades. This is an incredible Phenomenon that has developed over recent years as reported by the World Net Daily's The Big List: Female Teachers With Students. (You definitely want to take a look at that link). Here is the latest from Florida's Daytona Beach area.

Police: Teacher Had Sex With Teen Outside Wal-Mart, Under Bridge - Video
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -- She's blonde and beautiful, the kind of teacher a high school boy would love to have. The trouble is the 45-year-old teacher is accused of liking a high school boy, too.

Of course everyone remembers Debra Lafave
American model and former teacher at Angelo L. Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, Florida, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to statutory rape charges stemming from her having sex with a 14-year-old student in 2004, when LaFave was 23 years old.

Video - Debra Lafave Interview - Part 1 of 4

This is just a result of demoralization of the country and our youth. Just about all our entertainment and media venues are over sexualized creating a dilemma for our society on what proper morals and behavior should be. Now I don't want to ruin the fun for the teen age boys that may or may not be reaping the benefits of the new Female Teacher/Student relationship, but perhaps the best way to curb some of these incidents is to properly punish Female sexual offenders. If you take a look at the WND Big list, you can see a great deal of these Teachers get off with light sentences.

Case and Point

This Male Teacher was recently sentence to six and a half years in prison, plus four years probation.

This Female Teacher Avoids Jail Time with five years probation.

Going back on the topic of demoralization. The other factors in this problem is the lack of discipline controls available to schools and bad parenting. So maybe the Teachers are reverting to the old saying if you cant beat them join them.

If you don't think there is a problem with the over sexualization of our youth, I suggest you attend a Local High School Football game. Observe the students, most of whom are not there to watch the game but to socialize. See how they dress and put your self in earshot of their conversations. You wouldn't believe the stuff these kids talk about. As a parent and school volunteer at my local school, I am privy to this environment that good kids have to survive and somehow get an education. One of our Administrators has a great tactic he uses at football games. He walks up to a group of kids and says I will give you 10 dollars if you can tell me the score of the Game. I have yet to see anyone claim that prize.

I guess Van Halen of the early eighty's were visionaries. "I'm Hot for Teacher!"



Update: School holds surprise 'Gay' Day for kindergartners

Eric
TheSubReport.com

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

TheSubReport.com Moves to Blogger

Since I started Decks Awash a few months ago, I have noticed a wealth of new tools and features on blogger that I had not seen in the past. I have decided to push TSR to this new format to take advantage of features offered by Blogger. Hopefully you will enjoy the new site. You will now have the ability to comment on daily news roundups and the use off a RSS feed for your favorite RSS reader. Page load time will also be enhanced. I will be playing with new widgets and features over the next few weeks, so please be patient. If you notice something missing that you enjoyed from the original site, please let me know. There will be no reason to change your bookmark as the domain remains the same and automatically redirects to the blogger server. For you artsy folks out there, I'm always open to new graphics and ideas on the site. If you see a spot on the site that could use a graphic and your good at that stuff, please let me know and send it in for consideration. Graphic work is certainly not one of my strong suits and would be highly apreciated. I hope you enjoy the new format.

Eric
TheSubReport.com

Monday, October 20, 2008

NR-1 Inactivation Ceremony, Reunion Nov. 21

From EMC(SS) Roy Hoagland, Chief of the Boat, Submarine NR-1

The Inactivation Ceremony for Submarine NR-1 will be held in conjunction with a crew reunion on November 21, 2008, at Submarine Base, Groton, Conn.

Questions or contact information can be forwarded to EMC(SS) Roy Hoagland at nr1reunion@nr1.navy.mil. You can also call Chief Hoagland at 860-271-6582 for more information.

TSR

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Monday, October 13, 2008

QUESTIONS FOR THE DEMOCRATS

From: Raymond E. Ryle

Allow me to preface this by saying that I am a lifelong registered Democrat. That is a fact that I am proud to proclaim.

The Democrat Party that I joined in 1964 was peopled, mostly, by honorable politicians like Wendell Ford of Kentucky, Tip O’Neil and Hubert Humphrey. These were people who did not duck questions or refuse to answer.

I have written to Senator Obama, Senator Ried. And Representative Pelosi. I either get no answer or less than an answer with a rehash of what they have said and/or done to spark the questions.

The words and deeds of these leaders of my Party are a matter of record, so I don’t need or want a re-itteration. The questions are simple and are as follows.

Why do you want to lose the war on terror?

Why do you want to tax the people who provide jobs to the point that jobs will be eliminated or sent overseas?

Why do you feel that socialism is the answer to all problems.

These are not questions asked from ignorance but are based on the acts and or words of the Leaders of my party. Perhaps there are reasonable and important answers to these questions. I am willing to listen to and consider direct answers that honestly address them. Since I cannot get anyone in positions of leadership to give me answers, I can only surmise and what I come up with scares me.

Perhaps if enough people ask these questions, we will get answers.

All of the elected officials that I have communicated with (of both parties) claim that they want to serve the people of this wonderful country.

Where I was born, service is what a bull does for a heifer, and quite frankly I, for one, have had about all that I can stand.

Posted:
esr

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Is Your Presidential Candidate Qualified for the PRP?

I had a recent interesting conversation with a Shipmate and coincidentally a Obama Supporter. We were doing are typical diatribe on the politics of Obama vs McCain and came to the realization the best way to clean up this whole election process for President is to subject the potential candidates to background checks as required by the military. They should be done in the same manner and to the level based on what information they would have access too. Since the President is the senior person in the chain for the use of Nuclear Weapons, he or she would be subject to the PRP program and furthermore have to pass for a SSI clearance which is the same for the very people that protect the President.

Photo AP: Navy Lt. Cmdr. Keith Davids carries the "Football," foreground, containing nuclear codes.

(Source Wikipedia) Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) is a United States Department of Defense psychological evaluation program, designed to permit only the most trustworthy individuals to have access to nuclear weapons.

1. The Department of Defense shall support the national security of the United States by maintaining an effective nuclear deterrent while protecting the public health, safety, and environment. For that reason, nuclear-weapons require special consideration because of their policy implications and military importance, their destructive power, and the political consequences of an accident or an unauthorized act. The safety, security, control, and effectiveness of nuclear weapons are of paramount importance to the security of the United States.

2. Nuclear weapons shall not be subject to loss, theft, sabotage, unauthorized use, unauthorized destruction, unauthorized disablement, jettison, or accidental damage.

3. Only those personnel who have demonstrated the highest degree of individual reliability for allegiance, trustworthiness, conduct, behavior, and responsibility shall be allowed to perform duties associated with nuclear weapons, and they shall be continuously evaluated for adherence to PRP standards.

The PRP program evaluates many aspects of the individuals work life and home life. Any disruption of these, or severe deviation from an established norm would be cause to deny access. The denial might be temporary or permanent.

Now we can discern from this that Obama would have problems passing SSI Background checks and PRP standards. The possible affiliations to the corrupt individuals and accusations you see in the news would create serious road blocks. All these issues would have be investigated and determined before granting a clearance and admission to the PRP program. Obama's admitted use of cocaine would be a possible disqualifier alone. Likewise for our current President George W. Bush would have some issues as well with a DUI arrest and admitted abuse of Alcohol.

Some of you may remember the application for your background checks. I remember specifically being required to list 10 friends as references. Then Defense Investigator Services interviewed those individuals and asked them who else I knew, so they could dig deeper and get a accurate character reference. I ask again could our current politicians and presidential Candidates pass such scrutiny?

But the Constitution only states these basic requirements:

Be a natural-born citizen of the United States

Be at least thirty-five years old

Have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years.

Maybe it would have been different if the Framers had any notion of the Presidential responsibility for the stewardship of Nuclear weapons.

So we can debate the issues if you want, but at the end of the day, Before you vote, is your Candidate truly qualified and responsible. Do they meet the minimum requirements that you or I would have to have for access to classified information and Nuclear assets. Just simple questions to ask your self before voting for the next Commander and Chief of the United States.

Eric

TheSubReport.com

Update 13OCT08: Barack Obama Couldn’t Pass a Routine Background Investigation

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

A Son's Story

I know we like to say the only good Marine is a Submarine, but I figure we would give the Devil Dog's a Break today. I ran into some amazing photos taken by a Marine Mom who works for the local media in Bradenton Florida. Take a few minutes and visit Manatee's Military Mom and check out this fantastic Photo Presentation A Son's Story narrated by her son.



Eric
TheSubReport.com

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Reunited With The Past



Commander Cris Treharne, Commanding Officer of the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit, Keesler Air Force Base, MS, reunites Richard Halloran, LCDR, USN (Retired), with a piece of his past he has not seen in sixty three (63) years.

Richard was the Chief-of the Boat on the USS S-20(SS125) at its decommissioning in 1945. As fate would have it Commander Treharne's command has the Ships Bell from the USS S-20 (SS125) on the quarterdeck of their building at Keesler AFB. Mr. Halloran, who retired, as a LCDR is a Life Member of both Submarine Veterans of WWII and the United States Submarine Veterans Incorporated. He resides in Gulfport and is a member of the USSVI Tullibee Base of Mississippi. Locating this bell so close to his current residents is an indication of how close nit the U.S. Submarine Force really is.

Herb Edmonds
Secretary/Treasurer
USSVI Tullibee Base

Nuclear Sharks

NUCLEAR SHARKS I - Final Mission 5 Videos
(Play All Videos - Youtube.com)
The History Channel Documentary



'Under way on nuclear power.' These historic words are spoken on January 17, 1955 by Hyman G. Rickover from the bridge of the world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus. The Nautilus owes her existence to Rickover, a brilliant, uncompromising Admiral in the US Navy with a totally original idea: the nuclear submarine. Without Rickover, the nuclear submarine would not have existed for at least another decade; without Rickover, the Cold War would not have escalated into a battle waged not on land, but in the silent deep.

The Soviet Union is years behind the United States in nuclear submarine development. The United States will reach the North Pole in a nuclear submarine before the Russians have even mastered their own design. But by 1960, the submarine gap between the superpowers is closing. And both sides have decided to make them the ultimate weapon of the Cold War.

The launch of Sputnik in 1957 is a wake-up call to the United States on Soviet missile technology. If Russia can put a satellite in space, everyone knows they could as easily launch a nuclear missile at the US. And so, by the late 1950s, both US and Soviet submarine strategists are determined to combine nuclear submarine technology with missile technology - the submarine to reach the enemy's back-yard, the missile to blow up the house. The world will never be the same. By the mid-1960s, American and Soviet submarines are stalking each other, a stealthy and hostile game of cat and mouse. The Navy has a complex network of undersea microphones called SOSUS, used to detect the comings and goings of Soviet submarines. New strategies; new technologies; a new kind of war.

NUCLEAR SHARKS II - Cuban Missile Crisis: Secret Submarines 5 Videos
(Play All Videos-Youtube.com)
The History Channel Documentary


On October 1, 1962 four Russian Foxtrot submarines slip silently from their northern base near Murmansk on a top secret mission. Bound for Cuba, each carries a nuclear tipped torpedo capable of blowing up an entire aircraft carrier group. If attacked, the commanders have been told to fire their nuclear arsenal.

The Foxtrots leave on a mission to set up a base in Cuba. By the time they arrive they sail into a massive American military blockade that will bring the world to the edge of nuclear war.

This is the story only touched upon in the Hollywood blockbuster film Thirteen Days. The untold story of the underwater siege, with four submarines at the front line of a nuclear standoff. It's a tale that takes you inside the heads of the Soviet submariners and their US Navy counterparts in an eyeball to eyeball confrontation.

Eric
TheSubReport.com