Filming females aboard subs? Gee, who didn't see this one coming?

Here is the link:http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/12/04/top-navy-brass-mum-about-suspected-filming-of-naked-women-on-submarines/

Maybe its a case of assuming too much but speaking as a retired sub sailor I can say this was to be expected. Especially given the close quarters aboard a boat.

You can also bet this is just the tip of the iceberg and a small taste of things to come.

Lord, I am SO GLAD to be retired from the sub force right now!

My Veteran's Day post...

Here's a fair-to-middling article about sub service. I'll never think of it as heroic, we just had a job to do. Quite often that job sucked on toast, mostly due to the long term discomfort and isolation from the rest of the world. The majority of us were never shot at, quite often a deployment was like a long bus ride with all the windows painted over. But other than that, the article is fairly accurate:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/us/veterans-in-focus-silent-service/index.html

It didn't involve a lot of physical danger. But it was a bit different. I'll close by quoting a SEAL Team member who rode on our last boat (we were set up for covert ops). After going through the same routine training as our helmsmen/planesmen this elite warrior of almost 20 years experience got out of the helmsman's chair, looked at the Control Room party and calmly stated, "You motherfuckers are all crazy". Then he went below to the Chief Petty Officer's Quarters (Goat Locker) for a cigarette and cup of coffee.

Extend sub deployments? What could go wrong?

Found this at washingtonexaminer.com, my comments within the article are in bold:

Navy explores longer sub deployments
By: MICHAEL MELIA

The Navy is considering lengthening the standard deployment of attack submarines beyond six months as it faces rising demands with a fleet that has been shrinking since the end of the Cold War, the commander of American submarine forces told The Associated Press in an interview.

Already, attack submarines are at times asked to stay out longer than six months — extensions that can be trying for sailors who serve in tightly confined spaces with limited outside communication as members of the "silent service."

Vice Adm. John Richardson told the AP this week that keeping subs out longer is one of several options the Navy is considering as the number of attack subs is projected to continue dropping in the next decade and beyond. Older boats seeing more use, that'll mean more equipment failures at the worst possible times. Lovely, just stinking lovely.

"I think we're looking at all the options," he said. "As you try and maintain the same presence with fewer hulls, there are all sorts of variables in that equation. One would be extending deployment lengths. So that's certainly on the table."

Submariners are not alone in seeing deployments extended periodically, as two wars and evolving threats strain the entire U.S. military. A spokeswoman for the admiral, Navy Cmdr. Monica Rousselow, said it is impossible to say how long sub deployments might become because so many factors are involved. To my successors in the sub force: BOHICA shipmates!

Extending deployments permanently would save resources because the Navy could complete more missions with the nuclear-powered submarines that it has available. The fast-attack subs travel to far-flung corners of the globe for missions including intelligence gathering and firing missiles, but they can maintain a presence only for so long before making the time-consuming journey back to U.S. bases. The real restriction is the crew, running out of food will get the attention of most people. Those boats ARE tight as far as space goes, you just can't dump an extra couple of months of groceries down the hatch and walk away thinking, "They'll figure a way to store it".

Navy contractors began stepping up submarine production this year, but pressure on the defense budget has raised uncertainty about future procurement. While some critics describe the multibillion-dollar vessels as costly relics of a different era, Richardson says submarines remain integral to America's nuclear deterrence strategy and the security of a nation that conducts the vast majority of its trade by maritime channels. They perform a host of other missions also. For a glimpse of what a boat's capabilities can include I recommend reading "Blind Man's Bluff" by Sontag and Drew.

Enlisted crew members on the attack subs sleep six to a room, stacked in bunks areas barely larger than a closet, and navigate corridors so narrow only one person can pass at a time. That would be if they're lucky enough to have their own rack(bunk). The Los Angeles class of subs were initially designed for more crewmembers than could be accomodated by assigning each sailor his individual rack. So the practice of "hotbunking" was used.The deployments are typically broken up by port calls, but they can remain at sea for weeks or months at a time. The bigger, roomier ballistic missile subs generally stay closer to their home ports and have shorter deployments.

Sailors in the elite, all-volunteer submarine force go through psychological screening to make sure they can cope with the tight quarters and extended time beneath the ocean's surface. Nobody with claustrophobic tendencies is allowed on board.

But retired submariners say the time at sea does take a physical and emotional toll, particularly when a mission is suddenly extended.

"You establish a battle rhythm in your mind where 'Six months is how long I'll be' and then, if it becomes seven months, you have to shift your mind a bit," said retired Rear Adm. John Padgett III, who remembers a particularly grueling 7 1/2-month submarine deployment during the Vietnam War. "You get a little tired of it."

Deployments longer than six months are unlikely to cause problems for specially trained sailors, but they would probably entail challenges for their families, said Army Col. Tom Kolditz, a psychologist at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. DUH!! Then the problems the wives & kids are having come back on those same sailors, this guy talks like an idiot. But wait a minute, we can always go back to the mindset of "If the Navy thought you needed a wife, they'd have issued one in your seabag". Yeah, that'll do wonders for retention.

"You can probably find business decisions in the community based on that six-month cycle. You can find various kinds of financial planning done on that six-month cycle. If you take something like that that people are used to and change it, it can create problems," said Kolditz, director of the military academy's Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership.

At Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, support services are available to help sailors' families deal with prolonged deployments, said Beth Darius, a services facilitator for the base's Fleet and Family Support Center.

"We honestly try to tell them, 'Yes, you have a fixed date, but remember that date can always change,'" she said. "We try to help them not cement that date, but I personally know how easy it is to get that date and count down, and then have it change on you." The divorce rate in the sub force is just a bit high. This is coming from a guy who went through Connecticut courts twice for that experience while in the canoe club. I'm a slow learner, shoot me.

Richardson said in the interview Wednesday that constraints on communication are part of the nature of submarining, but that the Navy is working to improve bandwidth on the vessels. He said sailors will be able to communicate with family members more than ever, although e-mail will remain available only when it can be sent without the risk of giving up the sub's location.

Beyond the strain on sailors and their families, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney said, the longer deployments reflect an increasingly acute security problem. Although Navy contractors received approval this year to double production of Virginia-class attack subs to two a year, he said that will only slow the decline in the size of the fleet and will not fully replace older ships as they are taken out of commission.

The number of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the U.S. force has fallen from a peak of 98 in the late 1980s to 53 at the end of fiscal year 2010, a decline that roughly matches a drop in the overall size of the Navy since the end of the Cold War. Each Virginia-class attack submarine costs about $2.6 billion and carries a crew of roughly 135 officers and sailors.

Courtney, who is pushing for an increase in attack sub procurement, said they are unmatched in their ability to deliver firepower and do surveillance without being detected. THAT is a fact, been there and done that. Nope, can't talk about it.

"Look at Libya. When President Obama said 'unique capabilities,' what he was really referring to was the USS Scranton, the Providence and the Florida, which in a matter of an hour obliterated Gadhafi's air defenses," said Courtney, a Democrat whose eastern Connecticut district includes the sub base and the Groton headquarters of the Navy's primary submarine contractor, General Dynamics' Electric Boat.

Currently, the submarine force can accommodate only about half the support requests from combatant commanders, according to Richardson, who said sub deployments are currently extended a month or more to meet demands on a case-by-case basis. He noted that surface ships also face extended deployments, as all branches of the military contend with increased demands.

As the Navy deals with rising security demands and budget pressures, he said, the force is also looking into repositioning submarines around the globe to reduce transit times and pressing builders to reduce maintenance periods and wring more deployments from aging vessels.

(End of story, my comments follow)

So the Powers That Be recently opened up the sub force to women, they've also scuttled DADT and will soon be actively recruiting flamboyant gays into the military (if you think that statement is a bit drastic, you don't know our military and the kind of assholes in charge in Washington).

Now they're looking at increasing the length of deployments. Yes, I know it's happening in the surface navy as well as the other armed forces of our nation. My chosen screen name is SUBvet for a reason. Check the profile if you're still puzzled.

Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

Plenty.

Eddie and Freddie go to sea aboard the USETAFISH, Eddie hooks up with Suzy Creamcheese who is the boats newest recruit. Suzy and Eddie slap bellies whenever they think they're alone (the photos the roving watch takes of them will go on sale a week after returning to homeport). Suzy dumps Eddie halfway through the deployment and starts banging Freddie (that roving watch loves it, they're making him rich).

Eddie cops an attitude, during one field day he clobbers Freddie. They both go talk to the "old man" (Captain). He discovers Suzy's involvement in this and transfers her skanky ass back to homeport. She promptly files a sexual discrimination complaint against the command (Eddie and Freddie weren't transferred, she was.Therefore she was inappropriately reprimanded, or so the complaint goes). The squadron sends out Lt. Lana, the lesbian JAG (Judge Advocate General) officer, to investigate the onboard climate of USETAFISH in order to determine if there's a problem with discrimination.

Lt. Lana interviews Mona Mattressback who just got denied promotion (if she studied for the test, she'd probably pass). Mona sees the Lt. Lana is a manhater from Jump Street and plays it up, citing numerous incidents where her LCPO (leading chief petty officer) made inappropriate comments to her. In private. No other witnesses cited. The good JAG officer knows she has a case and pursues it. To make a long story short, after the local fishwrap back home gets the story, the officers and crew of the good ship USETAFISH are crucified by the squadron commodore in order to show that "something has been done".

Then we can add in the zip of extending the deployments of the boat because, as a newer craft, it doesn't break down as often as the dinosaurs of the squadron do.

The crew gets the big flick, if you stick around you're screwed by either spending life at sea or by being dragged across the coals for PC purposes. Time to hit the highway by faking claustrophobia (very easy to do) and spending your remaining days in the canoe club aboard a tender (repair ship) that is basically welded to the pier and hardly ever gets underway.

I haven't even factored in a gay sailor or two actually in the crew, this post is already overly long.

Yep, we'll maintain an elite force under these conditions. Sure we will.

When pigs fly.

On changes in the military retirement system...

The dismantling of what has been the greatest military in the world continues. Here's the latest: Radical overhaul of military retirement eyed

It's more than evident whoever is seriously considering this never spent an appreciable amount of time on active duty. Let me share a few experiences of my own, please keep in mind I had it relatively easy since the sub service often dodged the bullet of spending cuts that hit the rest of the canoe club. In addition to that, not too many bullets get fired at you while on submarine patrols.

But here were a few things I've personal knowledge of;

1) A supertanker going over your head really does sound like a freight train. That happened right after the sonar supervisor told the Officer Of the Deck (OOD) we should definitely NOT proceed to periscope depth. Good call on that one.

2) A near miss in colliding with a Russian AGI will never make the news.

3) Russian AGI's were to American subs as fleas are to dogs. Put #2 together with this and do the math.

4) Sudden depth excursions due to differing thermal layers in the water will get your attention, dropping 200-300 feet in 2-3 minutes won't feel like a roller coaster but the excitement is definitely there. For more info, Google search "submarine depth ratings". You don't know where those different layers are until you're in the middle of them. Surprise!

5) Watching the steady parade of shipmates heading into divorce court can be depressing.

6) During the Cold War the only excuse for not making a deployment was a death in the family, preferably your own. This was due to the nature of submarine qualification. I'd guess that if a soldier or marine had to miss a deployment their billet could be readily filled by another basic warm body with approximately the same training, I don't know for certain since my experience was solely in the sub force. But if you're qualified on a specific boat, even under ideal conditions it'll take a few weeks to bring any unexpected replacement up to speed so your shipmates aren't "taking up your slack". That probably means losing a lot of sleep, taking on more tasks and hoping the new guy isn't a washout. It doesn't sound too bad and maybe compared to actual combat arms of the military it isn't. But my pharmacist father-in-law definitely doesn't have the same problems if one of his techs decides to hit the road. This is a "had to be there to understand" situation.

I'd guess the absolute worst example of this I witnessed was seeing another boat get ready for patrol in Rota, Spain back in the early '70's. They were just slightly shorthanded, having lost about a third of the crew due to a busted pot party the night before they took over the boat (this was an FBM and had two crews assigned to it.) Some of the makeup came from the crew that was supposed to go home, but that only went so far. Sounds like a real incentive for reenlisting, call your wife and tell her you'll be gone an additional three months due to some idiot getting caught smoking dope.

That boat got underway on time. No excuses allowed. Failure was not an option. That was how life was back on the missile boats at that time.

7) Being a supervisor in the military means you are personally responsible for the conduct of junior personnel under you. That means if little "Johnny" goes out, gets drunk and spends the night in the local calaboose you will be speaking personally to the Executive Officer of your command to explain just what is the problem with your division. Anyone with more than a few years will be automatically groomed for supervisory positions, so these talks become inevitable the longer you serve. I was a supervisor for over half my 22 year career.

8) Speaking of being personally responsible, that extends to "being there" when the shit hits the fan for "Johnny". I recall in '86 as my own marriage was falling apart around my ears, one of my guys asked me to accompany him to his home in military housing after we pulled into port. His wife had taken off to parts unknown, the first he knew about this was when the squadron sent a radio message to the boat to inform him his kids had been turned over to the state after their babysitter had waited almost a week for "mom" to return. So I went with this lad to his duplex. The first thing we saw entering his home was that every piece of furniture had been upended in the living room, the floor was covered with cigarette butts and marijuana roaches, holes were punched in the walls and on the wall above where the couch had been were the words, "(his wife's name), Find her, Feel her, Fuck her, Forget her." We subsequently were informed that the wifely one was hosting sex/booze/drug parties for all the local teen boys.

Welcome home son. As I said, I had my own problems waiting for me, but this guy's took precedence due to our relative positions and the fact that you always help out a shipmate.

9) That term "shipmate" has a connotation of personal involvement that "coworker" never will. You eat, sleep, drill, and live with somebody it's inevitable that you'll more closely identify with him than you would with your own brother. This happens no matter what the race or economic background. Yankees would go to the mat for rednecked Rebels, blacks would watch the backs of whites, rich boys would stand by their poor white trash fellows. If that sounds positively heartwarming just consider how it is when you try going back home and discover yourself defending "those" people against the insults from your closest family members. You find yourself becoming the square peg in a round-holed world.

10) Speaking of fitting in, you never really do as regards civilians. They haven't "been there, done that". There's always a big gulf, even after a couple of decades into retirement.

I could go on but it'd be whipping a dead horse.

Did I do it for the retirement? Hell no, throughout my 22 years I did it because I believe in this nation and it's history. I had good times, I had bad times. The bad include two marriages that should never have happened and I'll cheerfully take the blame for those. But going into a divorce court after learning that the presiding judge has a young daughter whose sailorboy boyfriend knocked her up and then beat feet puts a bit of a spin on the proceedings I'd never have experienced as a civilian. Just another anecdote.

No, it never was for the retirement benefits. If it had been for those then I'd never have lasted past the first enlistment. They weren't worth it considering the day-to-day shit you'll have to take. Yes, the case can be made I chose the life I led and nobody put a gun to my head. But we've a volunteer military because of patriotic fools who believe in what they're doing.

I've earned every damned benefit I have. The same holds true for EVERY soldier/sailor/marine/airman. From the men in the SEAL teams to the dental technician in some landlocked naval air station. If they stayed for twenty or more years they earned their benefits.

Every. Damned. One.

As it is, I'm 58 years old and will probably get "grandfathered" on most changes. I've also had the attitude that nothing regarding my benefits is carved in stone so it's always subject to being taken away. I could handle it, nobody promised any one of us an easy time in this life.

But any modifications that will screw those still in uniform is flat wrong. End of story.

The Submarine Force gets another black eye...

Well this one hits kinda close to home:
Why Are Sailors on Navy Submarines Cheating on Tests?

Short answer: Because they can.

Correct answer: They thought they could get away with it and didn't. Therefore anyone caught should be shitcanned.

I really don't care if this is a reflection of our culture-at-large, the military ain't CIVLANT and they adhere to different standards. If you don't believe that one go peruse the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for starters. Even getting a severe sunburn can land you in trouble under the right circumstances. So forget what goes on outside in the "real/civilian" world, You're in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club now and have to live according to the standards of that culture. End of story.

If the damned exams have gotten so ridiculous that they're almost impossible to pass then let enough sailors flunk the damned things and sooner or later the little light will go on in somebody and the exams will be adjusted accordingly. Yep, there will be a lot of careers ruined before that happens but we're talking about an occupational field that requires you die on demand if the need arises. So integrity and honesty should be given primacy.

It falls under the heading of "A man has to do what a man has to do". I realize thats a somewhat dated sentiment but there ya go.

The fatal hickey...

MEDFORD (CBS) – A woman was ordered held without bail Monday charged with killing her husband in Medford.

Police found 34-year-old Troy Burston wounded outside a home on Exchange Avenue at 10:40 p.m. Sunday. He was not wearing a shirt and had been stabbed in the chest.

He was rushed to Lawrence Memorial Hospital where he died.

Police arrested his wife, 39-year-old Shawntina Burston.

Investigators say the two had come home from a party and began arguing and hitting each other. She allegedly found a hickey on his neck and stabbed him with a cooking knife.

“This is another troubling incident of domestic violence turned fatal,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement Monday.

“We allege that the victim was fatally stabbed by his wife during an argument, sadly leaving two young children behind.”

Shawntina Burston pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Monday in Somerville District Court.

(Story ends here. My comments follow.)

"Back in the day" when I was in Uncle Sugar's canoe club it wasn't unusual for the crew to mess with one another. That would include sending some guy home with numerous hickeys on his neck after he'd spent a night aboard the sub on duty. His shipmates would waylay the victim and proceed with the kissing, just to put him on the spot with his wife.

One newly married guy from the western part of Texas (no navy there, let alone weird sub sailors) wasn't allowed into his apartment at first. It took a delegation of several crewmembers to persuade her he'd actually been attacked by his friends and not some passionate "hottie" out on the town. The hickey she had the biggest problem with was on his inner thigh. For some reason he didn't try for a career in the Navy, I wonder why?

Stories like the one posted above always make me wonder how fine a line we trod in our hijinks. Hard to think a man could get killed from being messed with.

I won't even go into the story about the guy who went out drinking with his "buds" in Hawaii the night before his wedding and woke up in San Francisco. Thats a whole different story.

Nor will I go into details about the guy who had "I screwed Suzie" forcibly scrawled across his chest with silver nitrate the day he went on leave to get married. That stuff turns black when exposed to ultraviolet light and doesn't wash off the skin, it wears off! Supposedly his bride couldn't figure out why he wore a "T" shirt to bed on their honeymoon. Again, a whole different story.

Some days I DO miss the sub service!

And for those who may be shaking their heads & clucking their tongues, just remember that they trusted us with nuclear weapons. Sleep tight, you're guarded by America's finest steely eyed killers of the deep!

...or ask your mother, and tell her I said "hello"!

MAY 6--A Transportation Security Administration screener is facing an assault rap after he allegedly beat a co-worker who joked about the size of the man's genitalia after he walked through a security scanner...

The rest of the story is here; http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0506101tsa1.html

This guy evidently never served on subs, aboard them you grow a thick skin PDQ for personal insults. It's a big game everybody plays and the guy who easily loses his cool gets picked on the most. Pretty personal at times too, one standard conversation would begin;

Q. Got any naked pictures of your sister/mother/wife/fiancee?

A. NO!

Q. Want some?

A better example would happen when some guy let it be known his wife was pregnant;

Q. I hear the missus is expecting, that right?

A. Yep!

Q. Any idea who the father is?

In this "head game" that went on 24/7 you had to be able to take it as well as give it. That was proven on my first "Usetafish" when an E4 A-ganger (aka knuckle dragger/grease monkey/snipe) kept ragging the ship's yeoman (aka scribe/clerk/head paper pusher) about having his stuffed Kermit stolen.

The A-ganger didn't think it was funny though when someone took his teddy bear. He went all the way to the Captain with his complaint! Maybe the Polaroid snapshots left on his bunk showing "Teddy" with a knife to his throat was what did it. I don't know. For the record, I NEVER had any stuffed animals!

I wonder what it would be like to command a nuclear powered vessel with enough firepower to turn any nation into a sheet of glass, then have to get involved in a dispute where some guy lost his teddy bear. Must be disheartening at times. "I've spent 20 plus years in the canoe club for this shit." would be a likely thought.

No, I don't make this shit up. Both of the guys mentioned went on to the pay grade of E9 which is the highest enlisted grade you can attain. Go figure.

As you might surmise, this constant war of the nerves was a way to relieve boredom. Riding a boat can be like riding a bus that has it's windows painted over. After a few weeks it gets damned boring. You'll do the most unbelievable things, like the crew that had the "Phone-a-fart" contest. But that's the stuff of another post.

So when someone would start slamming a guy about the size of his "package" the right response might be to wonder if the viewer was "trolling".

But my favorite comeback was, "It isn't the length of the wand, it's the magic of the magician. Just ask your wife if you don't believe me!"

Women on subs revisited...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Navy Secretary Ray Mabus (MAY'-buhs) says he's getting little or no resistance inside the Navy since announcing he's going to let women serve aboard submarines.
Mabus says sailors and officers don't seem worried about ending the long-standing ban. He says the experience of female sailors aboard surface ships shows that men and women can work in close quarters.

Submarines are among the few remaining places where military women are prohibited.

Mabus also says he's hearing little complaint within the Navy about his recent order banning smoking aboard subs.

No, you won't get any complaints regarding placing women on subs if you speak to; A) asskissing officers looking to further their careers at the expense of the fleet. B) horny young enlisted men in the lowest paygrades who think with their dicks when this subject is broached.

The folks that should be polled would include; A) senior officers who are unpopular because of their outspoken opinions, B) senior elisted men who have served both at sea and ashore at a repair facility where women are present in large numbers.

But talking to those last two categories only insures a lot of straight, unvarnished truth being dished up. Can't have that now, can we?

I'm reminded of when Adm. Zumwalt was CNO and a poll was put out regarding changing the dress uniform for the "bus driver look" we endured in the 70's and 80's. Supposedly there was overwhelming support for discarding the "crackerjack" style (which has since been reinstated). I know this poll was done, I was one of the sailors questioned. I also know that yours truly made no bones about wanting to keep the old style uniform. There's always been a thought at the back of my mind that my answers and those like mine were placed in the "circular file" somewhere in the Pentagon. Probably that same file used for naysayers regarding split-tailed sailors on subs.

My God, I'm glad I'm fully retired from the military!

Women to serve on submarines...

***Your attention ladies and gentlemen, the post following this disclaimer will contain exceptionally harsh language of a sort I normally don't use online. All personnel under the age of 35 are cautioned to avoid this post. I repeat, all personnel under the age of 35 are cautioned to avoid this post.

You have been warned. Thank you and have a nice day. ***

(Taken from abcnews.go.com) Women are a big step closer to serving on U.S. Navy submarines. ABC News has learned that the Navy has decided to lift the ban on female submarine crew members. Subs are one of the last places in the military from which women are excluded.Those fucking dickheads finally did it, they've set the stage for the most morale debilitating action to hit the sub force since Zumwalt was in. ASSWIPES!!

The only potential roadblock remaining is for both house of Congress to pass legislation specifically barring the policy change during the 30 working day window for congressional comment that began Monday. Don't look for those shitbirds to have any spine in standing up to the feminazis, they'll be grabbing their ankles and shouting, "Thank you ma'am, may I have another?"

A Defense Department official tells ABC News that the civilian Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, and the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead, support lifting the ban. (Of course they do, they've no damned concern for the morale and well being of the fleet, if being politically correct required marathon cocksucking they'd have strapped on the knee pads and stocked up on chap stick long ago.) Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed a letter last Friday notifying Congress of the Navy's policy change. The 30-day window for congressional comment began when Gates' letter was delivered to Capitol Hill. ASSWIPE MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!

Through a spokesperson, Mabus said he "believes it's a great idea and the right thing to do. He fully supports the assignment of women to submarines." KISS MY ROYAL REDNECKED ASS YOU FUCKING SHITEATER!!

"The Secretary supports the Navy decision," said Geoff Morrell, Gates' spokesman. FUCK HIM TOO!!

"The Chairman fully supports it," said Capt. John Kirby, spokesman for Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. HE'S ANOTHER TWO LEGGED STACK OF SMEGMA IN A UNIFORM!!

But even if Congress goes along, it will be at least a year and a half before a woman is able to serve on a U.S. submarine. You'll be seeing an awful lot of good officers and senior enlisted men bailing out before then. The Navy plans to phase women onto submarine crews gradually, and the first to serve will be officers. Submarine officers must complete more than a year of "nuclear school" before being assigned to a "boat." THE ULTIMATE IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION HIRING IS TAKING PLACE AS WE SPEAK! FUCKERS!!!

A Defense Department official tells ABC News the hope is that 12 to 18 ROTC or Naval Academy graduates will enter submarine training. It won't matter if they don't have the sense to pour piss out of a boot, these split tails will be pushed towards sub qualification with no possibility of failure. GOD, I'M GLAD I'M FUCKING RETIRED!!!

Women started serving aboard Naval surface warships back in 1993. The Navy said hey have been barred from submarines partly because of the close quarters and limited sleeping areas. IT'S COMMONSENSE YOU DICKWEED, START MIXING THE SEXES ABOARD BOATS AND IN NO TIME FLAT YOU'LL SEE TWO BELLIES SLAPPING THAT SHOULDN'T, WITH A CORRESPONDING DECLINE IN MORALE. THAT WILL LEAD TO A GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF FATAL ACCIDENTS INCLUDING SINKINGS. HELLO THRESHER AND SCORPION, YOU'RE ABOUT TO HAVE COMPANY!!

But Naval officials and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs have said the time has come to "broaden opportunities for women." MY DYING ASS!! SINCE WHEN DOES ANY PART OF THE MILITARY HAVE TO SERVE AS A PETRI DISH FOR SOCIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTATION? The Navy put together the details of how it will move forward.

Since officers are already separated from enlisted personnel on a submarine, Naval officials say they can accommodate female officers first. BULLSHIT! THAT "SEPARATION" IS MINIMAL. But no money has been set aside to retrofit sleeping areas or bathrooms for enlisted sailors in any submarines in service. Normal sub deployments can last up to 7 months.

The Defense Department official also says women will not be allowed to serve alone. BIG DEAL! THAT'LL DO WHAT BESIDES INSURE MORE POONTANG FOR THE TROOPS?? There would always be at least two women on board. There are discussions about having female junior officers bunk with an experienced female officer, who could act as a mentor. Restrictions on pregnant women will be the same as those who serve on surface vessels. DON'T GET ME STARTED ABOUT SPERM-BELCHING GUTTER SLUTS WHO GET PREGNANT JUST TO AVOID DEPLOYMENT!

The Navy hopes to start the inclusion of women on its larger submarines, which already have separate quarters. THAT'LL BE THE TRIDENT MISSILE BOATS, JUST THE ONES THAT NEED AN ADDED STRESS FACTOR OF THIS MAGNITUDE!! Smaller Virginia class attack subs may be reconfigured later during scheduled maintenance.

The timing of the order comes as graduating seniors at the academy and in ROTC programs have to decide which path they want to take in the Navy. Officials say it is possible that one of the first women to take up the Navy's offer, if approved by Congress, could be in command of a submarine in 17-18 years. POSSIBLE? THEY'LL DO EVERYTHING NECESSARY TO INSURE IT, NO MATTER HOW LACKING IN COMPETENCE ANY PARTICULAR WOMAN MIGHT BE!! THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WILL BE TO INSURE SHE'S REALLY COUNTERSUNK BETWEEN THE LEGS!

FUCK ME TO TEARS ALBERTHA!! WHO THE HELL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS FUBAR IDEA?

Gays in the military...

One question that comes to mind; if it's a problem for straight men to sleep in the same quarters as women, why is there nothing wrong with having gay men sleeping in the same quarters as other men? The whole issue is about sexual attraction/desire, right?

That same question would apply to lesbian women in the military.

As for showering together, I'll leave that alone for now.

B.O. and his SOTU speech.

Evidently he's going to push to rescind the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the military. That damned thing should have never been instituted, now that it will be formally knocked down you can bet all sorts of gay advocacy groups will be screaming "homophobia" everytime a fudgepacking queen or clamlicking dyke doesn't get the moon with a back fence around it.

And military morale will take off like a mud seeking missile.

This doesn't even take into account the push for women on subs, look for that to happen also. Once it does, GI Jane will want to join the SEALS. They too will fall before the forces of political correctness.

We are so screwed.

Royal Navy bowing to the winds of Political Correctness...

Can we be far behind? Found this via Lucianne.com

DAILY MAIL REPORTER:
Women could soon be allowed to serve on Royal Navy submarines for the first time.

Senior naval figures have opposed allowing women on subs due to the cramped conditions on board and the dangers posed by fumes inside the vessels to a foetus if a woman is pregnant.

But a review of the ban was ordered last year following pressure from Labour figures keen to introduce full equal opportunities for women in the Armed Forces.

The Royal Navy's new Astute attack submarines could easily be adapted to accommodate women and the Ministry of Defence has said that in the design of the new Trident nuclear subs 'consideration will be given to the possibility of women serving in the future'.

A ministry of Defence source told the Sunday Times: 'It looks likely that women will be allowed to serve on submarines.'

Defence chiefs are expected to veto a similar move to allow women to serve as frontline infantry.

The Australian, Canadian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian navies already allow women to serve on their submarines.

If the Royal Navy allows the move, only mine-clearance diving units and the Royal Marines would be closed to women in the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces commanders concluded last month that women lack the upper-body strength and physical resilience to withstand intensive combat on the front line.

Tests have found that women were eight times more likely than men to sustain injuries other than wounds in action and there were also concerns that infantrymen's first instinct would be to defend women fighting alongside them that to attack the enemy.

If any Brits are reading this, you have my sympathies. We'll be joining you in this insanity soon, I have no doubt at all about that one.

Things that go "bump" in the night.

There'll be some new faces aboard the USS Hartford soon, at a guess they'll include the CO, XO and Navigator.


MANAMA, Bahrain – Two U.S. Navy vessels — a nuclear-powered submarine and an amphibious ship — collided during the early morning hours Friday in the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the Arabian peninsula, the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet reported.

There was no damage to the sub's nuclear propulsion system, said Lt. Nate Christensen, a 5th Fleet spokesman.

The military said in a statement that the incident occurred around 1:00 a.m. local time on Friday (5 p.m. EDT, Thursday), when the USS Hartford, a submarine, and the USS New Orleans, an amphibious ship, collided.

According to the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, 15 sailors aboard the Hartford were slightly injured but able to return to duty. No injuries were reported aboard the New Orleans.

Both ships were heading to port and were going in the same direction when the incident occurred in the narrow strait, said 5th Fleet spokesman, Lt. Nate Christensen. He said the incident occurred at night and the submarine was submerged at the time but that he could give no further details as the collision is still under investigation.

Both vessels are now heading to port for repairs and evaluation, but Christensen said that
following standard security procedures he could not say where the vessels were headed.

The New Orleans suffered a ruptured fuel tank, resulting in an oil spill of approximately 25,000 gallons (95,000 liters) of diesel fuel.

Both ships are currently operating under their own power.

The Navy said both ships were on regularly scheduled deployments to the region and conducting security operations.

Oil prices rose after news of the collision which happened in a busy shipping route.

As much as 17 million barrels of oil a day went through the narrow strait in the first half of 2008, or about 40 percent of all seaborne traded oil or 20 percent of all oil traded globally.

The Hartford is based in Groton, Conn. and the New Orleans is based in San Diego, Calif., the Navy said. As all U.S. submarines, the Hartford is nuclear powered. The New Orleans is an amphibious transport dock ship.

It's not all that difficult to get run over when you're aboard a sub. I remember a time "back in the day" when we almost surfaced under a supertanker. THAT would have left a mark!

Russian sub disaster.

Found at Breitbart.com

More than 20 people were killed and another 20 injured when a fire extinguishing system was inadvertently activated aboard a Russian nuclear submarine in the Pacific Ocean, the Russian navy said Sunday.

"During sea trials of a nuclear-powered submarine of the Pacific Fleet the firefighting system went off unsanctioned, killing over 20 people, including servicemen and workers," said Captain Igor Dygalo, the navy's spokesman.

Dygalo told AFP that President Dmitry Medvedev was being kept informed about the situation by Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and had already ordered a "full and meticulous" investigation of the incident.

The incident recalled the 2000 Kursk disaster, when 118 crewmen died when their nuclear submarine sank after an onboard explosion in the Barents Sea.

The Kremlin was harshly criticised at home and abroad for its sluggish and secretive response to the Kursk disaster, but seemed to be moving quickly to avoid a repetition this time.

Dygalo said Medvedev had also ordered the defence ministry to provide "all possible aid and support to the victims' families."

The accident did not apparently affect the submarine's nuclear reactor. "The submarine is not damaged, its reactor works as normal, and background radiation levels are normal," Dygalo stated.

The submarine was carrying out sea trials when the accident occurred and the stricken vessel was ordered to put in to a port on Russia's far east coast temporarily, he added.

The spokesman did not say exactly where the incident occurred or specify which port the submarine would return to.

Twenty-one people with varying degrees of injuries were evacuated from the submarine, Dygalo said.

A total of 208 people were aboard the submarine when the accident happened, but of those only 81 were servicemen while the others were naval technicians and specialists.

Fire suppression systems on submarines are relatively sophisticated and may rely on chemical liquids. It was unclear however how the accidental activation of the system on the Russian sub resulted in the deaths and injuries.

The submarine, accompanied by the destroyer Admiral Tributs and a rescue ship, the Sayani, was steaming towards a Russian Pacific Ocean port for temporary basing, Dygalo said.

Since the Kursk disaster in August 2000, Russia has seen a string of accidents and mishaps with its naval submarines.

Nine sailors died aboard a K-159 submarine when it sank in the Barents Sea in August 2003 while being towed to port for decommissioning. Only one of the seamen on board was rescued alive.

In 2005, a mini-submarine of the Pacific Fleet got snared in a fishing net, leaving the crew trapped underwater with dwindling oxygen supplies.

A British rescue team using a high-tech mini-submarine managed to extract the Russian vessel and there was no loss of life.

God rest their souls. And WTF do they use in their firefighting systems anyway?