It is GOOD to be King (or Prince)

Friday, June 20, 2008 by The Chief.

I found this story about the Royal Navy:

Prince William’s secret nuclear submarine mission

 

London, June 20 : Britain’s Prince William spent 24 hours under the sea on secret war games inside a nuclear submarine as part of his two-month attachment to the Royal Navy.
The young royal, who holds the honorary title of Commodore-in-Chief, Submarines, participated in an exercise to track down and destroy another sub.

As soon as he boarded HMS Talent, the T-Class hunter-killer immediately submerged off the coast of Plymouth.

He spent time in the control room, beside the nuclear reactor and in the torpedo room, which has cruise missiles.

And finally he was winched off the sub by a Sea King helicopter.

According to a Royal source, the prince was ‘fascinated’ by the experience.

“Prince William has huge respect for what submariners do and the sacrifices and discomfort they put up with,” The Sun quoted a source, as saying.

“He was very keen to see what their life was like,” the source added.

http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=75536

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Merry Christmas

Saturday, December 22, 2007 by The Chief.

Enjoy this show from TheSubReport.com: http://www.photoshow.com/watch/iE8hP7tr

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The Invasion of San Francisco

Friday, October 5, 2007 by The Chief.

I love Cinnamon Stillwell, and once again, she’s nailed the anti-anything-military crowd in Baghdad-by-the-Bay with her latest on Fleet Week:

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San Francisco Peaceniks in a Panic Over Fleet Week

It’s that time of year again and Fleet Week has descended upon the city of San Francisco. For those who, like myself, appreciate the unabashed demonstration of military prowess, not to mention the spectacular air shows of the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, it is a time to relish. And, of course, an occasion for gloating about the matter at one’s blog.

It helps that self-proclaimed socialist supervisor Chris Daly’s third attempt to ban the Blue Angels, due, he claims, to safety concerns (never mind that there’s a higher chance of being hit by a car in San Francisco than an Angels pilot crashing), was soundly defeated by his more commerce-minded colleagues on the Board of Supervisors. Ah, the smell of victory in the morning.

Getting to watch the Blue Angels practice throughout the week is another perk for patriots living in the vicinity. There’s nothing quite like the beauty of jets flying silently in formation, that sonic boom as they pass overhead, or the thrill of a jet zooming past one’s very window.

But for local liberals unaccustomed to such icky displays of militarism and residents annoyed that their daily lives of leisure are interrupted by those who, in reality, make those daily lives of leisure possible, Fleet Week is a time of terror.

I know of one such fellow who was in a virtual panic last weekend to, as he put it, “get out of town before the Blue Angels arrived!” Others remained in the war zone, but their grumbling can be overheard at the corner store, the gym, and anywhere else that San Franciscans choose to emote about their political inclinations.

The truth is San Francisco is a city that likes to pretend its favored existence has nothing to do with the generations of fighting forces that have shed blood, sweat, and tears on America’s behalf. . . .

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There are many patriots still in San Francisco. But they tend to not be elected to public office. If you are in the Bay Area, treat yourself to a visit at USS Pampanito, at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, or to the USS Hornet, across the Bay at Alameda.

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Life is Simple

Friday, July 20, 2007 by The Chief.

Life is Simple: Either you’re qualified, or you’re not.

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San Francisco Values

Thursday, March 15, 2007 by The Chief.

Cinnamon Stillwell is my favorite writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. She’s also one of my favorite Bloggers. Her latest column, Anti-War Miseducation in San Francisco, does an outstanding job of documenting San Francisco’s attacks on all things military, and on the Navy in particular. San Francisco has introduced an anti-American textbook, passed numerous anti-military resolutions, banned NJROTC, and refused to allow the USS Iowa to berth there.
This isn’t new, of course. Communist labor leader Harry Bridges managed to keep the Pampanito out of San Francisco for a very long time. However, San Francisco used to have a huge Navy presence, and a reputation as a great liberty port. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I spent yesterday on the Pampanito. At the end of WWII, Pampanito underwent refit and overhaul at San Francisco’s Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.
Hunters Point has long since been out of the shipyard business, and will eventually be cleaned up and turned over to the City. San Francisco, ever blind to its own hypocrisy, has decided that now is a great time to ask the Navy for a favor: S.F. seeks Navy’s help in effort to keep the 49ers.
In their effort to keep the San Francisco Forty-Niners from moving to Santa Clara, the City wants to offer them Hunters Point. But first, they need to convince the Navy to speed up the clean-up, and turn the site over to San Francisco within the next couple of years.
I’d like to see the Navy tell San Francisco that they’ll get around to working on Hunters Point after the city finds a new home for USS Iowa (I wonder if Hunters Point has room for a Battleship?), reinstates NJROTC in the schools, and repeals each and every anti-military resolution passed by the School Board and the Board of Supervisors. I wonder what Nany Pelosi thinks about this?

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Playing Hooky on the Pampanito

Thursday, March 15, 2007 by The Chief.

— Meet Blue, a retired Australian Submariner (Sub mare in ar). When we found out that Blue was in the US to visit his lady friend, Kathy, my son and I took the day off to meet Blue at the Pampanito.

Blue brought a set of Australian Dolphins and presented them to Sweet Old Bill (SOB) who was the Pampanito’s Docent, and our most gracious host.

Other Submariners (Sub marine ers) Ron and Harry joined in to share stories and help solve all the world’s problems.

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The Pampanito, with a fresh coat of paint, looked fantastic. After an extended tour of the Boat, we had a leisurely lunch at Boudin’s on Fisherman’s wharf. I need to play hooky more often.

More Pictures Here

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William Anderson, Nuclear pioneer

Monday, March 5, 2007 by The Chief.

From the Nashville Tennessean, comes this report:

Anderson, North Pole pioneer, dies at 85

Ex-congressman led nuclear submarine

Captain Anderson took the USS Nautilus under the North Pole.  Rest in Peace, Shipmate!

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Cold War Do-Over?

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 by The Chief.

Somebody has noticed that we’re decommissioning submarines faster than we’re building them, and has decided to seize the moment:

Russia Plans New ICBMs, Nuclear Subs
- By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
(02-07) 10:02 PST MOSCOW, Russia (AP) –

Russia’s defense minister on Wednesday laid out an ambitious plan for building new intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines and possibly aircraft carriers, and set the goal of exceeding the Soviet army in combat readiness.

Sergei Ivanov’s statements appeared aimed at raising his profile at home ahead of the 2008 election in which he is widely seen as a potential contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin. But they also seemed to reflect a growing chill in Russian-U.S. relations and the Kremlin’s concern about U.S. missile defense plans.

Ivanov told parliament the military would get 17 new ballistic missiles this year — a drastic increase over the average of four deployed annually in recent years. The purchases are part of a weapons modernization program for 2007-2015 worth about $190 billion.

The plan envisages the deployment of 34 new silo-based Topol-M missiles and control units, as well as an additional 50 such missiles mounted on mobile launchers by 2015; Russia so far has deployed more than 40 silo-based Topol-Ms.

Putin and other officials have described the Topol-M as a bulwark of Russia’s nuclear might for years to come, and said it can penetrate any prospective missile defenses. Last week, Putin dismissed U.S. claims that missile defense sites Washington hopes to establish in Poland and the Czech Republic were intended to counter threats from Iran, and said Russia would respond by developing more efficient weapons systems.

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Pampanito Overhaul

Monday, January 29, 2007 by The Chief.

Great pictures of the Pampanito in drydock: http://www.w5blt.com/Pampanito/Pampanito2007.htm

Note:  Keep checking back for new pictures.

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Shave and a Haircut for the Pampanito

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 by The Chief.

The Contra Costa Times is reporting that USS Pampanito has left its berth at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf for Alameda’s Bay Ship & Yacht Co’s dry dock facilities to receive a proper Navy “shave and haircut.” The old warship will have barnacles and corrosion removed, and fresh paint applied. Volunteers expect Pampanito will return to its familiar moorings in San Francisco in early February.

I’m looking forward to visiting the old boat in March. It will be my first visit since the passing of my friend, Gary “Cowboy” McLaughlin who used to be a Docent onboard Pampanito.

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