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Good Saturday Morning August 21…

I hope that your weekend is off to a good start

 

Regards

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Today in Naval and Marine Corps History

Aug. 21

1858 The brig, USS Dolphin, captures the slave ship, Echo, with 300 Africans on board off the north coast of Cuba. She is taken to Charleston, S.C., and those saved from slavery are later sent back to Africa.

1883 The installation of the first electric lighting on board a U.S. Navy ship is completed on board USS Trenton.

1918 During World War I, while piloting a Navy seaplane near Pola, Ensign Charles H. Hammann lands on the Adriatic Sea to rescue Ensign George H. Ludlow, whose aircraft is shot down by Austro-Hungarian forces. Though Hammann's plane is not designed for two persons, and despite the risk of enemy attack, he successfully completes the rescue and returns to the base at Porto Corsini, Italy. For Hamman's actions on this occasion, he is awarded the Medal of Honor. USS Hammann (DD 412) and USS Hammann (DE 131) are named in his honor.

1965 Gemini V is launched. Astronauts are Gordon Cooper, Jr., USAF, (Command Pilot) and Lt. Cmdr. Charles Conrad Jr., USN, (Pilot). They complete 120 orbits in almost eight days at an altitude of 349.8 km. Recovery is by helicopter from USS Lake Champlain (CVS 39).

1980 USS Truxtun (CGN 35) rescues 42 Vietnamese refugees and USS Merrill (DD 976) rescues 62 Vietnamese refugees, over 200 miles southeast of Saigon.

1993 USS Tempest (PC 2) is commissioned at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. The third Navy ship to be named Tempest, the Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship.

2017 The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) is involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. Ten Sailors lose their lives and the ship suffers significant damage to the hull resulting in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery, and communications rooms.

 

 

This day in History August 21

 

1129		The warrior Yoritomo is made Shogun without equal in Japan.
1525		Estevao Gomes returns to Portugal after failing to find a clear waterway to Asia.
1794		France surrenders the island of Corsica to the British.
1808		Napoleon Bonaparte's General Junot is defeated by Wellington at the first Battle of the Peninsular War at Vimeiro, Portugal.
1831		Nat Turner leads a slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia that kills close to 60 whites.
1858		The first of a series of debates begins between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Douglas goes on to win the Senate seat in November, but Lincoln gains national visibility for the first time.
1863		Confederate raiders under William Quantrill strike Lawrence, Kansas, leaving 150 civilians dead.
1864		Confederate General A.P. Hill attacks Union troops south of Petersburg, Va., at the Weldon railroad. His attack is repulsed, resulting in heavy Confederate casualties.
1915		Italy declares war on Turkey.
1942		U.S. Marines turn back the first major Japanese ground attack on Guadalcanal in the Battle of Tenaru. See more below
1944		The Dumbarton Oaks conference, which lays the foundation for the establishment of the United Nations, is held in Washington, D.C.
1945		President Harry S. Truman cancels all contracts under the Lend-Lease Act.
1959		Hawaii is admitted into the Union.
1963		The South Vietnamese Army arrests over 100 Buddhist monks in Saigon.
1968		Soviet forces invade Czechoslovakia because of the country's experiments with a more liberal government.
1972		US orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus launched.
1976		Mary Langdon in Battle, East Sussex, becomes Britain's first firewoman.
1976		Operation Paul Bunyan: after North Korean guards killed two American officers sent to trim a poplar tree along the DMZ on Aug. 18, US and ROK soldiers with heavy support chopped down the tree.
1986		In Cameroon 2,000 die from poison gas from a volcanic eruption.
1988		Ceasefire in the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq.
1989		Voyager 2 begins a flyby of planet Neptune.
1991		Communist hardliners' coup is crushed in USSR after just 2 days; Latvia declares independence from USSR.
1994		Ernesto Zedillo wins Mexico's presidential election.
1996		The new Globe theater opens in England.
2000		Tiger Woods wins golf's PGA Championship, the first golfer to win 3 majors in a calendar year since Ben Hogan in 1953.
2001		NATO decides to send a peacekeeping force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

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Thanks to Micro

 

Make time for this one, please (about 3 minutes).  A postcard from 1969:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaMkOES-y3Y

 

 

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Tomcat Porn thanks to Dr. Rich

 

https://youtu.be/83cZ9h5NAo8

 

 

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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear

LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— … For The List for Saturday, 21 August 2021… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻

 

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…

From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 21 August 1966… Lot's of Guts and Some Bad Luck…

 

https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/rolling-thunder-remembered-21-august-1966-short-hitter/

 

 

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip

 

Vietnam Air Losses

Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at:  https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.

 

 

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Another great H-Gram from Admiral Cox and the folks at the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC)

H-Gram 052: The Atomic Bomb and the U.S. Navy, Operation Desert Shield

12 August 2020

 

Contents

75th Anniversary of World War II: The Atomic Bomb and the U.S. Navy 

Operation Desert Shield, August 1990

This H-gram includes a history of the critical role played by U.S. Navy personnel in the development and employment of the atomic bomb, as well as a personal account of the events leading up to Operation Desert Shield (1990).

 

 

The U.S. Navy's Role in the Development and Employment of the Atomic Bomb

Inscribed on the "Little Boy" atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 was a message to Japanese Emperor Hirohito: "from the boys of Indianapolis," a reference to the 879 crewmen who were lost in the sinking of the heavy cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35) after she delivered critical components of the Little Boy bomb to the B-29 bomber base on Tinian Island. On the receiving end of the bomb were family members of the skipper of I-58, the submarine that sank the Indianapolis. There were also a dozen U.S. prisoners of war, 20,000 Japanese military personnel, and between 70,000 and 126,000 Japanese civilians, who were vaporized or incinerated by the blast (about half) or died of grievous wounds or radiation sickness in the next couple of months. Many others would die from the effects of radiation long afterwards.

Although it is well known that the first atomic bomb was dropped by the B-29 "Enola Gay," flown by Colonel Paul Tibbets, it is much less well known that the mission commander on the Enola Gay was U.S. Navy Captain William S. "Deak" Parsons, who was also the director of Project Alberta, the weaponization of atomic energy, within the overarching Manhattan Project. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer would later state, "It is impossible to overestimate the value which Captain Parsons has been to the project."

 

The mission commander on the B-29 that dropped "Fat Man" (the second atomic bomb) on Nagasaki was Parsons's operations officer, Commander Frederick L. "Dick" Ashworth, USN. The head of the Little Boy assembly team was Commander Francis Birch, USNR, and the head of the Fat Man assembly team was Commander Norris Bradbury, USNR. By 1945, there were 41 U.S. Navy officers working at the Manhattan Project Laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, under the direction of Dr. Oppenheimer and his deputy, Captain Parsons. While the eminent scientists worked through the extraordinary challenges of creating a nuclear chain reaction, the military officers and engineers under Captain Parsons assumed the equally important challenges of turning it into a bomb that worked and developing an aircraft that could deliver it. (In addition to his role in the Manhattan Project, Parsons had previously led the development of the radar proximity fuse, which revolutionized U.S. surface ship antiaircraft defenses in the latter half of World War II.) Another Navy officer who played a key role was Rear Admiral William R. Purnell, who was the Navy representative on the three-man committee that provided oversight of the Manhattan Project. 

The Navy's research into atomic energy began with the first lecture in Washington D.C. by Italian refugee and eminent physicist Enrico Fermi, who described the process of nuclear fission that had been discovered only a few months earlier in Sweden and Denmark by Austrian-born refugees from Germany. (Scientists in Nazi Germany learned of the discovery in short order.) Fermi's brief was as technical director of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).

The Navy's research into atomic energy began with the first lecture in Washington, DC, by Italian refugee and eminent physicist Enrico Fermi, who described the process of nuclear fission that had been discovered only a few months earlier by Austrian-born refugees from Germany in Sweden and Denmark (and was then quickly known by scientists in Nazi Germany). Attending Fermi's brief was the technical director of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Ross Gunn immediately recognized the potential of atomic energy for submarine propulsion. The Navy's research into atomic energy commenced in March 1939, seven months before the start of the U.S. Army's project (although the Navy was focused on propulsion and the Army on weapons). The Manhattan Project subsequently dwarfed the NRL effort as the Manhattan Project had virtually unlimited funding and first priority on scarce resources, such as uranium and plutonium. Nevertheless, a Navy civilian physicist at NRL, Dr. Philip Abelson, developed a process to separate fissile isotope Uranium-235 from the more common U-238 ("liquid thermal diffusion isotope separation"), which the Manhattan Project eventually incorporated and which shaved off precious time in the race to beat the Nazis to the bomb, and then to hopefully head off what was expected to be an incredibly bloody invasion of Japan.

There is no question that the atomic bomb was a terrible weapon, and the entire world should be exceedingly grateful that it has not been used again. It was also a terrible weapon that ended a terrible war, which by then had resulted in the deaths of 60 million or more people. President Harry S. Truman and senior U.S. military leaders were faced with difficult choices to end the war in the Pacific, all of them awful. They chose the option that killed the fewest Americans. It also killed far fewer Japanese than an invasion or continued firebombing, blockade, and starvation would have killed. The idea that there was a more humane way to end that vicious war constitutes wishful thinking.

 

For more on the U.S. Navy and the atomic bomb please see attachment H-052-1.

30th Anniversary of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm: Part 1, August 1990

On 2 August 1990, the Iraqi Army invaded Kuwait and took control in less than three days. Within a matter of days, the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) entered the Red Sea via the Suez Canal, and the carrier USS Independence (CV-62) entered the Arabian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman, both carriers prepared to inflict pain on Iraqi forces, if so ordered, should the Iraqis cross into Saudi Arabia.

 

Shortly after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Henry H. "Hank" Mauz Jr., embarked on Blue Ridge (LCC-19), received orders to proceed to the Arabian Gulf to assume duty as Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. Vice Admiral Mauz and key staff members flew to Bahrain, while Blue Ridge and the rest of the staff (including Lieutenant Commander Cox) departed Yokosuka, Japan, on four days' notice for what would become a deployment just under 10 months long. Before the end of August, U.S. Navy ships had fired warning shots across the bow of Iraqi tankers and commenced enforcement of United Nations-ordered sanctions on Iraq. Six months of buildup later, the U.S. Army and Air Force were ready to do something about the Iraqi invasion.

For more on the initiation of Operation Desert Shield, see attachment H-052-2. 

Sources for this H-Gram include Target Hiroshima: Deak Parsons and the Creation of the Atomic Bomb, by Al Christman (Naval Institute Press, 1998); Now It Can Be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project, by General Leslie M. Groves (Da Capo, 1962); Uncle Phil and the Atomic Bomb, by John and Philip H. Abelson (Roberts, 2008); Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man, by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic (Simon and Schuster, 2018).

 

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This Day in U S Military History

 

1778 – The Siege of Pondicherry was the first military action on the Indian subcontinent following the declaration of war between Great Britain and France in the American War of Independence. A British force besieged the French-controlled port of Puducherry in August 1778, which capitulated after ten weeks of siege. Following the American victory at Saratoga in October 1777, France decided to enter the American War of Independence as an ally to the United States. Word first reached the French Indian colony of Pondicherry in July 1778 that France and Britain had recalled their ambassadors, a sign that war was imminent. The British colonies had already received orders to seize the French possessions in India and begun military preparations. The siege would last almost 2 months. Between 6 and 13 October the British siege operations continued, but heavy rains hampered them. The British succeeded in draining the northern ditch, which the French unsuccessfully attempted again to flood. On 14 October the walls of the two bastions the British had targeted lay in ruins, and preparations began for an assault. Bellecombe was also running out of ammunition. After holding a war council on 15 October, he sent a truce flag to Munro the next day. He signed the terms of capitulation on 18 October.

 

1883 – The first installation of electric lights in a US Navy warship took place during the summer of 1883. Earlier that spring, seven electric power companies were asked by the Bureau of Navigation to submit bids for installing lights in USS Trenton, then currently berthed at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Only one, the Edison Company for Isolated Lighting, submitted a bid of $5,500 to install one L dynamo & one Armington-Sims engine complete to supply light via insulated wiring to 104 16-candle power lamps, 130 10-candle power lamps, and 4 32-candle power lamps. The ensuing contract also included 238 key sockets, 6 extra brushes, 1 automatic regulator and 1 dynamo foundation. Lieutenant.Commander. R. B. Bradford, executive officer of the ship, oversaw the installation of this equipment in Trenton between 7 June and 21 August 1883. Owing to the need to maintain the engine and dynamo, the system was only run at night.

 

1942 – On Guadalcanal, Japanese Colonel Ichiki's force of 1000 men attack the American positions across the Tenaru River. The American strength and defenses are unexpected and the Japanese force is destroyed. The Marines continue to receive shipments of supplies and some reinforcements.

 

1945 – Haroutune (Harry) Krikor Daghlian, Jr. (May 4, 1921 – September 15, 1945), an Armenian American physicist with the Manhattan Project, accidentally irradiated himself during a critical mass experiment at the remote Omega Site facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, resulting in his death 25 days later. Daghlian was irradiated as a result of a criticality accident that occurred when he accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a 6.2 kg delta phase plutonium bomb core. This core, available at the close of World War II and later nicknamed the "Demon core", also resulted in the death of Louis Slotin in a similar accident, and was used in the Able detonation, during the Crossroads series of nuclear weapon testing.

 

1965 – It is revealed by MACV headquarters (Headquarters Military Assistance Command Vietnam) in Saigon that U.S. pilots have received approval to destroy any Soviet-made missiles they see while raiding North Vietnam. This was a major change from previous orders that restricted them to bombing only previously approved targets.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

HAMMANN, CHARLES HAZELTINE
Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve Fleet. Born: 16 March 1892, Baltimore, Md. Appointed from: Maryland. Citation: For extraordinary heroism as a pilot of a seaplane on 21 August 1918, when with 3 other planes Ens. Hammann took part in a patrol and attacked a superior force of enemy land planes. In the course of the engagement which followed the plane of Ens. George M. Ludlow was shot down and fell in the water 5 miles off Pola. Ens. Hammann immediately dived down and landed on the water close alongside the disabled machine, where he took Ludlow on board. Although his machine was not designed for the double load to which it was subjected, and although there was danger of attack by Austrian planes, he made his way to Porto Corsini.

 

SMITH, JOHN LUCIAN
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Fighter Squadron 223, Place and date: In the Solomon Islands area, August-September 1942. Entered service at: Oklahoma. Born: 26 December 1914, Lexington, Okla. Other Navy award: Legion of Merit. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and heroic achievement in aerial combat above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 223 during operations against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area, August-September 1942. Repeatedly risking his life in aggressive and daring attacks, Maj. Smith led his squadron against a determined force, greatly superior in numbers, personally shooting down 16 Japanese planes between 21 August and 15 September 1942. In spite of the limited combat experience of many of the pilots of this squadron, they achieved the notable record of a total of 83 enemy aircraft destroyed in this period, mainly attributable to the thorough training under Maj. Smith and to his intrepid and inspiring leadership. His bold tactics and indomitable fighting spirit, and the valiant and zealous fortitude of the men of his command not only rendered the enemy's attacks ineffective and costly to Japan, but contributed to the security of our advance base. His loyal and courageous devotion to duty sustains and enhances the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

 

*YOUNG, MARVIN R.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, (Mechanized), 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Ben Cui, Republic of Vietnam, 21 August 1968. Entered service at: Odessa, Tex. Born: 11 May 1947, Alpine, Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Young distinguished himself at the cost of his life while serving as a squad leader with Company C. While conducting a reconnaissance mission in the vicinity of Ben Cui, Company C was suddenly engaged by an estimated regimental-size force of the North Vietnamese Army. During the initial volley of fire the point element of the 1st Platoon was pinned down, sustaining several casualties, and the acting platoon leader was killed. S/Sgt. Young unhesitatingly assumed command of the platoon and immediately began to organize and deploy his men into a defensive position in order to repel the attacking force. As a human wave attack advanced on S/Sgt. Young's platoon, he moved from position to position, encouraging and directing fire on the hostile insurgents while exposing himself to the hail of enemy bullets. After receiving orders to withdraw to a better defensive position, he remained behind to provide covering fire for the withdrawal. Observing that a small element of the point squad was unable to extract itself from its position, and completely disregarding his personal safety, S/Sgt. Young began moving toward their position, firing as he maneuvered. When halfway to their position he sustained a critical head injury, yet he continued his mission and ordered the element to withdraw. Remaining with the squad as it fought its way to the rear, he was twice seriously wounded in the arm and leg. Although his leg was badly shattered, S/Sgt. Young refused assistance that would have slowed the retreat of his comrades, and he ordered them to continue their withdrawal while he provided protective covering fire. With indomitable courage and heroic self-sacrifice, he continued his self-assigned mission until the enemy force engulfed his position. By his gallantry at the cost of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service, S/Sgt. Young has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 21, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

21 August

 

1918: For saving a downed US Navy pilot near an Austrian naval base at Pola, Ensign Charles H. Hammann became the first naval aviator to receive the Medal of Honor. (24)

 

1923: First airways lighting occurred when 18- and 36-inch electric arc beacons were used to light 42 landing fields on a route between Chicago and Cheyenne. They were visible for 50 miles. (24)

 

1943: First Los Angeles to New York airfreight service started. (24)

 

1944: The F8F Bearcat first flew. 1948: In his final report as CSAF, Gen Carl Spaatz disclosed the development of a supersonic guided atomic missile with a 5,000-mile range. (24)

 

1953: A Boeing P2B-1S (B-29 Superfortress) dropped the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket at 34,000 feet above Edwards AFB. From that altitude, Lt Col Marion E. Carl (USMC) flew the aircraft to 83,235 feet to set a world record. (20) (24)

 

1956: Flying an F8U-1 Crusader over California's Mojave Desert, Cmdr Robert W. Winslow (USN) set a speed record for US combat planes of 1,015.428 MPH. (24)

 

1957: Lt Cmdr James M. Pruitt flew his twin-jet A3D Skywarrior from Hawaii to California to set a FAI record of 4 hours 12 minutes for the 2,438-mile eastward transpacific flight. (9)

 

1961: A test pilot exceeded Mach 1 in the new Douglas DC-8 jet airliner during an experimental flight. (24) Construction on first Minuteman I (Model B) operational facilities began at Ellsworth AFB. (6)

 

1965: GEMINI V. Through 29 August, Astronauts L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. and Charles Conrad, Jr. (USN) set eight records in the Gemini V mission: (1) longest flight--190 hours 55 minutes; (2) national man-hours in space--641 hours and 24 minutes; (3) longest multimanned flight--190 hours 55 minutes; (4) most orbits for manned flight--120; (5) most manned flights--9; (6) first man with a second flight--Cooper; (7) most flight time--Cooper; and (8) longest space flight-- Cooper and Conrad. The capsule splashed down 600 miles east of Jacksonville after a 3,309,506-mile flight. (9)

 

1967: With a special coating of heat resisting material and protective white paint, Maj William J. Knight flew the X-15 at 3,409 MPH (Mach 6.5) above Edwards AFB. It was the X-15's first flight with an ablative coating. (3)

 

1968: An Air Force UH-1F helicopter evacuated 260 people and 52,000 pounds of personal belongings and food during a 4-day period to aid flood victims in northeastern Nicaragua. (16) (26)

 

1970: An A-7D Corsair completed its first aerial refueling over Death Valley, Calif. A KC-97L tanker from the Illinois ANG provided the fuel. (3)

 

1972: Fourth and last Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO), named Copernicus, launched to observe interstellar gases, young hot stars, and X-ray stars and other phenomena. It was our costliest and heaviest unmanned satellite (4,900 pounds) to date.

 

1987: At Seattle, a Boeing 767 modified for the Strategic Defense Initiative Airborne Optical Adjunct mission, first flew. It carried a special infrared sensor built by the Hughes Aircraft Company.

 

1990: Operation DESERT SHIELD. In the first two weeks of the operation, the Air Force deployed six fighter wings to the area, while SAC increased refueling and reconnaissance flights over the region. (20)

 

1998: Maj. Michael J. Brill, a full-time air reserve technician with the 419 FW, 466 FS, at Hill AFB, became the first Air Force pilot to amass more than 4,000 total flying hours in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. According to Lockheed-Martin officials, more than 3,000 pilots have topped the 1,000- hour mark in an F-16; more than 400 pilots have surpassed 2,000 hours; and 21 have more than 3,000 hours. (AFNEWS, 26 Aug 98)

 

2002: The first Lockheed-Martin Atlas V lifted off from Cape Canaveral to inaugurate a new type of launch missile. Under the USAF's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program, the system used a standard booster and added supplemental boosters to handle various payloads. (21) An AFFTC F-22 launched a radar-guided AIM-120 missile over the Pacific Test Range while flying at Mach 1.2. This event was the first supersonic launch of an air-to-air missile for the new fighter. (3)

 

2003: The Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB received a Czech L-39 Albatross for a six-month trial of its flight capabilities. Warsaw Pact countries used the L-39 as a trainer and light-attack jet, and the USAF studied it as a partial replacement for its retired T-39 fleet. (3)

 

2007: The A-10C Thunderbolt II achieved its Initial Operational Capability at Moody AFB, Ga. The A-10C received modifications to install the "hands-on-throttle and stick," a situational awareness data link, and an ability to drop Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers. (AFNEWS, "A-10 Thunderbolt II Gets Technological Thumbs Up," 27 Aug 2007.)

 

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Thanks to Dick

 

Subject: Naval Warfare Advice from the "Father of Aegis"

 

Naval Warfare Advice from the "Father of Aegis"

By Captain Gerard D. Roncolato, U.S. Navy (Retired) | August 9, 2021

 

In February 1996, the wardroom of the USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) convened for the first time to meet with retired Rear Admiral Wayne Meyer, the "Father of Aegis." The ship would not be commissioned until 17 April 1997, but the opportunity presented itself. Both the commanding officer (CO) and the executive officer (XO, then Lieutenant Commander Stephen F. Davis Jr.), who knew the admiral, felt the meeting could be a catalyst in forging a disparate collection of officers into a cohesive wardroom.

The result was a remarkable event that went beyond the significance of building an Aegis destroyer. The conversation went to the core of what it means to be a naval officer and warfighter. The remarks and commentary that follow remain relevant 25 years later; in fact, they are probably even more relevant as the Navy accelerates its focus on great power competition and the demands of high-end war at sea.

What follows is a condensed version of the memorandum written by this author just after the session on 26 February 1996. A selection of the admiral's remarks is offered, each followed by comments intended to highlight their relevance to the day-to-day life as a shipboard surface warfare officer.

The Bobby Jones Story

"In 1938, a neighbor—Bobby Jones—was given the choice of going to jail or joining the Navy. He chose the latter. Twenty weeks later, this guy came back from boot camp. A remarkable transition had taken place. He who was once a bum and loser was now a hero. What a transformation! Bobby Jones was subsequently killed in action during the war."

Comments:

The Navy is a transforming organization. We take young men and women off the streets and make them into something special. That shows the remarkably sound raw material our society has to offer, and what an organization built on courage, honor, and commitment can give an individual in terms of self-pride and dedication to something beyond themselves. We show these young men and women—and the United States at large—what is great about this country through the sailors that man our ships.

As officers, it is incumbent on us to nurture our sailors, to reinforce the image a rural town in Missouri had of Bobby Jones with our crew, and, above all, to take care of our people. Earn their respect and their affection, and make their priorities your priorities.

Avoid the Wisdom of Hindsight

"In real time things don't look so obvious—they only look obvious 50 years later."

Comments:

Don't judge decisions of the past from the lofty perspective of the present. Admiral Meyer was talking of the decision to drop atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But you can also look to any number of examples from war. For instance, Captain Gilbert C. Hoover of the cruiser USS Helena (CL-50) was censured after the Battle of Guadalcanal for opening fire too early, leaving the scene of action, and failing to pickup survivors from the cruiser USS Juneau ([CL-52], including the five Sullivan brothers). He continues to be judged harshly today. Yet, how can we who were not there, who have never experienced the awful mental and physical toll of sustained combat, who did not see shipmates dying, and who can only partially understand the perspective of those dark months presume to judge? What information he had, what experiences colored his judgment, and how tired he was all come into play. They can never be fully known.

What can we learn from this? War is chaos, and to prevail we must be able to make decisions quickly on scanty information. Somehow, we must have the confidence in ourselves and in our shipmates to act in uncertainty. This is not an easy task and requires dedicated effort before the event. Simplicity is also a key element here. As Arleigh Burke said, plans must be kept simple, not because people are incapable of understanding them, but because they must be readily understood and acted on by exhausted people in the midst of chaos.

Clausewitz said that everything in war is simple, but the simplest things are difficult. This is what Admiral Meyer was telling us. The fog of war surrounds everything we do. Don't judge others too harshly and prepare yourself and your sailors by the most rigorous training.

Miss Edith—The Teacher

"Miss Edith didn't know where we were going, but she knew she had to prepare us."

Comments:

This vignette tells of the importance of preparation in the face of an unknown future. Preparation is more than just rote memorization—it has to inculcate the individual's (and the team's) ability to apply principals to unique and unforeseen situations.

A perfect example of how theoretical training can prepare us for an unknown future lies in simple math. If all we learn is that the differential of X2 is 2X, then we will be unable to handle the differential of X3. In engineering, we are taught the theory behind differential calculus so we can handle myriad challenges in real life. Likewise, as officers if we only learn the systems and techniques we are responsible for, then we may not be able to know how to use them when the unexpected arises. A broader understanding of naval warfare and the "whys" of our business enables us to effectively handle the unexpected when it comes.

The unexpected is the norm in war.

The admiral was suggesting that we need to prepare for known requirements—true—but also for the unknown. Once again, we see the need for a much higher level of training than is customary. We don't know what we will be called on to do, but we had better prepare for it now.

Independence at Sea

"What makes naval officers special is the character that grows from independence at sea, living by your own wits day in and day out, and the teamwork that is required to succeed."

Comments:

Naval officers are different than their counterparts ashore. The difference between peacetime steaming and combat is slight. About 85 percent of our effort in combat is simply getting there—getting underway, steaming swiftly and safely to the scene of battle, and ensuring our systems are fully operational at all times. The last 15 percent is simply the cream on top.

Through the weeks and months we operate at sea, we learn the skills of seamanship, operations, and teamwork that will be essential in combat. Our philosophy has always been so. We steam long hours, sometimes with little apparent purpose. But in all that, we are learning, gaining confidence, and acquiring a familiarity with the sea. A navy that does not sail—be it the French in the Napoleonic Wars or the Soviets in the Cold War—cannot learn these things.

On the other hand, the last 15 percent of what we do is what we must prepare hard for, because an 85 percent grade is a failure in this school. That is why we must learn the art of war, specifically the art of naval war.

A ship is unlike any other organization. When the CO says right full rudder, the whole goes right—comms, sensors, weapons, support, and facilities. "The actions of each of us affect the lives of all of us."

Being a Leader

"Every day people are turning to you . . ."

Comments:

We are the leaders in the ship. The crew looks to us for example and for standards. It requires forethought, integrity, and human concern to be the kind of leader needed in the Navy. It is part of our commitment to make decisions and to help at our level if we can, without bucking the issue up the chain of command. You will someday have independent command where there is no one to turn to. Prepare yourselves now for that day and your people will truly respect you.

Clausewitz wrote that in war the willingness of the whole to continue rests on the shoulders of the commander. If, as things deteriorate, the commander flinches, the whole is lost. A previously cohesive and well-disciplined army turns into a panicked mob. The same can happen on a ship in combat—either against a human enemy or natural disaster. The commander in this sense is the one in charge—the CO, the officer of the deck, the engineering officer of the watch, etc.

As leaders we are charged with stopping the buck with us.

Making it Work

"You're just going to have to Indian-wrestle the damn things to pieces."

Comments:

As some pointed out during the offsite, we are in the midst of significant social transformations. A look at the mixed composition of our crew is the obvious example. We cannot ignore the issues. We must confront them squarely and wisely.

Our philosophy goes a long way to solving the complex issues we face. If the crew understands our mission and the qualities needed to survive in combat, then many of the issues become less threatening and more solvable.

We must and will resolve issues as a team of professionals.

Courage

"You never know if you've got it until you are called on."

Comments:

You see it in the better war movies. The new guy is worried that he does not have the courage to prevail. In the end, he rises to the occasion.

What motivates people to do heroic things in battle is an interesting subject. Throughout history, though, one common thread has been commitment to one's comrades. Once again, we come to trust and cohesion.

How can you best prepare for combat? First, stay physically fit through exercise and good diet. Second, learn your systems and watch station until they become second nature. Third, constantly challenge yourself with "what ifs." Fourth, and most important, read history.

Become familiar with what has happened in the past so that you come to understand the nature of combat as best you can during peace, and so that you can always place your events in context.

Getting Ready

"Prepare every day . . ."

Comments:

This is the big "what if" drill. If you are not challenging your watch and yourself to think about the emergency that has not yet happened, then you are not getting ready. When it does happen, you might freeze of even just delay an instant. That can mean the difference between life and death—if not for you then, worse, for one of your sailors.

Think about the unexpected: fire, flood, casualty, loss of rudder, object close aboard, man overboard. Drill to handle these, and when the time comes you will.

In relating this, Admiral Meyer stressed why it was so important to him. His first CO had been on board the cruiser Helena when she was sunk at the Battle of Kula Gulf in 1943. The event occurred after we had learnt of the superior and deadly Japanese Long Lance torpedo. Through error and over-aggressiveness, Helena stumbled into a torpedo spread fired by a defeated and retreating enemy. Admiral Meyer's CO had been there and understood the need for split-second action. Decisions in these circumstances must be made as much on instinct as on rational thought. You just have to act.

To build such judgment is first of all essential, and second, requires repetition and active participation on your part.

Human Nature & War

"It is amazing what is inside of people. The Creator has put a lot into every human being. . . . To prepare, you have to have the practice and discipline to steel yourselves to it."

Comments:

We went into World War II convinced of the inferiority of the Japanese. We did likewise to the Koreans in 1950 and the Vietnamese in the 1960s. Desert Storm taught us that the Iraqis are certainly inferior—and while we're at it, so are all the third-world militaries. Obviously, these are the wrong lessons.

The admiral was referring to a group of Bosnian Serbs who chose to become refugees rather than submit to the rule of Bosnian Muslims. If that does not sound the alarm within each of us, then we are not paying attention. The world is a grim place.

Third-world leaders are smart people—that's why they are still alive. They watch, they learn, and they are ruthless managers of power. The next war will not be like Desert Storm. To prepare, we must learn the theory of war, and we must become familiar with the people around the world who we might someday fight.

War is the clash of actively opposed wills. As such, defeating the enemy's will is the key to victory. To do that, we have to have some understanding of that enemy's culture and psyche.

Learn While You Can

"You have to spend a lot of time on your second nature."

Comments:

Again, the admiral is counseling us to learn all we can when we have the time—hone judgment so that when the situation occurs, chaos abounds, and all is uncertain, we are able to act.

Train yourselves and your sailors to be decision makers. Once they master the basics, throw ambiguity at them. Make them adapt—force them to make decisions in uncertainty.

Clausewitz wrote that the experienced commander has a sort of inward eye that allows him to sense the battlefield. We too develop this Coup d'Oeil as we get trained. The problem is that we are too inefficient in building our training level so that we never reach that plateau.

FitReps and the Team

"The problem with the Navy is that every officer works for himself. The FitRep system sets each against the other."

Comments:

This is a reality with which we all must contend. If, however, we emphasize the importance of teamwork in our evaluations, we can offset the negative competitiveness that is part of our system.

Part of commitment is doing what is right. As our commitment to the ship, the Navy, and each other grows, hopefully we will all work for something beyond just ourselves.

Aegis and the Kamikaze

"Your ship solves the problem of Okinawa."

Comments:

The Navy's bloodiest battle was the battle for Okinawa in 1945. Why? Because the Japanese had invented the manned cruise missile—the Kamikaze—and it wreaked havoc on the invasion fleet.

In the 1950s the Navy sacrificed its surface strike capability to acquire the ability to defeat missiles. The Sullivans is a direct result of that effort—a direct descendent of ships such as the USS Boston (CA-69) and Little Rock (CL-92).

We now have our strike capability back too, and this greatly complicates our mission. In the near future, we will be fielding enhancements in our ability to strike ashore in support of troops engaged in combat.

As our missions multiply, we must therefore master more than ships were required to do in the past. The day of the surface combatant as solely an escort is gone. We are now the tip of the spear, as much as any aircraft squadron or submarine. This requires a new philosophy wherein we are first and foremost tacticians. Administration and management must resume their proper places lower down the ladder.

Warfare Areas

"Strike and AAW are different. In strike, you are told to launch a Tomahawk at 1005 and 27 seconds tomorrow morning. In AAW, you are told to expect an air attack between 0600 and 0600. That is incredibly stressful."

Comments:

Admiral Meyer here touches on the difference between the offensive and the defensive. In the former, we have the initiative, which reduces the impact of uncertainty. In the latter, the initiative rests with the enemy.

Our challenge is to be able to do both, with little transition between peace and war. We must develop within us the ability to wrest the initiative from the enemy and to destroy his attacks. Once again, this will require judgment honed to instinct. It will require a mastery of our systems—which is the only way to innovate in today's battlefield.

The challenge is thus laid before your feet. You can live up to it, but it will require a lot of work and a lot of leadership.

No Sanctuary

"There is no harbor; there is no sanctuary. You are at risk all the time."

Comments:

The littoral environment represents a 24-hour-a-day, 360-degree threat. When operating forward we can never relax our vigilance. More importantly, we can never assume we are at peace. We will operate with missiles enabled, guns loaded, and keys distributed.

Getting to the point where we can react swiftly and accurately to a threat without unnecessarily igniting an international incident or undoing our national policy will be the prime focus of this ship over the coming year. These conditions drive our philosophy and should excite in you a drive for the highest of standards, a dedication to the most rigorous of training, and, of course, a sense of adventure, challenge, fun, and satisfaction the likes of which you have never experienced.

In his talk with the wardroom of The Sullivans, Admiral Meyer did unprecedented service. His experience and insight, borne of many years in the breech, held much wisdom for us beginners. The world has changed much since 1996, but human nature remains the same. So too does the relevance of the wisdom the admiral offered. Take heed of what he said, steel yourselves to the responsibilities implicit in his stories, and when the time comes, you too will be equal to the challenge.

 

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