Is This Something We Should Be P.O.'d About?

Over at Rontini's BBS, Myron (of Myron's Mind Meanderings) brought up a subject I haven't really thought too much about: non-submariners wearing dolphins. In this case, "Kinky" Friedman, who's running for Texas Governor (I really couldn't tell from looking at his website if his campaign is a joke or not, but he apparently is doing well enough to get included in the televised debate), has some pictures on his web site from last month where he was wearing dolphins (along with jump wings.) Here's one of the pictures:

From looking at his biography, it appears Mr. Friedman doesn't have any military experience, let alone being a qualified submariner. I know that SEALS, for one, get very upset when someone who hasn't earned it tries to wear their warfare insignia. So my question remains -- Is this something we need to get mad about, or do we accept it as a compliment from someone intending to show support for us?

Because, let's face it -- aside from the question of someone wearing something they haven't earned, the fact remains that as a fashion accessory, dolphins look gooood.

(Please, keep the discussion clean; no mention of how some young ladies may have "earned" the right to wear some submariner's dolphins in some liberty port or local bar.)

Update 1110 11 Oct: Kinky's people respond:

About Kinky's pins:
The "Jump Wings" were given to Kinky by his father, who was a proud veteran of WWII. Kinky is proud of him too, and wears this as requested.
A very close friend of Kinky's who recently passed away gave the "Dolphins" to him to wear before he died. Kinky is proud of his friend, and was abliged to uphold this wish.
On Kinky's right lapel is a badge that a fan made him in the style of the Texas Ranger's "badge" that instead says "Governor of Texas."
You are free to use this information as you like, and have a great day!

Kinky himself addresses the issue in this article; his explanation is quite different from the E-mail that "Team Kinky" sent out:

He says the dolphins were given to him by a submarine widow.
Hoff asks: "And, she wanted you to wear it?"
Friedman says: "Absolutely, she's been working very hard for our campaign in East Texas."

Some guy with a blog in Texas is claiming Texas submariner Ray is trying to "Swift Boat" Friedman. The guy's clearly an asshat (the blogger, not Ray). "Swift Boat" implies an attack on the specifics of someone's military record; the question Ray brought up is about someone who was never in the military wearing a qualification pin he didn't earn.

Bothenook Comes Through Again

Sub-blogger bothenook went through the sub-blogosphere and came up with quite a collection of recent interesting posts. In addition to the post linked above, he also directs us to this great essay by RM1(SS) --- in which he discusses the importance of a submariner's rack -- that shouldn't be missed.

I still remember the late nights on the boat when, over the hum of the ventilation system and throbbing of the turbines, I'd hear the sweet, sweet voice of my rack: "Joel, come sleep in me", it'd say...

How Many Submariners Can Fit On A 688 Bridge?

It looks like the answer is six (plus a 7th guy in the cockpit), based on this photo of USS Newport News (SSN 750) getting underway for a deployment earlier this week:

Interestingly, I don't see anyone with an M-16 up there; I guess that requirement's gone away INCONUS.

Update 1117 08 Oct: An observant reader points out that there is, in fact, a gun visible on the bridge:

Another Albuquerque Guy Gone Bad

Coming so soon after reports that a USS Albuquerque Sailor had been arrested for passing secrets to foreigners, we read of a JO who did his Division Officer tour on the Albuquerque who also went out of his way to make the Sub Force look bad. From today's New Londay Day:

A Navy officer stationed at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton admitted during a Sept. 21 general court-martial that he deserted a U.S. Army unit at Fort Bragg, N.C., while training to head to Afghanistan this summer.
Lt. Robert J. Loomis III, an instructor at the Naval Submarine School, pleaded guilty to desertion with intention to avoid hazardous duty and dereliction of duty in regard to handling small arms.
A military judge sentenced Loomis to 13 months in a Navy brig and dismissed him from the service. However a pre-trial agreement will limit his imprisonment to 30 days, according to Navy Northeast Region spokesman Chris Zendan.
Loomis' sentence began immediately and he has been transferred from the submarine base to the Navy Consolidated Brig in Norfolk, Va., Zendan said.

For those who aren't familiar with the term, "dismissal" is the officer equivalent of a Dishonorable Discharge -- it's bad ju-ju. Probably what he deserved.

For those wondering -- no, I didn't have to go to Afghanistan, but I sure could have when I did my IA tour just before my retirement. I have no sympathy for the guy. And although the article doesn't mention it, whenever someone is convicted at court martial, a follow-on administrative board will remove the offender's submarine qualification. People like this don't deserve to wear dolphins.

A Life Well Lived

Kind of a sad time here in Meridian, Idaho. A long-time teacher, Randy Fouts, died in a horrible car accident yesterday. Although we've only been here for a little over two years, because of the administrator rotation schedule at Mountain Home High School, Randy was the Assistant Principal for all three of my children.

Judging by the heartfelt reactions of those who worked with him to his untimely passing, it's clear that he was well-liked and respected by all, and made his community a better place that it would have been without him. No man should ask for more out of life.