Asymmetric Inhumanity

What General Lee's feelings were I do not know. As he was a man of much dignity, with an impassable face, it was impossible to say whether he felt inwardly glad that the end had finally come, or felt sad over the result, and was too manly to show it. Whatever his feelings, they were entirely concealed from my observation; but my own feelings, which had been quite jubilant on the receipt of his

Screen(ing) Door On A Submarine, FY12 Style

It's that time of year again for Submarine officers -- time to check out the list of who screened for CO/XO/DH for FY12 and wonder how the puppy molester/dirtbag/jerk you don't like screened and who he sucked up to in order to do so. Back in my day, they never released the list -- even within the community -- due to the complaints it generated. Apparently the new generation of Submarine officers is better behaved.

Here's the list for those of you with Facebook access; it appears that this is a Facebook exclusive for now, as the ALSUBFOR message won't be released until Tuesday. I'll post that link later from the PERS-42 site for those of you who are Facebook-deprived. I note that this year several of the guys I taught at NPTU are screening for XO -- just another indication of how old I am.

Here's last year's thread for those who want to see how this discussion might develop. Congratulations to all those selected!

Update 2015 01 June: Here's a link to the PERS-42 page with links to all the selection messages.

You Can't Spell "Submariner" Without "Mariner"

"When you see the Southern Cross for the first time,
You understand now why you came this way..." - "Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Many of my fondest memories of submarining involve the most basic aspect of operating a ship -- getting from point "A" to "B" without hitting land or another vessel. While the internal operation of a ship or submarine is incredibly important, the simple acts involved in driving the ship and making sure you don't hit other people driving other ships are among the most intense and satisfying part of being a Submariner.

Whether it was being on the Bridge during a quiet surface transit into some southern port under the summer stars or making the right decision to avoid a close-quarters situation with some dumb merchant, or even freezing while doing a 6 hour transit in December out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and down the Washington coast because some boomer owns the submerged water, these are probably the memories of at-sea Submarining I'll hold onto the longest.

What are your most intense memories of getting own-ship's plotted position to move across the chart? (Alternate question inspired by the song at the head of this post: How many of you joined the Navy because of a girl/woman? One hand raised right here.)

Submarine IDC Videos

A Submariner posted a video he'd come across on the Facebook page for TSSBP; it appears to be the official video they show to HM students introducing them to the Submarine Independent Duty Corpsman job. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be on YouTube (yet).

For those of you without Facebook accounts, check out this video I was able to find on YouTube of the Doc on USS Montpelier (SSN 765):

(Not to be a spelling Nazi, but I am intrigued that an official Navy video managed to mis-spell Independent in the title.)

USS Boise Wins Battenberg Cup

LANTFLT announced today that USS Boise (SSN 764), named for one of the world's great cities, is the winner of the 2010 Battenberg Cup was the best warship in the Atlantic Fleet.

Boise is homeported at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., and is only the third submarine to win the Battenberg Cup. The other winners were Los Angeles-class attack submarines USS Memphis (SSN 691) in 2005, USS Miami (SSN 755) in 1999.
"The outstanding achievements by the crews of each ship nominated for the Battenberg Cup made the selection process extremely difficult," said Harvey. "All of the finalists distinguished themselves through exceptional performance and should be proud of their accomplishments.
"For the crew of USS Boise, you have shown yourselves to be among the best Sailors we have, and you made Boise the best ship in the Atlantic Fleet. I'm very proud to serve alongside you and congratulate you for your achievement. Bravo Zulu," said Harvey.
Other ships in the Battenberg Cup competition included aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) representing Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic; and amphibious warfare ship USS Nassau (LHA 4) representing Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic.
"Boise was outstanding this past year," said Vice Adm. John M. Richardson, commander, Submarine Force Atlantic. "They approached every challenge in a dedicated and very thorough way. Every member on the Boise team knows their job and knows they are valued by their command and the Navy as national treasures. Boise's integrity and humble sense of purpose really set them apart as an example for others to follow. I'm super happy about them receiving this prestigious award."

Here's a picture of the winner returning from her last deployment:

As Idaho's first and foremost submarine blogger, I have to say that I'm quite excited by this honor for the ship that represents my state's capital, almost as excited as I as that we now have a COMSUBLANT who uses the phrase "super happy" in an official press release.

In other submarine news heading into the weekend, PCU Minnesota (SSN 783) had her keel laid (you can watch the video here), and PCU California (SSN 781) is probably heading out for Alpha Trials pretty soon. Meanwhile, NAVSUBASE Kings Bay celebrated diversity.

In personal news, I got a new air compressor today, so I'm totally stoked. Have a great weekend, everyone!