(Actually, Australian Defense Force footage of a torpedo test using a decommissioned US warship as a target.)

Naturally, a strong feeling of brotherhood, rapport, and esprit de corps developed quickly while we shared meals and worked together to solve logistical problems.  In some instances we felt closer to each other than to former shipmates.

I had the great opportunity to visit two bottomed diesel submarines - one Polish and one Norwegian.  Being a nuclear submariner myself, I have always thought how wonderful having nuclear power in subs is.  You can stay under water as long as you want.  You can take nice long, hot showers.  We don't need to make a bunch of noise by snorkeling and running the diesel.

While on board the Norwegian sub, I said to the captain, "I'm sure it will be nice when this exercise is over so you can get off of the ocean floor and do some real submarining again, right?"  His response surprised me but taught me a great deal.  "No, this is a common tactic.  It allows me to rest my crew.  We can go sit on the bottom of a fjord and just listen.  If a bad guy comes allow, we can come up quietly and nail him."

A fellow US Naval submarine officer told me his experience leaving an Italian  port in a diesel submarine.  The boat gently cut through the ink with the moon high overhead.  They quietly slid out off the pier on battery power.  It reminded me sneaking your parents' car out of the driveway for a night on the town.  Soon after a ship sailed by with opera  music filling the night air.  As if that weren't enough, the sky was soon filled with fireworks to celebrate some special event or holiday.  This gentleman swears by this story. 

I guess the point is that today's diesel submarines are not your grandfather's from World War II.

If my memory serves correctly, the results are usually distinctly in the favor of the little guy...if you're picking up what I'm putting down.

I've always been a big fan of the DESI program (Diesel Electric Submarine Initiative) because, like the article says, it's better to bleed in practice than in war.

This particular JTFX, for the TR CSG, should be especially interesting because it introduces the newest, sexiest player on the block (pictured above for your sub pr0n pleasure) the ITS Salvatore Todaro. A German-built, AIP equipped diesel.

For those not familiar with AIP, it stands for Air-Independent Propulsion. What does it mean? Depending on the system used, it means that the diesel submarine doesn't need to snorkel twice a day (spoken: Make ass tons of noise) to recharge its battery. The Type 212 submarine, like the TODARO, uses a hydrogen fuel cell that will allow it to run at low speeds for up to THREE WEEKS without recharging.

I really hope we get to hear how this exercise turns out in the open source world. It would probably greatly help with the thesis I'm writing on ASW.

We'll see how it all works out in the end. Until then, I'm just going to chalk one up for the sub team.

Project 941 Akula atau lebih dikenal dengan kode NATO "Typhoon" adalah kapal selam terbesar dan temahal yang pernah dibuat. Amerika boleh adi daya di lautan dengan Armada Pasifiknya, tetapi di bawah pemukaan hiu-hiu Rusia selalu membayangi mereka kemanpun mereka pergi.

Mengusung kode SSBN, kapal selam ini merupakan kapal selam bertenaga nuklir yang membawa dapat membawa rudal balistik antar benua di perutnya. Akula dibangun oleh Sverodvinks Shipyards di Laut Putih dekat Archangel. Sedangkan markas dari kapal selam kelas Akula ada di Pangkalan Armada Timur AL Rusia di Litsa Guba.

Akula didesain dengan sistem Multi-hulled, lima lapis inner hull ditempatkan didalam superstructure dua lambung paralel utama. Kulitnya dilengkapi dengan ubin yang dilapisi dengan bahan khusu penyerap suara. Didalamnya terdapat 19 kompartemen termasuk dengan modul yang diperkuat yang merupakan rumah dari ruang kontrol utama dan kompartemen elektronik yang terdapat di belakang tabung-tabung peluncur misil. Kapal selam ini juga dirancang agar mampu memecah es maupun bergerak di bawah lapisan es. Advanced stern fin dengan horizontal hydroplane ditempatkan dibelakang baling-baling. Nose Horizontal hydroplane ditempatkan di haluan dengan sistem retractable.

Akula mampu membawa 20 RSM-52 intercontinental, three stage solid propellant balistic missiles. Dua baris tabung peluncur ditempatkan di main hull. Tiap rudal terdiri dari 10 MIRV's (multiple re-entry vehicles) dengan masing-masing mengusung hulu ledak nuklir 100 kiloton. Masing-masing MIRV dapat di set untuk mengahntam target yang berbeda. Jarak jelajah rudal ini 8,300 km dengan akurasi 500 meter. Berat satu rudal adalh 84,000 kg, didesain oleh Makayev Design Bureau. RSM-52 juga dikenal dengan kode NATO SS-N-20 Sturgeon.

Akula juga dilengkapi dengan 4 abung peluncur torpedo 630 mm dan dua tabung peluncur torpedo 533 mm. Total dapat membawa 22 rudal antikapalselam/permukan Skhval dan torpedo konvensional dari berbagai tipe. Tabung peluncur torpedo juga dapat digunakan untuk melepaskan ranjau.

Akula ditenagai oleh 2 reaktor nuklir yang mensuplai dua turbin gas dan turbogear assemblies untuk menggerakkan kapal. Masing-masing reaktor menghasilkan tenaga 190 megawatt, mesin turbinnya ssendiri menghasilkan tenaga sebesar 50,000 hp dan 3,200 kW turbogear. Dua diesel generator 800 kW  juga disiapkan sebagai cadangan.

SSBN TYPHOON CLASS (TYPE 941) - SPECIFICATION

Silent Thunder by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen

What could be held on an old Russian submarine that could be worth killing anyone who got in the way? That's what Hannah Bryson has to find out for herself, even if it put her in mortal danger. Her desperate search leads her on an adventure that keeps her heart pounding 24/7. Readers who love fast-paced mysteries and international espionage will really enjoy this novel.

Hannah is an intelligent and driven woman. She has a photographic memory. She uses that skill and her deep interest in submarines and other water vessels to create a unique niche for herself and her business. Her work on the wreckage of the Titanic caught the eye of the State Department when the Maritime Museum purchased Silent Thunder, a decommissioned Russian sub. When is accepts the job of verifying the safety of the sub to hold museum patrons, she's not given any idea of the danger that would surround her and her team. When tragedy strikes, Hannah turns her rage into action. she's not going to let the United State's government prevent her from seeking justice. She doesn't accept the State Department's warning when she teams up with the mysterious Kirov. She trusts her instincts and won't let anyone stand in her way of solving the mystery of the Silent Thunder.

Silent Thunder is written by a mother son team: Iris and Roy Johansen. I had never heard of these authors before receiving this book. I can't recall ever having read a novel written by multiple authors and I was intrigued to see how they would pull it off. I also made it a game for myself to try to discover parts of the book written by one versus the other. I can honestly say that there wasn't one part of this book that didn't fit with the rest. I was impressed by how they came together to write this story. I am also now looking forward to reading their solo work. I hope that those novels are just as much fun.

It took me less than 48 hours to finish this novel. The world of submarines and the former Russian navy came alive. This is the book for you if you are interested in mysteries involving political intrigue. If this isn't something you generally choose to read but you enjoy reading novels with strong female lead characters, don't let this book pass you by. Hannah is a wonderful character and I hope to meet up with her again in the future. I think you will, too.

***************

To buy this novel, click here.

Next up: Axel Heiberg Island in the High Arctic. In the meantime, here is a grab-bag of images and stories from Pavilion Lake...

* * *

Astronaut Goes Down Instead of Up
Here's Mike Gernhardt, from NASA's Johnson Space Center, about to pilot the DeepWorker sub.  Mike is involved in the rover design for our next moon mission. Yes folks, we are going back. Keep your pants on until 2018. On another note: you can get an idea from this picture of just how small these subs are. When Nuytco was designing them, they got a business class airplane seat, and literally built the sub around that. What's so amazing about Nuytco is that they make subs which can go down to 2000 feet or deeper, but keep them small enough to fit in a pickup. Another cool thing: you actually drive these suckers with your feet. No steering wheel.

* * *

The Barge
It looks less impressive than it really was. This thing had to be assembled right on the lake, and it was designed especially for our project. Nuytco typically launch their subs from enormous vessels, which can support cranes or mechanical pulley systems. We needed something big enough to launch two submersibles, but small enough that it could be transported to the lake on the back of a truck ... which meant that the subs had to be lowered on a chain into the water on by hand!

* * *

Alien Autopsy?
(No, there are not aliens in Pavilion Lake.) Pictured here is one of the "artichokes" ... a microbialite from pretty deep in the lake. Microbialites are carbonate structures. They're surprisingly delicate. Up close, you can see tiny pores and individual, sand-like grains. Some of the structures crumble like dirt if you pinch them between your fingers. So beautiful and still totally mysterious.

* * *

Media
Here I am getting interviewed. Why anybody would possibly want to capture my thoughts on film is beyond me, but it nevertheless happened. The white sail-looking thing is supposed to diffuse light, which apparently makes your face look better. We nicknamed the light diffusing device "The CHUMP," which stands for Can't Hold Up Myself Properly.

* * *

Mutant Monster Dandelions
This doesn't really have much to do with anything, but aren't they enormous?? I tried to make a wish on one, but couldn't get the little fluffles to fly away, no matter how hard I blew.

* * *

My New Best Friend
Here's me with astronaut Mike, wearing his flight suit. I got a personalized tour of all the pockets. His chapstick goes in a pocket on his inner thigh, and pens go on the upper arm. "And this is where I keep my cash," he said, pulling a fold of one-dollar bills out of a pocket on his leg. Why you would need cash in outer space beats me.

* * *

Dale and Drysuit
At Pavilion Lake, most folks SCUBA dive using a drysuit. In a drysuit, you can wear layers of warm clothing underneath and remain quite dry and toasty. Pavilion Lake is around 4 degrees Celsius at the bottom, so staying warm is key. (I tried diving wearing a wetsuit. I do not recommend it.) Interestingly, you can't pee in the water when you're wearing a drysuit, because you'd just wind up wetting your pants. Some people have specialized pee valves put into their drysuits. Sporting the drysuit in this photo is Dale Andersen, who has been diving below 20 feet of ice in Antarctic lakes for 30 years, and once survived an Antarctic blizzard in nothing but a sleeping bag ... a severely cool dude.

* * *

The Other Sub
In addition to the piloted subs, we also have an autonomous sub called Gavia, which looks a lot like a golden torpedo. When programmed, Gavia can fly missions on her own, taking pictures and collecting data as she goes. Sometimes Gavia gets stuck in the mud, and Alex (pictured above) has to go diving to rescue her. The proper verb is "Gaviating."

* * *

The End
Back in Vancouver, I was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Vancouver Aquarium, thanks to a couple Pavilion Lake folks who work there as SCUBA divers. I never expected that getting to pet dolphins could be the low point of a month, but it certainly was. I miss Pavilion Lake terribly, and I'm already looking forward to going back next summer. I've never been so changed by one experience or group of people.

* * *

I'm trying now to shift my thoughts towards what's next, but to say it's surreal would be an understatement. In ten days, I'll head up to the Arctic on a twin-otter plane. I'm dreaming of glaciers, musk ox, icebergs, and long underwear.

Signing out for now,
Zena Cardman

The delegation and the governor met with Navy Secretary Donald Winter in June. Pomeroy said the meeting was well-timed because the new submarines had not yet been named.

Pomeroy said the group conveyed that the state would be a “supportive community” to the sailors on the ship.

“We’re not looking at this as just a name on the hull,” he said.

The new ship is expected to be commissioned in 2014 and is currently under construction in Groton, Conn., the delegation and Hoeven said. A Naval spokesman would not confirm the naming Monday.

There has only been one USS North Dakota, a vessel that was commissioned as a battleship in 1910 and was a gunnery and engineering training ship during World War I. It was decommissioned in 1923 and sold for scrap in 1931.

I wonder if their underway ballcaps will say "USS SOUTH CANADA"??

update: NORTH DAKOTA will be SSN 784, SSN 783 will be the USS MINNESOTA.

After that I get one day back in BC and then I'm off to eastern Canada to run a couple of Shark Diver Magazine trips. Eli (Editor of SDM) was supposed to lead the trips but he was asked to co-host a shark show on Animal Planet and fame got the better of him. So, I get to go chase Greenland Sharks again and then continue to the Bay of Fundy to join one of the world's great underwater shooters in search of Porbeagle Sharks. It will be a great adventure. Incidentally, if anyone wants to come dive with me on either trip there is still room. Send me an email if you're interested.

If you've been reading this blog for a long time you will probably remember the TV series that we were shooting way back in 2006. Well, after many changes it has finally morphed into a shark diving documentary that will hit the film festival circuit this summer. You can view a trailer for the show here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8aZw0n-KcY

After the Greenland Sharks and Porbeagles I am heading back to BC for some down time but Seamagine Hydrospace is already talking about sending me back to Europe to pilot again so we'll see. Then at the end of August I get a week with my boys in Ontario and then fly on to West Palm Beach to jump on a boat to the Bahamas. I'll be diving with Eli, Paul Speilvogel, and a bunch of shark nuts that want to go look for Oceanic Whitetip Sharks. It should be an awesome trip.

While all this is happening my girlfriend Claire will be in Vancouver supervising the refit of a large motor yacht that is owned by a good friend of ours. Once that is done we will take it down to San Diego and wait for hurricane season to finish in Baja. Then on to Cabo where we will moor the boat and look after it for the owner.

Of course while we are there we will be taking advantage of all the shark and ray action around the Sea of Cortez. I have a friend who has promised to put me in the water with Mexican Bullhead Sharks and possibly Pacific Sharpnose Sharks - new shark pictures for Elasmodiver.com!

Life is looking pretty exciting right now.

For the sharks

Andy Murch

I miss the DeepWorkers. They were the heart and soul of this place for the first two weeks, and everyone’s energy was completely dedicated to them. It almost feels like a completely different project. And now that it’s over: I realize that I haven’t actually divulged much about what was going on, so here’s a quick rundown:

Our days started around 7am—the sub pilots finishing the details of their upcoming dives, the Nuytco guys testing the hydraulics on the subs, me frantically labeling tapes, etc. There were four dives each day—two in the morning, two in the afternoon.

The subs had to be lowered into the water by hand, using pulleys and chains. Thank heavens for Jeff from Nuytco, proud owner of a pair of Incredible Hulk arms. The subs would stay underwater for around two hours, flying contours of the lake and getting high-definition video of different microbialite morphologies.

I’ve been in charge of the data and video footage that came off the subs. Each hour of video is worth more than I want to think about, so I feel like a mother bird sitting on about 90 cassette-shaped eggs. My little babies. I will bite if you come near them.

So I guess the subs aren’t quite gone from my life. We’ve got tapes backed up for miles, waiting to be copied and stored, which means I get to sit and watch the footage from all the dives. Even on a tiny screen, it looks unbelievable.

Some of the microbialites are pretty small and ugly. But others have the most incredible intricate and varied shapes. We’ve adopted a vegetable system of nomenclature: some are artichoke-shaped, some cauliflower-shaped, etc. Others look like collections of chimneys, and a few are perfectly cone-shaped. Mike Gernhardt found microbialites that look almost like fire coral. Here’s a video:

Seems it's on a Ten Year Lease

India will get its first Akula class Russian nuclear submarine in 2009, equipping its navy with the quietest and lethal underwater war machine after a gap of 17 years to enhance its blue water capabilities.
Factory trials of the multi-role nuclear submarine, christened INS Chakra which India-will get on a 10-year-lease, commenced on June 11 at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur shipyard and will be followed by sea trials, Russian defence sources said, adding it will be delivered by September 2009.

First Footage from the DeepWorker Submarines
Early PLRP footage from the subs. The male voice you hear is NASA astronaut Mike Gernhardt. The female voice belongs to the lovely Bekah Shepard.

Adding to the list of characters here: Last night Dave Williams, the second of our two astronauts, arrived. Mike Gernhardt has been here since Monday. (Mike was wearing his flight suit today. My brain has more or less oozed its way out of my ear, and my heart has crawled up to take its place.)

This is the first year that Pavilion Lake has gotten the submarines, so there has definitely been a learning curve. These days, though, operations are running pretty smoothly, and the sub pilots have been able to start bringing up samples from the bottom of the lake. We’re researching microbialites, which are unusually-shaped carbonate structures. They vary in size and shape—from hand-sized to a few meters large, and from tall, chimney-like structures to structures that look more like heads of broccoli. We want to figure out how these structures are formed, and what causes the differences in shape and size. The submarines help us explore more than we possibly could by SCUBA.

Perhaps even more than the science itself, I’m fascinated by the technology that enables us to do this science. Thursday night Phil Nuytten arrived for a visit. Nuytco, which made the DeepWorker subs we’re using, is his company. Phil is a renaissance man of diving, pioneer of underwater technology, and, incidentally, a phenomenal totem pole carver. Yesterday he gave a really inspiring presentation. We got to see footage from the first solo dive deeper than 1,000 feet, see videos of the early development of the Newtsuit, and just listen to Phil talk about his career. He’s one of those people who either disregards or loves the fact that something hasn’t been done or doesn’t exist yet. You want to make a pressurized suit that can go down to 600 feet, but is still flexible enough to swim in? Sure. You just do your thing, Phil.

Yesterday Discovery Channel was here filming us, and they’re around again today. I’m trying my best to play it cool, but it’s totally not working.

Adding to the list of characters here: Last night Dave Williams, the second of our two astronauts, arrived. Mike Gernhardt has been here since Monday. (Mike was wearing his flight suit today. My brain has more or less oozed its way out of my ear, and my heart has crawled up to take its place.)

This is the first year that Pavilion Lake has gotten the submarines, so there has definitely been a learning curve. These days, though, operations are running pretty smoothly, and the sub pilots have been able to start bringing up samples from the bottom of the lake. We’re researching microbialites, which are unusually-shaped carbonate structures. They vary in size and shape—from hand-sized to a few meters large, and from tall, chimney-like structures to structures that look more like heads of broccoli. We want to figure out how these structures are formed, and what causes the differences in shape and size. The submarines help us explore more than we possibly could by SCUBA.

Perhaps even more than the science itself, I’m fascinated by the technology that enables us to do this science. Thursday night Phil Nuytten arrived for a visit. Nuytco, which made the DeepWorker subs we’re using, is his company. Phil is a renaissance man of diving, pioneer of underwater technology, and, incidentally, a phenomenal totem pole carver. Yesterday he gave a really inspiring presentation. We got to see footage from the first solo dive deeper than 1,000 feet, see videos of the early development of the Newtsuit, and just listen to Phil talk about his career. He’s one of those people who either disregards or loves the fact that something hasn’t been done or doesn’t exist yet. You want to make a pressurized suit that can go down to 600 feet, but is still flexible enough to swim in? Sure. You just do your thing, Phil.

Yesterday Discovery Channel was here filming us, and they’re around again today. I’m trying my best to play it cool, but it’s totally not working.

visit the photos page for more pictures!

Today, the barge was built, and the submarines were lowered by a crane onto the barge. The submarines we have are Deepworkers, which are tiny, one-person subs with clear domes for your head and sweet little claw-arm things. They’re made by Nuytco. (Remember that exo-suit James Bond wore? Nuytco makes those, too.) Pretty incredible stuff. Wish I got to pilot one, but alas …

There is definitely a hierarchy of important people here, and I am clearly towards the bottom. But hell, I still get to hang out with all of these amazing people: astrobiologists, geobiologists, limnologists, engineers, submarine connoisseurs. People like Darlene Lim (NASA), Donnie Reid (totally badass SCUBA diver, with a resume including stuff like “in charge of the alligator from the movie Lake Placid“), Dale Andersen (astrobiologist who informed me this morning that he has probably spent a solid five years of his life living in a tent in Antarctica), Margarita Marinova (amazing student at Caltech whose latest paper just got the cover in Nature), etc.

And every morning, I get to witness these folks in all their groggy, pajama-clad glory.

Sorry I don’t have submarine pictures yet. (Just google “Deepworker” and you’ll find it.) For now, here’s a picture of Pavilion Lake:

Today, the barge was built, and the submarines were lowered by a crane onto the barge. The submarines we have are Deepworkers, which are tiny, one-person subs with clear domes for your head and sweet little claw-arm things. They're made by Nuytco. (Remember that exo-suit James Bond wore? Nuytco makes those, too.) Pretty incredible stuff. Wish I got to drive one, but alas ...

There is definitely a hierarchy of important people here, and I am clearly towards the bottom. But hell, I still get to hang out with all of these amazing people: astrobiologists, geobiologists, limnologists, engineers, submarine connoisseurs. People like Darlene Lim (NASA), Donnie Reid (totally badass SCUBA diver, with a resume including stuff like "in charge of the alligator from the movie Lake Placid"), Dale Andersen (astrobiologist who informed me this morning that he has probably spent a solid five years of his life living in a tent in Antarctica), Margarita Marinova (amazing student at Caltech whose latest paper just got the cover in Nature), etc.

And every morning, I get to witness these folks in all their groggy, pajama-clad glory.

Sorry I don't have submarine pictures yet. (Just google "Deepworker" and you'll find it.) For now, here's a picture of Pavilion Lake:

Today, I'm looking across the Thames River from my house in New London, Connecticut toward Groton where another submarine, USS New Hampshire SSN-778 will be christened at the Electric Boat shipyard. Congratulations to General Dynamics, the Submarine Force, the state of New Hampshire, and especially, to the crew. As a special note, the sponsor of the New Hampshire is Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, N.H., the widow of Thomas McGuinness, co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Cheryl McGuinness is the perfect sponsor, who in my view ironically reflects the best nature and character of a submariner. She's someone who has learned to overcome tremendous heartache and trials. She's tough and, although not a guy, she not a sissy either.

If there is one thing I noticed that defines most submarines (very few exceptions) are those character elements of mental toughness and mutual respect. Most submariners I know are the kind of people who are professional in their work, willing to help where needed, selfless, and tough-minded. The Submarine Force is no place for "Lone Rangers" and malcontents. Everyone is needed to do their part. We don't have extra crew to fill in for wimps. We, bubbleheads know that we are dependent on the other guy for our safety, well-being, and lives. They are dependent on us as well. Unlike our skimmer brethren (surface sailors), there are no such things as lifeboats in a submarine and the idea of "abandoning ship" is foreign to your thinking when you're a "mud-seeking missile." That reality keeps you on your toes.

One fact that was rarely ever mentioned, yet never forgotten, was the haunting phenomenon that my boat, the Shark (SSN-591) was the middle hull number seperarting the USS Scorpion (SSN-589) and the USS Thresher (SSN-593). Both of these boats were the only US nuclear submarines lost at sea. When you go down to the sea in ships you don't need bad omens running through your mind. Even so, we go on to do what we need to do, day in and day out. For family, home, and country we carry on. We submariners will always carry on. After the Thresher went down, Dr. Joyce Brothers wrote the following article about men in the submarine force. I think it sums up who submariners are...

The tragic loss of the submarine Thresher and 129 men had a special kind of impact on the nation…..a special kind of sadness, mixed with universal admiration for the men who chose this kind of work.

One could not mention the Thresher without observing, in the same breath how utterly final and alone the end is when a ship dies at the bottom of the sea…..and what a remarkable specimen of man it must be who accepts such a risk.

Most of us might be moved to conclude, too, that a tragedy of this kind would have a damaging effect on the moral of the other men in the submarine service and tend to discourage future enlistments. Actually, there is no evidence that this is so.

What is it, then, that lures men to careers in which they spend so much of their time in cramped quarters, under great psychological stress, with danger lurking all about them?

Bond Among Them

Togetherness is an overworked term, but in no other branch of our military service is it given such full meaning as in the so-called “silent service.”

In an under sea craft, each man is totally dependent upon the skill of every other man in the crew, not only for top performance but for actual survival. Each knows that his very life depends on the others and because this is so, there is a bond among them that both challenges and comforts them.

All of this gives the submariner a special feeling of pride, because he is indeed a member of an elite corps. The risks, then, are an inspiration, rather than a deterrent.

The challenge of masculinity is another factor, which attracts men to serve on submarines. It certainly is a test of man’s prowess and power to know he can qualify for this highly selective service. However, it should be emphasized that this desire to prove masculinity is not pathological, as it might be in certain daredevil pursuits, such as driving a motorcycle through a flaming hoop.

Emotionally Healthy

There is nothing daredevelish about the motivations of the man who decides to dedicate his life to the submarine service. He does, indeed, take pride in demonstrating that he is quite a man, but he does not do so to practice a form of foolhardy brinkmanship, to see how close he can get to failure and still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On the contrary, the aim in the submarine service is to battle the danger, to minimize the risk, to take every measure to make certain that safety rather than danger, is maintained at all times.

Are the men in submarines braver than those in other pursuits where the possibility of sudden tragedy is not constant? The glib answer would be that they are. It is much more accurate, from a psychological point of view, to say they are not necessarily braver, but that they have a little more insight into themselves and their capabilities.

They know themselves a little better than the next man. This has to be so with men who have a healthy reason to volunteer for a risk. They are generally a cut healthier emotionally than others of similar age and background because of their willingness to push themselves a little bit farther and not settle for an easier kind of existence.

We all have tremendous capabilities but are rarely straining at the upper level of what we can do; these men are.

The country can be proud and grateful that so many of its sound, young, eager men care enough about their own status in life–and the welfare of their country–to pool their skills and match them collectively against the power of the sea.

To all my submarine brothers, past, present, and future, wear your dolphins proudly

The Navy's newest attack submarine, the New Hampshire, was christened Saturday, delivered eight months ahead of schedule and $54 million under budget.

Nice! I'll take two.

The video below was taken by Gil Raynor with his Blackberry aboard USS JEFFERSON CITY on a day cruise Friday, June 20, 2008 out of San Diego. He took it while FINBACK veteran Cavin Mcphie talks about the rescues.

The Navy’s newest Virginia-class attack submarine, the New Hampshire, is scheduled to be christened Saturday at its shipyard in Groton, Conn., the Navy announced.

Adm. Kirkland Donald, the director of naval reactors, will deliver the ceremony’s main address. The ship’s sponsor is Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, N.H., whose husband, Thomas, was the co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11. The plane was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. McGuinness will break the traditional bottle of champagne across the New Hampshire’s bow.

A May 2008 public opinion survey by Zogby International shows 67% of Americans support the construction of nuclear powered electric generating plants in the U.S.

A recent Gallup poll showed 57% of Americans now favor further exploration off the U.S. coasts at sea and in the wilds of places like the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR).

Yet Congress has not enacted any legeslation to move ahead on nuclear power or new drilling.

Nuclear power does not create carbon emissions during the generating process.

Congress has created no incentives for the nuclear electric generating industry.  In fact, most Democrats reject the idea of nuclear power out of hand.
 
Al Gore has proven that he loves the environment.  Now let's hear his ideas on tapping our energy resources and stimulating the American economy.  Photo from the Associated Press.

The United States Navy has a nearly perfect (knock on wood) record of nuclear propulsion in ships since the 1950s.  Every aircraft carrier is nuclear powered.  Every submarine.  Ignoring nuclear in our USA electric power grid is criminal. 
 
Nuclear power seen here pushing 100,000 tons through the water and running a city of about 6,000 people.

Nuclear power.  The bad news you have to refuel every 10 years or so....

Just about all of Frace's electricity comes from nuclear power.

Last week the United States Senate rejected a plan to allow drilling for oil on the continental shelf adjacent to the U.S. coastline.  The drilling would be at sea but no closer than 50 miles to U.S. beaches.

Democrats in the Senate voted the proposal down.

Yet others have no trouble drilling at sea.  The UK (BP), Russia, Venezuela, China, Japan, Mexico....

Kyodo News even reported today that China had agreed to let Japan invest in its gas exploration project in the East China Sea. The Nihon Keizai daily said China and Japan would equally share profits from the gas project.

The U.S. at sea drilling effort? Paralyzed.  By your Congress.

  
The Molikpaq offshore oil platform in far eastern Russia.

After President Kennedy challenged American scientists and engineers to get to the moon, the United States did put the first man on the moon in 1969.

By 1971 going to the moon was so routine that Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., took a six iron into space and hit a golf ball from that giant sand trap we call the moon.

Yet Congress, at least the Democrats, believe that Americans are too stupid to successfully extract oil from the earth without creating an environmental nightmare.

So, we go to the moon, land, walk, play golf and return to mother earth in the early 1970s but we are now, in 2008, not smart enough to drill for oil responsibly?  I don't get it....

Congress must think Americans are dumber than Russians, Chinese, Japanese, even the Mexicans.
 

In fact, I'll say it out: the stupidest Americans are Congressional Democrats.  They are thinking small and holding this great nation back.  They are sabotaging progress and economic prosperity.

Today Americans, and a lot of our friends around the world, are being crushed by exepensive energy including gas for the car.

Yet the Cogressional plan to get more gas at a better price does not include exploiting the 5th largest in-ground oil reserve in the world: here in the U.S.A.

And sending American dollars by the case to countries we don't necessarily like or trust is the biggest drain we have on the U.S. economy.  Don't believe me.  I heard that from the Secretary of the Treasury....

Hmmmm....
....

Honda put the FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen fuel and electricity, into production today.  The car emits only water and none of the gases believed to induce global warming. It is also two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car.

General Motors and other American car companies have similar cars on the drawing board but only Honda is in production.

Honda Clarity

Congress has created no incentives for American auto makers to move forward on the Honda ise.  Which is now more than an idea: it is a car in production, folks.

Donald Lambro wrote an article in today's Washington Times under the headline "Energy Charade."  He said in part, "Raising taxes on U.S. oil companies and calling it an energy plan is just about the dumbest idea the Democrats have come up with yet."

He's talking about the Democrat's idea to impose a "windfall profits tax" on oil companies.

Really dumb.

Add to that Dennis Kuchinich (D-Ohio) and his idea to sue OPEC in order to bring down oil prices.

Quick lesson in economics: (a) price is often a subset of supply and demand and (b) throwing sand in the face of your supplier could get you cut off.  It certainly isn't going to make him pleased.

The combined population of China and India is eight times the population of the U.S.  Many of these people are transitioning to the middle class, which is good.  But they are demanding more energy, which is bad for the price in the U.S.

The U.S. is no longer "consumer in chief."  OPEC has other buyers.

What is Congress doing about this?  Its talking about suing OPEC and taxing the American oil companies more. And it is holding on to regulations preventing drilling off the coasts and in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR) as if these policies were the Holy Grail

Actually, these policies are Wholey Nuts.
Just three years ago, the pollsters at Gallup found 42 percent of Americans supported tapping into the vastly unknown underground oil deposits of Alaska's Arctic National Refuge Area.

With the nationwide price for gas now over $4 a gallon, a recent Gallup poll showed 57 percent of Americans now favor further exploration.

"I don't see why we don't do it here instead of depending on foreign oil," said Juan Ortiz, 50.

U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond and U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt said the public sentiment is turning in favor of drilling in ANWR -- a position they were advocating in the mid-1990s when Blunt said it wasn't "popular."

"They are saying, 'OK, let's explore for oil and gas in an environmentally-friendly way,'" Bond said. "We've got to do something."

Backward thinking.

Then there is ethanol, a creation of the Congress.  "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

But times change and when the facts of life stare you in the face you need to change.  Even if you happen to be a Congressman or Senator.

Mr. Lambro again from today's Washington Times: "Farmers are raking in huge profits from corn to make ethanol, with heavy federal subsidies to boot. But there are no demands from Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama to slap corn growers with higher taxes to confiscate their earnings, even though the environmental ethanol craze has been driving up the cost of bread, cereal, meat, poultry and just about everything else we eat."

Hmmmm.....

Beat me like a harbor seal.  I could be wrong.

But a couple of billion Chinese, Japanese, Russians and others agree with me.  And I'd bet most Americans do too.  Just not Congressional Democrats.

Hmmmmm......

We agree pretty much with the commentary below:

By Richard W. Rahn
The Washington Times
October 14, 2007

Are you happy with the recent big increase in food prices? How about the big jump in gasoline prices? Do you enjoy being dependent on foreign oil? And finally, do you like seeing millions of acres of woodland and wildlife habitat being destroyed to make room for more corn production? The tragedy is none of it was or is necessary.

It has all been brought to you courtesy of the U.S. Congress. The majority of Congress has demonstrated again that it is incapable of thinking beyond stage one. (Given that most members of Congress were “educated” in public schools, it is no surprise they are not good with numbers or have an understanding of probabilities and tradeoffs.) Their constitutional job is to protect the American people, but instead they have put everyone more at risk and made the citizens poorer.

Is it really so difficult to understand that mandating a huge increase in corn production (with subsidies) for ethanol will result in less corn for other uses, less land for other crop production (and wildlife habitat), and hence higher food prices? Congress had the choice of opening only a couple of thousand acres of the barren tundra in the north slope of Alaska (ANWR) for more oil production, or insisting we all use ethanol.

The amount of land required to replace the gasoline the government will not allow to be produced on this tiny piece of land in Alaska by growing more corn in the Lower 48 (about 40,000 square miles) is larger than the total land area of Indiana or Maine. ANWR could produce about a million barrels of oil a day, which would translate into 7.7 billion gallons of gasoline a year. It would require about 3.9 million bushels of corn to obtain the same energy content from ethanol.

Is this livestock feed or fuel for your car?
Some members of Congress, their economically ignorant green pals, and the farmers and ethanol refiners who benefit from the subsidies and restrictions on competitive fuels argue we need ethanol production to give us “energy independence.” Again, the numbers show the lunacy of this idea.

If all the U.S. cropland (371 million acres) were planted in corn to produce ethanol, it would provide 111 billion equivalent gallons of gasoline, but Americans currently consume more than 140 billion gallons of gasoline. So, if Americans imported all of their food (or starved to death), they still would only attain 80 percent of their gasoline needs if it had to come from domestically produced ethanol.

Simply put, renewable energy sources are, and will be, only capable of supplying a small part of our energy needs. Oil, gas, coal and nuclear will be the major energy sources for many more decades. However, the reason the U.S. depends so much on foreign oil (and gas) is that Congress will not allow drilling in ANWR and many other places. For instance, 85 percent of the potential offshore oil and natural gas development sites off the coasts of the Lower 48 states are now restricted by the government.

The environmentalists lobby against drilling in ANWR because they say it will interfere with the elk herds. The same cry was made when they built the Alaskan pipeline, yet the elk herds have increased threefold — some of the elk seem to like the warmth of the pipeline.

On the other hand, the great increase in land converted to corn production for ethanol will definitely cause habitat destruction for millions of whitetail deer and other critters living in the Lower 48.

Quite simply, those members of Congress who voted to keep ANWR out of production are causing the unnecessary deaths of millions of animals and increasing food and energy prices for every American — not smart.

The same can be said for the foolish restrictions on offshore drilling. The chances of any particular Florida (or any other Lower 48) beach being subject to a harmful oil spill are very small given the new technologies and procedures for dealing with such problems. The result is that every American family must pay much more for fuel, including gasoline, and food because there is a tiny chance a relatively few will not be able to use some Florida beach somewhere for a few weeks or, at most, a few months while a rare spill is cleaned up (and I say this as a Florida property owner and frequent beach walker).

North America has plenty of fossil fuel reserves in oil and gas, coal, tar sands in Canada, oil shale in Colorado, etc. to make the continent self-sufficient for generations. It is only dumb energy policies and restrictions from Congress that cause the U.S. to be energy dependent on unreliable foreign sources.

On the good news front, the great advances in battery performance (i.e., energy density) mean, within a very few years, almost all vehicles will be totally electrically powered. This will, of course, increase the demand for power plants (solar and wind power will only be able to make up a small portion of this demand). Technologies are now being rapidly developed to make nuclear even safer, to burn coal cleanly and to remove most of the carbon dioxide emissions from oil and gas combustion.

I predict that almost all energy production will be much cleaner and cheaper within three decades — unless Congress again decides to second-guess technologists and markets.

Richard W. Rahn is chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth.

The Eco-friendly are once again assuming that sonar kills dolphins. Except this time, it doesn't kill them, it "scares them" into running up a river and beaching themselves.

Campaigners say post-mortem examinations showed that the animals appeared healthy and their stomachs were empty, indicating they were scared into heading up the river.

“They weren’t coming up the river system to fish, which leads us to suspect that they were frightened up the river system,” said Sarah Dolman, a science officer with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Dolman said there were no documented cases linking a mass stranding to side-scan sonar — which are directed downward toward the ocean floor, unlike mid-frequency active sonar, which are directed outward into the water.

However, “we’re learning more all the time and it’s still a possibility,” she said.

Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, who has ever been on a submarine on the surface going active knows that dolphins are NOT SCARED OF ACTIVE SONAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for the love of God and all that is holy. I've been out at sea and had absolutely no dolphins around. As soon as we start going active for training we have to stop because they show up. By all appearances, I'd say that dolphins like sonar because it sounds like they sound, so they show up to check it out. Sonar operating on the same frequency won't make them deaf either.

Rodney Coates, an expert on underwater acoustics, said the sonar could well have hurt the dolphins, who use similar frequencies to locate their prey. Coates said that if the dolphins’ hearing was affected, they were doomed.

“Sound is to the dolphin what sight is to you,” Coates said. “A deaf dolphin will be a dead dolphin, it’s only a question of time.”

If you were to extrapolate this to humans, you could say that someone talking extremely loudly could make you deaf. Well, I guess there's some truth to that, but if someone's yelling at you, you... you know...walk away. The beauty of it is, as you walk away, the sound level goes down. Funny how that works. Apparently, in the world of "save the mammals", loud sounds go one at ear-crushing levels for miles and miles and miles.

Anyone who's ever tried to use sonar to find something can tell you that attenuation is much greater than what the eco-friendly seem to understand. Take a look at a sound-velocity profile for pretty much anywhere in the ocean, and then explain to me how sonar pointed at the ocean bottom, performing high frequency (spoken high attenuation/short-range) side scan sonar ops, is even getting to the surface in a manner that would allow it to propagate at crushing decibels for miles. Short answer...it won't.

These people drive me nuts. But hey, it makes my job easier. If the surface fleet can't train, they can't find me in my submarine. As long as the enemy doesn't have subs, there's nothing to worry about right?

Oh yeah. Shit.

The bulk of any military should be its army. However, the navy is still an essential part of the military for several reasons. First, you need a navy to protect your water resources (fish, clams, crabs, and oil). Second, with a powerful navy patrolling your coast, you can stop any amphibious assaults on your coast before they start. Third, if you are not powerful enough to launch an amphibious assault against an enemy on another continent, you can use your navy to pillage his water resources and blockade his coast, achieving victory through attrition. Lastly, the navy is the only way to explore and colonize the rest of the world (unless you are playing on a pangea map). Even if you are not playing on a terra or archipelago map, exploring the seas and having a large world map can pay big dividends (gold!).

Ancient and Classical Eras

 For almost half of the game the only naval unit available is the galley. The use of galleys is limited. They can explore along the coast, but can not travel out into the ocean. Occasionally, you need a galley to settle an island along the coast, or may even be able to reach another continent with your galleys. In wartime, galleys are most useful at defending your own resources and pillaging enemy resources. Usually, if you are at war this early in the game, it is with a close neighbor and will be a land war. As galleys can only transport two units and only have two movement points, they are not very practical for amphibious assaults (except on archipelago maps). Also, because galleys can only transport two units, you are probably better off expecting your army to defeat any amphibious forces than to build a large navy of galleys to protect your coast.

Medieval Era

In the Middle Ages, galleys are still the only effective military transports. However, caravels are more powerful and can be used to defend your resources and pillage fishing boats. Caravels are definitely well suited for exploring the world, as they can enter the ocean and explore territorial waters of any civilization, even if you do not have an Open Borders agreement.

Renaissance and Industrial Eras

Galleons and frigates are both faster than caravels, but cannot enter unfriendly territory. Any of these ships can be used for exploring. Galleons are more powerful than caravels, but if frigates are available, you should only use galleons as transports. Frigates are an excellent choice for any mission. They can explore, defend, pillage, and blockade. When pillaging, try to have at least one pillaging frigate with the medic promotion. Give all other pillaging frigates combat promotions, and have one of these frigates escort the medic frigate. This is also a good idea when blockading.

When sending your fleet to assault an enemy, you should only send as many galleons as you need to transport your soldiers, unless you are short of frigates or need as many ships as possible to defend or blockade. All other ships in the stack should be frigates. Once you reach the target city, the frigates can bombard the city before the assault.

Ironclads are more powerful than any sailing ship. They are most useful when used to defend your resources and your coastline. Most attacking fleets will only have frigates and galleons. Ironclads can easily defeat both of these ships. Ironclads can pillage or escort galleons, but only if the target is close to your territory or somehow accessible by travelling along the coast. Because ironclads only receive two movement points and cannot travel across the ocean, they are only useful on offense when you are planning a long war of attrition against a powerful enemy.

Technically, destroyers, transports, and battleships are part of the Industrial Era, but I will discuss them in the Modern Era, as their invention obsoletes all other ships and they are useful throughout the rest of the game.

 Modern Era

Oil is a must if you want to have a powerful navy in the modern era. Battleships are ideal at defending water resources, as they are simply the most powerful ships on the seas. The only real threat to a battleship is aerial attack. This can be alleviated by stationing a fighter plane (fighter or jet fighter) in a nearby city or aircraft carrier. Destroyers are good explorers because they are the fastest ships. Battleships and destroyers are both good pillagers and blockaders.

You need a variety of ships to defend your coast effectively. Destroyers are effective anti-submarine ships. Submarines can also detect other subs, but are not as effective at destroying them. With their big guns, battleships are the best ships for sinking enemy ships. However, battleships can struggle against other battleships, so it may be useful to have a squadron of bombers on hand too. Depending on how large a navy you can afford and how much coastline you have to defend, a good naval defense consists of two destroyers (one with the sentry promotion and the other with the medic promotion), three battleships (one with barrage promotions and the other two with combat promotions), and four bombers.

You also need a variety of ships to attack an enemy effectively. Again, there should only be as many transports as you need to carry all of your assault force. Battleships should make up the bulk of your warships. Either a submarine or a destroyer is necessary for detecting enemy subs. Carriers are useful for protecting your fleet from air attacks, for bombing the target city, and for recon. A good assault fleet consists of as many battleships as you can muster (with combat promotions), at least one destroyer or submarine (with the sentry promotion), and one or two aircraft carriers (with the customary fighters, of course). Either a destroyer, sub, or carrier should have the medic promotion.

Of course, I wrote these thoughts assuming that the enemy is roughly as technologically advanced as you. If not, you can get away with sending out single frigates on pillaging runs or even sending out unescorted transports. But then again, you probably have already figured that out.