Saturday, March 10, 2012

My Old Boats On Deployment

My old boat USS Topeka (SSN 754) left on a WestPac on Tuesday, and USS Connecticut (SSN 22) provided this Facebook video of "Sailor Shout Outs" from Yokosuka yesterday. Return home safely, guys! (No word on if Jimmy Carter is out, as expected.)

Have you ever taken part in an official Navy propaganda video?

Update 1422 3/15: Turning off comments. We went badly off track here. I'm to blame for not posting more often.

55 comments:

  1. JC is home.

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  2. I was involved in some Navy propaganda films recently demonstrating elisted and officer relations. However, as part of my plea bargin to receive a quiet retirement, I have agreed not to show them.

    Dirty Dave
    Go Navy, Beat Army!

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  3. Yes, a great experience. Did not care for the hot racking the few days while onboard, but the majority of the candid interviews were worthwhile and i got to see some shipmates show emotion, I did not think they had.

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  4. JC...The Hanger Queen

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  5. I heard recently that the new Virginia class has to hot rack close to half the crew. How could the engineers build a class of ship and not fix the quality of life issues onboard a fast attack submarine?

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  6. I was involved in some Navy propaganda films recently demonstrating elisted and officer relations. However, as part of my plea bargin to receive a quiet retirement, I have agreed not to show them.


    Can you talk about them, sounds juicy!

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  7. Not true. USS VIRGINIA had zero hot rackers on her first deployment.

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  8. I can be seen marching with my BESS class in "Steel Boats, Iron Men" filmed in 89, and read part of "The Watch" for a Navy video. Have also been interviewed a half dozen times or so over my career. Meh. Not a big deal. Family liked seeing me in whites on TV.

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  9. The Virginia class has 92 blue shirt bunks if I remember correctly but, the 3 man room was primarily goat overflow. That is still a lot of space, and the only hot rackers I saw on my deployment were CTs and PO3 and down. Fwd and aft berthing can be noisy on the surface, but fwd berthing is great normally.

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  10. Meh, we were supposed to use our EMBT Blow coming off of Westpac on some book, never made it for whatever reason.

    Still makes for a good spot on the, "I Love Me Wall" though.

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  11. RIP:
    https://www.usna.com/SSLPage.aspx?RSS=alumni&referrer=&pid=13375

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  12. "Have you ever taken part in an official Navy propaganda video?"

    Let me clue you and your younger readers in, BH.

    There was ample reason most Cold war sub sailors never took part in an official Navy propaganda video.

    Want to know what that was? The Navy simply wished not to incriminate itself with documentary evidence of lies routinely told us. Shame! Shame?

    Imagine embarking for destinations other than where the crew had been informed prior to departure; performing missions not shared (by CPOs) with most of the enlisted crew; being secretly briefed with phoney classified material; having non-submariner informants aboard to entrap the indiscreet. - That was my Navy, and while it may be foreign to bubbleheads nowadays. I will remain proud of my service in it.

    Some of you are apparently totally clueless.

    Swell

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  13. Dear 'Swell': so...it sounds like you didn't enjoy life in the Russian Navy. Y'should've been born in America, I guess. We kicked ass in the Cold War.

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  14. Swell
    3/12/2012 6:02 PM

    Ivan come back we miss you!

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  15. I miss those dunoon days. Sleeping in the xray machine when I missed the last liberty launch over. Of course I could have walked across the locke it was littered with debris from all of the crap we threw in the locke over the course of my career. "Salt and vinegar love!"

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  16. I remember the Chiefs on my boat making a propaganda/instructional film about UCMJ Article 125. It was called "Penetration, however slight..."

    For some reason, they were the only ones who were allowed to watch it.

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  17. I don't get the "JC=Hanger Queen" comment from earlier...anyone want to clue me in?

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  18. I was filmed on the greeneville summer of 2000 which many people saw after the ehime maru.

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  19. What boat did you serve on, Swell? Made a few bipolar runs there, didja?

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  20. Never on any propaganda films while on the boats. I was filmed shooting a sunline on the Vinson while the Discovery Channel filmed Carrier: Fortress At Sea. My bit must have ended up on the editing floor..........

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  21. FOGGO and BRECKENRIDGE nominated for a second star... Any idea when the one start list is out?

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  22. Somewhere out there is a goofy QM who had a line in Hunt for Red October. He was in a class I had in Groton, and made a big deal out of how he was supposed to just be an extra in the background but got the line after the real actor couldn't say it well enough for the director. Something like "aye aye sir"....Guess he got lucky that actors are dumber than coners!! ;)

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  23. I think nukes would be good actors for the Navy. After all, if you have ever watched them playing Dungeons & Dragons in the barracks, you see how good they are pretending to be wizards, oompa-loompas, or whatever they are.

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  24. Who cares about the 1 star list. They are all just a bunch of sycophants!

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  25. Nukes and D&D? Um, nope, that would STs.

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  26. The 1 star list is being held up because people who thought they should have been on it (and are not currently), are pulling out all the stops to reverse decisions, etc.

    Should be interesting...

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  27. "What boat did you serve on, Swell? Made a few bipolar runs there, didja?" - NHSparky

    You don't know whom you are speaking to, son. I am glad you are not calling me a liar, because these facts are: (1) known to more of the crew and the squadron than me alone; and (2) were considered necessary at the time. That was the point.

    What boat was it? My guess is it would not have been the only one. If you served in SSNs was it during Viet Nam, or after?

    Swell

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  28. What ever happened to reducing the number of stars? I think it's about time to start.

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  29. Only two submariners on the two start list this year. Only two (plus an AP) expected on the one star list. It's a start...

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  30. I eat broken glass for breakfast. I'm that hardcore.

    Swell

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  31. The Navy simply wished not to incriminate itself with documentary evidence of lies routinely told us. Shame!

    Which lies would those be, asshat? "Hey, it gets better after ORSE!" Something like that?

    Go back to 4chan, son.

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  32. Dardar the Submarian3/14/2012 9:55 AM

    Hey, don't give swell a hard time. He was obviously in the super secret war of the Cold War period. He is now Mr X with the FBI. He is posting to see if he can get his nemesis out in the open.

    Oh shit.. . Maybe it's me. I know super secret shit - and I was lied to.

    CRAAaaaap! I've been found.

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  33. Maybe he was on a Projects boat and they operate on a different set of rules--or maybe he was on NR-1.

    Oh wait--there's a guy who was on NR-1 in the Mechanic shop. And a guy who was on the Russell who works upstairs from me.

    Shit, now I'VE been busted!!!

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  34. It was so hardcore when I was in that they wiped our memory upon rtp.

    Swell

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  35. Maybe you had to rust proof the MBT's without PPE.

    Would explain a lot.....

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  36. Reverse Decisions= not going to happen.... Any news?

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  37. If there was any news,the feds would whisk us away for sharing it. Big brother is watching.

    Swell

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  38. Kaiser, Clark, Richard...... nuff said oh and Burke... only two spots for 4 locks? things that make you go HMMMM

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  39. it's Burke and Richard.

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  40. Swell = Mulligan spelled backwards / upside down and is also the code name for Colonel Flagg when he is undercover in Kyrgyzstan.

    Coincidence? I think not.

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  41. Promoting Burke would reward an a$$hole that is guilty of the same behavior that has gotten many CO's fired....he just hasn't been caught - yet. We sure do have great flag leadership in the sub force! :(

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  42. Jesus is this boring. Would somebody crash a sub on top of another ship, maybe drive a billion dollar plus Navy cruiser onto a coral reef, any sub sailors died or get injured later...how about one of you guys drive one of your multi billion dollar subs into a mountain.

    It's getting boring guys...

    At least one of you could accuse me of sucking dick again.

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  43. I cannot remember a thing from the cold war...uh oh!

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  44. I like big giant cocks in and around my mouth.

    Swell

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  45. Buffalo Bob passed over for second star the other 1120s from his Flag selection year made it.

    Kaiser is not on the list for sure this year.

    It is Richard and Burke (and maybe Clark)

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  46. clark is not on the list.

    tom wears also missed the second star

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  47. Clark should be, Burke should not be....

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  48. Dardar the Submarian3/15/2012 6:26 AM

    My first boat was more of a propaganda messages to the Atlantic and United Kingdom Fleet.

    A Nimrod nailed us at PD/Broach/Surfaced (as the messages went) and wouldn't let us go.

    SubLant had to send a messages to the Brits (and us) to let them know they knew who we were, and to please unhinge their jaw.

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  49. At least one of you could accuse me of sucking dick again.

    I thought that question had pretty much been settled in the affirmative.

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  50. what a waste of a star...

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  51. "Maybe he was on a Projects boat and they operate on a different set of rules.." -nhsparky

    Maybe you were on a "Projects boat" and one of those who never knew it. Can you guess why?

    Swell

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  52. @ ANON 3/15/2012 9:05 AM

    I agree, CAPT Bob Burke being promoted to flag would be a complete and utter waste of a star!

    @ ANON 3/14/2012 9:25 PM

    Who is Buffalo Bob?

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  53. I hope BH shuts this thread down. Its gone way past stupid.

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