he has slipped there... its like hes not challenged there, it just seems his articles are very much written in rote style... and the commenting system IS terrible

Uk never lost a sub, but they came bloody close. HMS Churchill one of the early one off boats.

Some Ecuadoran staffer tripped over the power cord to his modem.

Shrodinger’s Assange?

Has he tried turning it off and on?

20 years as a Navy nuke. Only 1 dry docking of a carrier I was on. There is so much that goes on you could write a book about it.

ORSE for everyone! EM2(SS)

As a former EM2(SS) stationed on SSN and CVN and having experienced dry dock repairs on both...

I was in Deck Dept on the USS Saipan when we went into the Philly yards for a year long overhaul in Oct ‘86. We worked some, but for the most part, it was a cakewalk, working 8-4ish, and just doing maintenance, and standing fire watch while the yard birds did the heavy work.
We worked a lot harder for longer hours…

Schools rarely go into drydock

Initial school is 6 months for electricians, less time for mechanics, though I can’t remember how long off the top of my head. This portion is to train you on the mechanical or electrical theory for a basis of the job. Then, there is a 6-month power school that teaches the nuclear theory for how the reactor operates…

I grew up in Groton,and then spent 8 years in the Submarine Service as a Torpedoman’s Mate 2nd. I shudder to think what the crews of Thresher and Scorpion felt in their last few minutes. I say a prayer for for them and their families.

One thing that I imagine is the same as it was when I was in the Navy, almost 50 years ago, is that, while the ship’s crew normally worked long and hard while their ship is in the yard, shipyard employees and contractors handle many of the larger jobs. Many of my shipmates felt that they actually worked even harder…

Except we store 20 cases of eggs around the diesel engine and layer the floor throughout the sonar computer room with 40lb cans of flour aboard fast attack subs

Been there, several times. Walked under subs in drydocks. Climbed upward through the ballast drains, between the inner hull and outer hull. Completed boot at 17, MM-A school and in drydocks before 19.

Das-Boot was one of the attractions that drew me to submarine service. My first boat, USS Sculpin, SSN-590 was one hull number newer than the Scorpion - and three hull numbers older than the Thresher.

It is an amazing workload, but the even more impressive part of it is the Navy’s abilitytoctKe kids out of high school and turn them into the workforce that can run and maintain these ships.

A couple weeks ago I go to visit Le Redoubtable in Cherbourg France.

OK. And so your replacement option is to invade. Like we did in Iraq. Which worked out wonderfully for us and them didn’t it?

There are only three choices in the Mideast. 1. Let them be ruled by gangs of head chopping maniacs, 2. Let them be ruled by strong arm dictators, or 3. Invade the place and run it ourselves.