The Ohio is the first of a new class of submarine created in a conversion of 1970s vessels by trading nuclear-tipped ICBMs for conventional cruise missiles and a contingent of commandos ready to be launched onto virtually any shore through rejiggered missile tubes – against conventional forces or terrorists.

The sub’s cruise across the Pacific comes as China builds its submarine fleet into the region’s largest as part of the bulking up of its military. The voyage is the Ohio’s first deployment since the makeover, and Hale is in the odd position of showing the ship off.

It’s odd because the sub is all about stealth.

Hale can’t talk about where the ship is going. The back of the ship, where the nuclear power plant is located, is off limits. The leader of the SEAL commando contingent aboard can’t be named and the commandos themselves can’t be photographed in any way that shows their faces.

Read it all: New US Subs Trade Nukes for SEALs

The article mentions that Tridents are larger than attack submarines, but “still cramped.” Harumpf. No one ever hot-racks on a Trident. Ever. And apparently, the main passageway on a Trident is wide enough to allow for the span of a man’s arms. Mind-boggling. I have intentionally avoided the opportunities to “see the other side” that have come my way.

After reading most of this article (asking myself, “Does it have decent information for family and friends, or is it degraded beyond usefulness?”), I went surfing and found this video of the famous Typhoon class submarine, featured most memorably as the Red October in the movie and novel by Tom Clancy, The Hunt for Red October. (The music in the video is Basil Poledouris’ “Hymn to Red October,” from the film score.) Although the fictional submarine is named after the relatively recent revolution, Russia’s actual ships bear names from far deeper in their history — names like Dmitri Donskoi and Yuri Dolgorukiy.

Submariners are the same the world over, it seems, wearing coveralls and “underway sweaters.”

As for the title of the AP article… If only we could “trade nukes for SEALs”! (Submariners and airedales will get the joke.)

Being fully qualified and authorized to wear the dolphins is still elusive. The submarine force instruction directs that a sailor shall qualify in “less than six months, three months of which shall be on an operational submarine (i.e. not in the shipyard).” The scuttlebutt is that all the requests (of which there are many) for waivers were denied. Interestingly, the ship enters a modernization period in the spring, so there won’t be enough operational time to fulfill the requirement. Even with already a month on an operational sub (from riding USS Providence back in May), I would not see three months until summer ’07 sometime. Other non-qualified sailors would be waiting even longer.

Reminds me of the old proverb about what awaits those who ask for God to grant them patience: He rewards them with many circumstances that teach them to be patient.

Of your mercy, please remember the unworthy servant of God, Basil, in your prayers when a petition is invoked for those who travel “by land or by sea.” As mentioned earlier, Saint Nicholas is the patron of mariners. Saint Pantaleon is the patron of military men and women.

(Rumor has it that all of us who have passed our boards will be pinned sometime in the next few days, perhaps before or just after getting underway. My chief had me get dolphin patches for my uniform just in case.)

Happy Saint Nicholas Day. This site has all kind of resources to show you who St Nicholas was. I love the Western image that’s most prominent on the front page: Bishop Nicholas’ crozier has a ship in its crook. Beautiful.

Saint Nicholas, pray for us, the crew of this thrice ill-fated submarine, that we may be protected from every adversary as we travel below the surface of the sea in the depths that only the Lord and his saints perceive. By the prayers of the Mother of God and the power of the Lord who appeared to you in a vision, manifest your friendship to us as you did of old by appearing to the terrified sailors and saving them from destruction, that like them we may glorify the almighty God who has worked such wonders through you. Intercede for us before the holy and life-giving Trinity, whose name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we ever praise and glorify, that we may have health and life in this age and in the age to come, amen.

To answer Tabitha’s question on the previous post, “smooth sailing” is a perfectly appropriate blessing for a submariner, especially since the perfectly round hull of a submarine tends to roll (list from side to side) a lot more than a surface ship. Surface ships have keels designed to cut through the surface of the water and stabilized the ship, whereas submarines (since the innovative USS Albacore design) are built to perform better underwater.

“These are good uniforms, designed to support the modern Sailor,” said Mullen. “Durability, safety, ease of wear and cleaning were all factors that weighed heavily on my mind, as did, quite frankly, the survey data and the opinions of wear testers. This wasn’t a popularity contest by any stretch, but we would have been foolish not to consider the opinions of the men and women who will wear these uniforms.”

The BDU-style working uniform, designed to replace seven different styles of current working uniforms, is made of a near maintenance-free permanent press 50/50 nylon and cotton blend. Worn with a blue cotton t-shirt, it will include an eight-point cover, a black web belt with closed buckle, and black smooth leather boots, with black suede no-shine boots for optional wear while assigned to non-shipboard commands.

“When I walk down the piers, I see a Sailors standing watch as a pier sentry in January and it’s 30 degrees and freezing rain,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/AW) Terry Scott said. “You have to ask yourself, does the uniform that we currently issue protect us, and the answer is no.”

The scuttlebutt is that this probably still won’t make it to seabags before the fall of 2007 (FY08).

“The enemy aggressively ‘reads’ our open source and continues to
exploit such information for use against our forces,� he wrote. “Some
soldiers continue to post sensitive information to Internet Web sites
and blogs. … Such OPSEC violations needlessly place lives at risk and
degrade the effectiveness of our operations.�

The thumb-rule given to Sailors in boot camp: “You’re here to defend liberty, not practice it.”

Destroyers are small ships by comparison to cruisers and carriers, but they can still dwarf smaller vessels like barges and patrol craft. Believe it or not, this is the first surface ship I’ve seen since joining the Navy in February 2004.

My dad was surface navy. He served as a parachute rigger on USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and at the testing facility at China Lake. Then, from 1980 until his retirment in 1992, he served as a chaplain at a series of commands on the east coast and in Okinawa, Japan.

When we were stationed at Charleston, SC, in the mid-80′s, my dad took me aboard one of the destroyers he served aboard (he was technically attached as chaplain for the squadron). This probably marks one of the most important childhood moments that made Navy life attractive to me after being laid off from Lexmark.

Hopefully, I’ll get to tour this baby and report back.

I’ve been attending the local Greek parish. All I can say is that it’s Greek. Curiously, the Lord keeps sending me to parishes named for St Nicholas, who is the patron saint of sailors. (If you’re ever wondering what to get me, there is a beautiful icon of St Nicholas, Help of Mariners from St Isaac of Syria Skete. They had one at boot camp, and I nearly wept the first time I saw it.) They have some beautiful icons, too. Someday, I’ll get some photos. The parish priest (what do they call them in Greek? Proistamenos? Whatever.) has been away for the last month. He should be returning this week. I’ll try to squeeze in an appointment to talk to him soon.

The first year on a sub for a submariner is spent learning about the boat and being initiated into the crew. Although hazing has been officially forbidden, the crew still tries to see how much a newbie can take. Once a submariner has qualified, he is given the coveted “Silver Dolphins,” which means he has a thorough understanding of the boat from bow to stern. Most significantly for his shipmates, he means he knows the right thing to do if there should ever be a problem, like fire or flooding. It means they can count on him to save their lives if necessary.

So, the next year of my life is going to be pretty demanding. Of course, we’re in the yards, so it’s not as demanding as it would be if we were at sea, but it will still be a pretty tough year (give or take some; hot runners can get their dolphins in as little as six months). Keep me in your prayers.

Until today. I augmented Little Boy there, which was admittedly doing little in terms of pulling outside air in. What can I say? Big Boy is a stud. Within an hour, it was cool in the room.

Ah, relief.