The Deck Log

THE DECK LOG

USSVI Central Texas Base January 2021

USSVI Creed Section 1: To perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country that their dedication, deeds, and supreme sacrifice may be a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments, and to pledge loyalty and patriotism to the United States of America and its Constitution. Camaraderie Section 2: In addition to perpetuating the memory of departed shipmates, USSVI shall provide a way for all Submariners to gather for our mutual benefit and enjoyment. Our common heritage as Subma- riners shall be strengthened by camaraderie. The USSVI supports a strong U.S. Submarine Force. Perpetual Remembrance Section 3: The organization engages in various projects and deeds that bring about the perpetual remembrance of those shipmates who have given the supreme sacrifice. USSVI also endeavors to educate all third parties it comes in contact with about the services United States submariners performed and how the sacrifices of lost shipmates made possible the freedom and lifestyle American enjoy today

USS Pittsburgh SSN 720

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Table of Contents USSVI National Commander ======Wayne Standerfer 972-298-8139 [email protected] Creed ------1 USSVI National Senior Vice-Commander Table of Contents ------2 Points of Contact ------2 Jon Jaques 615-893-7800 [email protected] Publication, Web Site, Base Mtg ------2 USSVI Central Region Director Links------3 Tom Williams 512-632-9439 [email protected] Eternal Patrol ------4 27MC Base Announcements ------5 USSVI Central District 4 Commander Base Commander’s Report ------5 Bill Scott 512-826-8876 [email protected] 2021 Dues Notice ------6 Central Texas Base Officers Birthdays ------6 Commander Rick Mitchell 512-639-0035 [email protected] Membership ------6 Vice-Commander Gene Hall 210.373.3198 [email protected] Base Treasurer’s Report ------6 Yeoman Frank Abernathy 512-426-3427 [email protected] Binnacle List------6 Chief of the Boat Bill Scott 512-826-8876 [email protected] Storekeeper Corner ------7 Treasurer Joe Keller 512-626-3202 [email protected] Chaplain’s Corner------7 Base Support Appointments Calendar of Events ------7 Chaplain - Bob Steinmann 512-255-5250 [email protected] Kap(SS)4Kid(SS) ------8 Memorial - Gene Hall 512-864-2860 [email protected] Underseas Warfare News ------8 Storekeeper - David Paulson 512-940-1112 [email protected] History ------21 Membership - Chuck Malone 512-694-5294 [email protected] USSVI Official Business News ------27 Newsletter Editor - Bill Scott 512-826-8876 [email protected] Once Upon A Time ------31 Webmaster - Chuck Malone 512-694-5294 [email protected] Thoughts ------32 Parade Chairman - Tom Sprague 858-755-6071 [email protected] Holy Humor ------30 K4K Chairman - Shawn O’Shea 702-682-9170 [email protected] Sea Stories ------34 Fundraising– Jeff Lindner 512-966-8237 [email protected]

Editor’s Desk The Deck Log is a monthly publication of the Central Texas Base, United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. It is delivered via email in Mi- crosoft Publisher PDF format to the Base Mem- bership. A copy is printed and mailed via USPS to those shipmates not having email. Deck Log Editor Harold W (Bill) Scott II, STSCS (SS) USN Ret. Holland Club, Life Member USSVI Central District 4 Commander SS-242, SSN-612, SSN-595, SSN-596 [email protected] 512-826-8876 Web Site: https://ussvicentraltexasbase.org/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ussvicentraltexas/ Base Meetings - Base meetings are held on the third Wednes- day of the month at M/SGT Ben D Snowden VFW Post 8587, 1000 N College St, Georgetown, TX 78626. We hold a quarterly social in lieu of a Base Meeting in March, June, September and December.

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National Information Sources A listing of Internet information addresses of the various organizations as places to obtain information on national items of interest. Shipmates, you are invited to add to the list (just let me know via email of any you use), so over time it would become more comprehensive.

https://www.ussvi.org/home.asp http://www.ussvi.org/base/CentralTexas.asp http://www.csp.navy.mil/

http://www.navytimes.com/ http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp http://www.military.com/

http://www.med.navy.mil/pages/default.aspx http://www.fra.org/ http://defensetech.org/

http://www.subvetstore.com/index.php http://www.subforce.navy.mil/ http://www.vfw.org/

www.navyleagueaustin.org www.navyleague.org http://www.usni.org/

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/n77.html www.military.com/military-report/ www.moaa.org

www.shiftcolors.navy.mil http://www.va.gov/

http://www.submarinesailor.com http://www.public.navy.mil/BUPERS-NPC/Pages/default.aspx

http://isausa.org/ WWW.DESIGNED4SUBMARINERS.COM http://www.dfas.mil/

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ http://www.ausn.org/ https://www.facebook.com/ussvicentraltexas/

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TOLLING OF THE BOATS – JANUARY “I can assure you that they went down fighting and that their brothers who survived them took a grim toll of our savage enemy to avenge their deaths.” Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, USN

USS Scorpion (SS-278) Lost on Jan 5,1944 with the loss of 77 officers and men in the East China Sea, on her 4th war patrol. It is assumed she was sunk by a mine.

USS Argonaut (SS-166) Lost on Jan 10, 1943 with the loss of 102 officers and men off Rabaul, on her 3rd war patrol. While attacking a convoy, she torpedoed a Jap destroyer who along with 2 other destroyers depth charged her. As she tried to surface, the destroyers sunk her by gun fire.

USS Swordfish (SS-193) Lost on Jan 12, 1945 with the loss of 89 officers and men some- where near Okinawa, on her 13th war patrol. Probably was lost to a mine.

USS S-36 (SS-141) Lost on Jan 20, 1942 with no loss of life, on her 2nd war patrol. She ran hard aground on a reef and radioed for help. The entire crew was rescued by a Dutch ship after they scuttled her.

USS S-26 (SS-131) Lost on Jan 24, 1942 with the loss of 46 officers and men in the Gulf of Panama, on her 2nd war patrol. She was rammed by the USS PC-460 and sunk within seconds. The CO, XO and one lookout on the bridge, were the only survivors.

We Remember For those who gave their lives in the defense of our country We Remember

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Happy New Year Shipmates! 2021 is upon us and I’m sure many of you are happy to say goodbye to 2020. Though 2020 has been both a difficult and controversial year for many of us I believe our Central Texas Base can look back and be proud of the way we handled it and happy with the results. We are all still here and I am sure we all have learned a few things along the way. They say hind sight is 2020 don’t they? I’ve pointed out a lot of the pos- itives in the past BC reports (feel free to go read them again, they are all on our base website in the ship’s library www.ussvicentraltexasbase.org ) so I’m not going to repeat them here again. I just want to thank all of you for hanging in there and doing what each of you had to do to not only make it through but doing so in style. One of the things as an organization we have struggled with is participation levels and attendance at meetings and other base functions. Here at the Central Texas Base I feel like we do as well as if not better than most in this area but let me tell you, nothing better than a good ole pandemic to make us realize what a privilege we have to meet and gather freely and have fellowship with other human beings in person. While this pandemic seems to have been extended a bit I do feel we will be hitting homeport sometime here in the rela- tively near future. I am looking forward to the time we can simply schedule our meetings and events and don’t have to look through the various city, county, state and federal health warnings and guidance to see what we should and should not do. Until then we will continue as we are currently doing and adjusting and adapting as needed. It’s just what we have done since the beginning of time and something I believe Subma- riners are especially good at. When things go wrong or in a different direction than desired when we were deployed we just looked at what we had and worked within the confines we were given and since 1968 have always brought the boat back home. Hang in there, I’m happy to have you all as my shipmates! New Years is a time many people make resolutions. Me personally, I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions. I try to always be in a mode of looking for ways to improve and making things better. Not sure how good I am at that but it is something I try to do. Since our current meeting/social schedule seems to work well for most I don’t see any need to change that. What I do hope to start implementing soon is more frequent smaller opportunities for shipmates to gather rotating around the area outside of our normal meetings. May- be one Saturday a month we schedule an event in some of our outlying areas such as a breakfast or lunch, maybe a sporting event, fishing or whatever. Buda one month and Temple the next, maybe Taylor, Bastrop, Lakeway or Burnet. The intent would be to allow for the Sub Vets in that area to gather and of course those from outside the area would be welcome also. I have personally had the opportunity due to the pandemic to meet with small groups of you around the area and would like to do so more often and I am positive you would enjoy it also. Let me know your thoughts on this and ideas you may have along with when you want to host one of these events in your neck of the woods and I’ll help you get it going. I’d like to wrap up with a little business since we chose not to have our usual base Christmas party this year. At the Christmas party we usually vote for our new base officers and the sailor of the year. The existing slate of base officers was voted for unanimously by those who voted to continue in their positions. I’m sure I am speaking for all us in thanking you for your vote of confidence and allowing us the privilege of continuing to serve the base. I also want to congratulate Hubert Jackson on his selection as our Sailor of the Year for 2020! We will swear in officers and award Hubert his award at the next opportunity we have to gather. Thanks for everything you all do! Rick Mitchell 512-639-0035 [email protected] ======

Q: What is the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? A: One's really heavy. The other is just a little lighter.

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*Attention* - 2021 USSVI Central Texas Base & National Dues - *Attention*

NOW PAYABLE BY 1/31/21 - IF YOU HAVEN’T PAID BY NOW, YOU ARE ON THE DINK LIST! Dues not paid before 2/1/21 are considered lapsed and member will be dropped. Annual Base dues are $15, and Annual National dues are $25. There are options to pay National dues for multiple years: 3 yr term $70, 5 yr term $115, and National Life: 76+ years $100, 66-70 years $200, 56-65 years $300, 46-55 years $400 and through 45 years $500. Base multiple year options are one half of National’s multiple options including Life Dues. Plan ahead and send your dues renewal now. Checks need to be payable to USSVI Central Texas Base and .can be paid at Base meetings or mailed to the Base Treasurer, Joe Keller, at: PO Box 1744, Mason, TX 76856-1744. Payment by Credit Card is also available to members by contacting him by phone. ======

MEMBERSHIP Report presented to Base Commander w/copy to Yeoman. Members listed in Central Texas Database 78 JANUARY 2021 Regular Annual Members listed in Central Texas Database 29 David Paulson - 2nd Associate members w/paid Base and National dues 1 Fred Maass - 17th Central Texas Base Life Members 34 Robert Slobod - 20th Central Texas Base National Life Members 39 th Members in Holland Club 36 Shawn O’Shea - 24 Dual Members 5 st Ron Bennett - 31 Prospective Members: 1 War Veterans 66 Members pending: 0 Submitted: Chuck Malone, Membership

======BASE TREASURER’S REPORT 15 December 2020 Financial Report for Period Ending 11/30/2020 November Account Ending Balance $24,854.57 RBFCU Checking (General Fund) $21,967.49 RBFCU Savings (Memorial Fund) $1,791.47 Ending Balance $22,963.96 Submitted: Joe Keller, Treasurer ======BINNACLE LIST Please keep us informed of any person who should be listed. These are the people that we know about, so please e-mail any E-Board member if you know of any member or his family that might be in crisis. Also please keep the Base Chaplain, Shipmate Bob Steinmann informed as well. Shipmate Hubert Jackson recovering from surgery for Prostate Cancer. Keep him and his wife Linda in your prayers. Shipmate Byron Sage continues to deal with an issue with his immune system and prayers go out to him and his family.

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Shipmate Bill Bellinghausen continues to recover from surgery. We ask Lord, in your Son’s Name, that you be with our Brother’s and Sister’s who are sick and ask that you hold them in your arms and heal them so that they might again join us around our table. In your Son’s name, We pray, Amen. ======

STOREKEEPER CORNER The Central Texas Base (CTB) Supply Store is open for business. The Supply Store can obtain most of the items you need for memorabilia, your vest, gifts for others, etc. You can order them from the Storekeeper at a meeting or online at dhpaul- [email protected]. CTB can often get items at a lower than normal price, so you save money. The SK can search the net to find out-of-the-ordinary items, for all branches of the service. When requesting a ship’s patch, tell the SK which coast you served on board, as the patches are often different for each coast. The following items are now available in Ship’s Store: 2021 USSVI Calendars $10 Base Ball Caps $12 Sub Vet Embossed T-Shirts (Limited qty & size) $18 Buckles, Dolphin $18 Sub Vet Embossed Denim Jackets (Limited qty & $31 Buckles, Plain $10 size) License Plate Holder (Chrome) $10 Various T-Shirts $18 License Plate Holder (Blue Plastic) $4 Boomer Patrol Pin $7 Stars for Pins $1.85 Patches (many) $6 24 oz Glass mugs $15 Golden Anchor Patches $3 12 oz Glass mugs 12 Dolphins (large) $8 Parking Sign $20 Dolphins (medium) $5 Decals (Outside window) (four styles) $3 Vests w/patch $38 Black Leather Vest, Sub Vet Embossed $65 Vest Clips (shiny or oxidized) $30 USSVI 50th Anniversary Patch and Coin set. $20 Koozies $5 Patch and coin purchased separately are $22. Web Belts $7

======CHAPLAIN’S CORNER ======Go to Church Anyway If you’re having sex before marriage, go to church anyway. If you are a drug addict trying to beat addiction, go to church anyway. If you were out drunk all night before, go to church anyway. If you aren’t sure what gender you prefer, go to church anyway. If you can’t quit that disgusting habit, go to church anyway. Church is a hospital for the broken, lost, empty, confused, desperate, and rejected. Every sinner has a future, and every saint has a past. How do we break the chains of addiction and Bondage? By prayer, prayer for you and prayer with you! There isn’t a single person in the 4 walls of the church that doesn’t have something they hate or regret about their past. We’ve all made mistakes, and will continue to, BUT His Grace is enough!! There’s things that I’d never want to admit out loud about myself, but God knows. And he loves me none the less. So whatever you’ve done, whatever you’re doing, whatever you will do…go to church anyway, it might just change your life!! Author unknown ======CALENDAR OF EVENTS 20 January 2021, Monthly meeting Central Texas Base, VFW Post #8587, 1000 N College St., Georgetown, TX 78626, 1800 for movie time, 1900 meeting. Details to be provided. 17 February 2021, Monthly meeting Central Texas Base, VFW Post #8587, 1000 N College St., Georgetown, TX 78626, 1800 for movie time, 1900 meeting. Details to be provided.

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17 March 2021, Monthly meeting Central Texas Base, VFW Post #8587, 1000 N College St., Georgetown, TX 78626, 1800 for movie time, 1900 meeting. Details to be provided. ======

KAP(SS) 4 KID(SS) ======I have been staying in touch with the Children’s hospitals. Due to the Coronavirus they have can- celed all volunteer visits until further notice. I am checking with them monthly to reschedule as soon as it is safe to do so for the children and our volunteers. Any questions please do not hesitate to call me at 702-682-9170. Stay safe and be well. Thanks for all your support. Shipmate Shawn O’Shea, Chair, Kap(SS)4Kid(SS) ======

The following selected articles are part of Undersea Warfare News weekly news bulletin emails during the month of December 2020. “No content is created in the production of this Newsletter. These press clips and broadcast summaries are collected from multiple sources and are prepared by the command public affairs office to inform key personnel of news items of interest to them in their official capacities. It is not intended to be a substitute for newspapers, periodicals or public affairs programming as a means of keeping informed on news developments. Article selection or distribution does not imply endorsement and cannot be guaranteed for accuracy. Further reproduction for private use or gain is subject to original copyright restrictions.” http://www.subforce.navy.mil/ ======Trump Administration Reverses, Asks for Second FY21 Virginia Class Submarine Rich Abott, Defense Daily, November 30 The Trump administration last week asked Congress to fund a second Virginia-class attack submarine in fiscal year 2021, reversing its position in the original budget request. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russel Vought sent a letter Nov. 25 to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations committees and their defense subcommittees stating the administration supports the House Appropriation Committee’s recommendation to fund a second Virginia-class submarine in FY ’21 and the Senate panel’s addition of $472 million in advance procurement “to assume the submarine industrial base and its suppliers of a committed acquisition and funding strategy.” Vought noted “with this letter, the Administration is requesting full funding for the procurement of the 10 submarines under the current multiyear procurement agreement.” Last December, the Navy awarded General Dynamics’ Electric Boat [GD] a $22.2 billion contract for nine Block V Virginia-class submarines with an option for a 10th vessel covering fiscal years 2019 – 2023. The 10th boat is expected to raise the total contract value to over $24 billion (Defense Daily, Dec. 2, 2019). These vessels are scheduled to be delivered from 2025 to 2029. When the FY ’21 budget request was first released earlier this year, the administration requested only one attack submarine, after requesting two the previous year and planning last year to request two this year, in-

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curring criticism in Congress (Defense Daily, Feb. 12). During a hearing the month the budget was released, former Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly told the House Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee the budget was the result of choices and admitted it slowed down the trajectory to 355 ships or more. The submarine was initially taken out of the administration’s budget request reportedly to help fund a higher National Nuclear Security Administration funding (Defense Daily, Feb. 27). In his letter, Vought acknowledged the connection between the second attack submarine and the increased Energy Department funding. He argued these investments in naval forces “should not come at the expense of fully funding requests in the FY 2021 Budget request for the nuclear deterrent in both DoD and the De- partment of Energy. The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to identify offsets for this urgent requirement.” Ultimately, the House version of the FY ’21 defense appropriation bill added $2.6 billion to fully fund the second Virginia-class submarine while the Senate’s version only added the $472 million in advance procurement funds (Defense Daily, June 25). During the House Armed Services Committee’s FY ’21 defense authorization bill markup, Seapower Sub- committee Chairman Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) had a staffer explain if the second attack submarine in FY ’21 was not authorized and appropriated it could impact the Columbia-class submarine workforce and schedule (Defense Daily, July 2). The staffer said GD Electric Boat would still build a second vessel due to the multiyear contract, but this would move other work forward to maintain the build schedule. However, by the end of FY ’23, GD would run out of attack submarine construction work to do and start laying off recent hires who they expect would work on the second year of Columbia-class submarine work. In his letter, Vought said the Defense Department recently completed its comprehensive study of the country’s naval force structure and “requirement to prevail in a great power competition.” “The results of this study confirm the need for the immediate acceleration of Virginia-class submarine construction to at least two per year over the next five years to preserve the Nation’s naval supremacy,” he con- tinued. This is a reference to how former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper outlined his plan for a 500-ship fleet by 2045, known as Battle Force 2045. This includes reaching 355 traditional ships by 2035 and the remainder made of unmanned vessels. During his unveiling of the plan, Esper emphasized the importance of building more submarines, calling for an attack submarine force of 70 to 80 vessels (Defense Daily, Oct. 6). “If we do nothing else, the Navy must begin building three Virginia-class submarines a year as soon as possible,” Esper said. ======SECNAV Announces The Return Of The U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Focus Will Be On Russian Threat Megan Eckstein, USNI News, December 2 The Navy plans to rename U.S. Fleet Forces Command to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, harkening back to a time when the Navy was fully focused on maritime operations in the Northern Atlantic rather than the Global War on Terror, the secretary of the Navy told a Senate panel today. “As the world changes, we must be bold, evolve, and change with it. Instead of perpetuating a structure designed to support yesterday’s Joint Forces Command, we are aligning to today’s threat. To meet the unique maritime challenges of the Atlantic theater, we will rename Fleet Forces Command as the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and we will refocus our naval forces in this important region on their original mission: controlling the maritime approaches to the United States and to those of our allies,” Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite told the Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing on Wednesday. “The Atlantic Fleet will confront the reassertive Russian Navy, which has been deployed closer and closer to our East Coast, with a tailored maritime presence capability and lethality.” During the hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee, reviewed the history of Fleet Forces Command and asked Braithwaite if the move was “to recognize the reality of this increased Russian presence and the fact that great power competition is now sort of the dominant concern of the Na-

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tional Defense Strategy?” Braithwaite confirmed that that was the case. The Atlantic Fleet existed in Norfolk, Va., for a century, from 1906 until 2006. Though those 100 years brought various iterations of fleet organization, by 2006 LANTFLT remained the naval component commander for U.S. Strategic Command as well as U.S. Northern Command. The Commander, Fleet Forces Command title was tacked on to LANTFLT just after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 “to improve alignment and organization structure to ensure the Navy’s fleets, staffs, systems and processes delivered a combat capable Navy ready to respond to all contingencies,” according to a Fleet Forces timeline. In 2006 then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen overhauled the organization, doing away with the LANTFLT title and creating U.S. Fleet Forces Command to “serve as the primary advocate for fleet personnel, training, requirements, maintenance and operations issues.” To this day, Fleet Forces is the chief readiness organization for the fleet, as well as the naval component for NORTHCOM and STRATCOM. USNI News understands that the responsibilities to the two combatant commanders are unlikely to change; however, Fleet Forces’ role in readiness could change if LANTFLT focuses primarily on warfighting. If that were to be the case, though the secretary of the Navy has the authority to change the command’s name to U.S. Atlantic Fleet, there could be some larger structural changes to roles and responsibilities that would require congressional approval. The move to bring back Atlantic Fleet comes after a 2018 decision to reestablish U.S. 2nd Fleet in Norfolk as a means of focusing more on anti-submarine warfare in the Atlantic and with European allies on the other side of the ocean. Additionally, Braithwaite also discussed the re-establishment of U.S. 1st Fleet, which he announced last month at the Naval Submarine League annual conference. SECNAV said today that 1st Fleet would be “an agile, mobile, at-sea command” – compared to U.S. 7th Fleet, which has its headquarters in Japan but can also deploy and operate at sea aboard command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). 7th Fleet will remain in Japan and cover out towards the international dateline and in towards the South China Sea, whereas 1st Fleet will be more focused on the convergence of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and out towards the border with U.S. 5th Fleet near the Northern Arabian Sea. Though China has more territorial disputes in what will likely remain 7th Fleet, it increasingly relies on the area that will become 1st Fleet to transport goods and expand its influence into the Middle East and Africa. Braithwaite previously mentioned Singapore as a potential eventual land-based headquarters for 1st Fleet, though it’s unclear if that idea is still being discussed or not. “This will reassure our allies and partners of our presence and commitment to this region, while ensuring any potential adversary knows we are committed to global presence to ensure rule of law and freedom of the seas,” he said during the hearing. “We are determined today to make the bold changes required to ensure that our forces are prepared to domi- nate any potential battlespace and return home safely.” “We are going to recommission the 1st Fleet, which like the 7th Fleet would operate in the greater Pacific region under the command and control of the United States Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Hawaii. It wouldn’t necessarily take ships from the 7th Fleet or from the 3rd Fleet; it would be a sharing, that’s how our numbered fleets operate, predicated on the demand and the threat that emanates in the part of the ocean in which those respective fleets operate,” he added later in the hearing. As a result of both changes, 1st, 3rd and 7th Fleets would report up through U.S. Pacific Fleet; 2nd and 4th Fleets would report up through U.S. Atlantic Fleet; U.S. 5th Fleet would continue to report up through U.S. Central Command; and U.S. 6th Fleet would continue to report up through U.S. Naval Forces Europe. “Secretary Braithwaite is working closely with Acting Secretary of Defense [Christopher]Miller, Congress, [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark] Milley, [Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike] Gilday, [Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David] Berger, and other stakeholders on ensuring the Department of the Navy maintains its maritime dominance in today’s era of Great Power Competition. In order to fulfill this priority, the administrative requirements to change the name from U.S. Fleet Forces Command to U.S. Atlan- tic Fleet and the recommissioning of the Navy’s 1st Fleet in the INDO-PACOM AOR are in the final stages of coordination,” spokesman Capt. J. Dorsey told USNI News today regarding the LANTFLT and 1st Fleet changes. Also at the hearing, Braithwaite and Gilday discussed ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and plans to administer the vaccine to the globally spread-out fleet once it’s available. January 2021 Page 10

Gilday said the Navy had two separate but related plans: one on how to distribute the vaccine, and one for how to prioritize which personnel would get the shot first. On the vaccine itself, Gilday said the Pfizer vaccine requires extra-cold freezers and is only good for about five days once it’s thawed. As a result, the CNO said that vaccine would be going to about 10 continental U.S. sites across the Department of Defense, with all the major CONUS military medical facilities getting the Pfizer vaccine. A handful of DoD medical treatment facilities outside the U.S. would get the Moderna vaccine, which can be refrigerated for about 30 days after it’s thawed and allows for more flexibility in getting it into the arms of troops scattered across the globe. As for which sailors would get the vaccine first, Gilday said that Navy healthcare workers, as well as emer- gency and safety personnel on installations, would be at the top of the list. Then would come sailors in strategic forces units such as cyber warfare and ballistic missile submarine crews. The next tier of sailors would be those in units deploying within the next three months. “We have a good count of what those numbers are, and if there’s anything we’re really good at it’s mass im- munization in the U.S. military. And so we feel pretty confident that once we get the vaccine distributed, that the vaccination piece – now that we have the prioritization well thought out – will happen pretty quickly.” Later in the hearing, Braithwaite and Gilday discussed their recent decision to decommission USS Bon- homme Richard (LHD-6) instead of repairing the ship that burned for five days in July. “I’m a businessman, Mr. Chairman, and at the end of the day there’s a return on investment,” Braithwaite said. “And the return on investment of what it would have taken to rebuild that ship – working very closely with the Secretary of Defense, Dr. Esper wanted to see that ship come back, and for all the right reasons, to send the right message, to say we don’t give up our ships very easily – we have a battle flag that hangs in Memorial Hall at the Naval Academy that says ‘Don’t Give Up The Ship’ – but using logic and looking at what it would have required to put that ship back together, it would have been a foolish investment of our American taxpay- er dollars to invest in a ship that was over 20 years old instead of looking at the options to build another ship in the future that would have more relative capabilities.” He said Bonhomme Richard wasn’t going to deploy until 2022, which gives the Navy and Marine Corps time to figure out how to meet operational needs with other resources. Gilday added, “in terms of near-term impacts operationally, we’ve mitigated those. I think longer-term, let’s say out to three to five years, we’re taking a look at what those other options could be: do we accelerate the production of a big-deck vessel? What would that mean with respect to the amphibious force we’re building for the future? What are the priorities that we want to take a look at within the department? What is the demand signal from the secretary of defense and the combatant commanders for those vessels? And so that’s work to be done that’s ongoing right now.” ======U.S. Navy’s Ohio Class Submarine to Get New Hypersonic Weapons H I Sutton, Naval News, December 2 They are by far the most heavily armed conventional strike platforms in the undersea battlespace. The U.S. Navy’s four Ohio Class cruise missile submarines (SSGNs) can carry a total of 154 Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAM Block-IV) in their missile silos. When added to the torpedo room, this gives a total of 176 full-size weapons. This quantity of weapons is already unparalleled, even by the latest Russian Navy SSGNs. And the submarines may soon receive new hypersonic missiles which could transform their capabilities. The new missile, being developed under the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) program, will also reaffirm the U.S. Navy’s lead at a time when other navies are also rearming with hypersonic weapons. The new missile will be able to hit targets with cruise-missiles like precision at extended ranges. And because of its incredible speed, greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), it can do so within minutes of the target being identified. Its speed and maneuverability will also make it much harder to counter. The U.S. Navy expect to deploy the new hypersonic weapon on Ohio-class SSGNs. The head of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe, recently said that submarines will get the hypersonic strike weapon by 2025.

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It will employ the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (CHGB) which is the same design as the U.S. Army will use. This will be married to a booster which can fit within the Ohio Class’ vertical launch tubes. These tubes are left over from when the submarines performed nuclear deterrence patrols with the Trident missile. Each of the massive silos can carry seven Tomahawk cruise missiles. It is currently unclear how many of the new missiles will fit in each silo, but a reasonable assumption at this stage is two to three. Provided all 22 tubes currently used for missiles are able to accept the weapon, this would give a maximum load of 44 or 66 missiles. The Tomahawk will still remain relevant, maybe preferable in many scenarios, so a mixed load is likely to be carried. So the new missiles will not increase the number of weapons, but they do increase the potency and versatility. Russia is also developing hypersonic missiles for its submarines. The new 3M22 Zircon missile (also Roman- ized Tsirkon) is an anti-ship weapon which fits into the same space as a cruise missile. The Mach 8 missile will equip the Pr. 855M Severodvinsk-II Class submarines and possibly upgraded Oscar-II class boats. Maxi- mum weapons loads would be 32 and 72 respectively. There are indications that the test program for Zircon has suffered some complications but a November 30 test launch from a surface warship was reportedly successful. China’s plans for submarine launched hypersonic weapons are less clear. They already have ground-based and air-launched weapons, and a version for surface ships is expected. It has to be considered within the Chi- nese Navy’s (PLAN) capacity to develop submarine launched versions if they make it a priority. The Navy version of the CPS missile is likely to find itself onto the enlarged Virginia Block-V submarines and surface ships. But thanks to their incredible missile payload the Ohios will remain a major platform until they are retired. The new generation of weapon will greatly increase the tactical and strategic options available to U.S. commanders. ======Navy New Virginia Block VI Virginia Attack Boat Will Inform SSN(X) Megan Eckstein, USNI News, November 20 The submarine community is nearing a plan for its Block VI Virginia-class submarine, which will be an im- provement in stealth and capability compared to the boats under construction today and will be a bridge to the upcoming SSN(X) program. The Block V Virginia submarines – the first three of which have already begun construction – represent the first time the Navy has made a major investment in increasing the capability of this class of ship. Whereas past blocks have focused on construction and maintenance efficiencies, and incremental capabilities are added through software updates regularly, the Block V design adds 28 more missile tubes to greatly enhance the strike capability of these SSNs, Program Executive Officer for Submarines Rear Adm. David Goggins said this week at the Naval Submarine League annual symposium. Block VI will continue that trend of adding new capability and lethality to the boats, which will be procured in a multiyear contract from Fiscal Years 2024 through 2028. “Block VI will focus on building upon the acoustic superiority” technology that’s being built into and tested on the future South Dakota (SSN-790), as well as “really enable that organic subsea, seabed warfare kit release for the first time.” Specifically, he said the Navy and industry are working on improved stealth to operate in a contested environ- ment; enhanced sonar performance through a new bow conformal array; and the ability to sense and interact with more of the water column, including the sea bed. Goggins said those ideas have been chosen as priorities for Block VI for two reasons: first, they’ll improve the capability of the Virginia class in the near term, and second, they’ll help prove out technologies that could influence the next-generation SSN(X) design. “We’ll spend the next year evaluating the maturity and feasibility of these capabilities [on the slide he presented], followed by a downselect next year. And that will really allow us to mature the technology,” Goggins said. Goggins’ slide also highlighted propulsors, improved payload and vehicle hosting, improved situational aware- ness and additional payloads as features of the Block VI design. Elsewhere during the Sub League event, it was clear that the rest of the submarine force is eagerly eyeing the SSN(X) program and what kinds of improvements are within the realm of the possible for that program.

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Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of Naval Submarine Forces and Submarine Force Atlantic, said during his presentation that SSN(X) could be based on the Virginia design, could be based on the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN-826) design, or could be a clean-sheet design. “We’re going to get alternatives and make decisions on how to make this new SSN match what we need to stay ahead of our peers. This is definitely going to be increased speed: there’s no question that speed is basically important to improve every single joint warfare function. Speed is just so important – it plays out so well in all our wargaming, so it helps compensate for bad decisions, it also helps us get to the fight faster and helps us in all-domain maneuver warfare,” he said. “We can never get enough payload capacity, so we do want submarines with large payload capacity. And what’s that going to look like in the future and how’s it going to be modular and customizable is going to be important. Of course, stealth is important, but not just acoustic stealth. It’s stealth across all spectrums. When this new SSN rolls out, we are going to have peer competitors that are going to be able to detect us not just acoustically but through algorithms that are going to break the water interface. And so those capabilities, we think, are coming, and we have to build and basically remain clandestine with those types of capabilities in play.” Adm. Frank Caldwell, the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and a senior submarine officer in the Navy, echoed in his remarks the three design options and said that “key in all of this will be our focus on speed, warfighting capability, greater energy, lethality and sensors, and, yes, the next level of stealth. I want you to know that we are working on this very actively as an enterprise.” USNI News previously reported that the Navy may be leaning towards a Columbia-like hull for its next attack submarine. With the much wider diameter comes the ability to achieve greater speed and stealth. An SSN(X) design like this would be reminiscent of the Seawolf design – which was used for just three submarines as the Cold War was winding down but is considered the Navy’s most capable attack sub. In a separate presentation during the event, Congressional Research Service naval affairs specialist Ron O’Rourke said, “I remember one person in public describing the Seawolf class as a boat that was designed to go up into the Soviets’ backyard and do a lot of damage before it had to come home to be rearmed – and so it was designed to be a fairly fast submarine and heavily armed, especially compared to the Los Angeles- class design of the day. So in light of the Navy now talking about this next-generation attack boat being fast and heavily armed, it would not be surprising, as some people have speculated, if that submarine were to have a diameter similar to that of the Seawolf or the Columbia-class design, something in the range of 40 to 43 feet.” If that were to be the case, he said, SSN(X) might have a similar diameter to Seawolf but a greater displacement, due to modernization in engineering such as the SSN(X) likely having a larger electric drive system instead of a mechanical one. ======SLUAS Providing ‘Awesome Capability’ To Submarines Rich Abott, Defense Daily, November 23 A Navy official said they have now developed and demonstrated the utility of a submarine-launched unmanned aerial system (SLUAS) to help target torpedoes. The Navy used authorities under a middle tier acquisition approved in March 2019 to begin the project in May 2019, with three demonstrations conducted in 2019 and 2020, Rear Adm. David Goggins, program executive officer for submarines, said at the virtual annual Naval Submarine League symposium on Nov. 18. Goggins noted that just eight months after completing the approved capability production documents the Na- vy conducted an at-sea demonstration of SLUAS on the USS Annapolis (SSN-760). “And it was great, Annapolis was able to launch 12 of 12 of the SLUAS from periscope depth, control them out to tactically significant ranges well beyond the line of sight,” Goggins said. “By doing so, she was able to target and conduct a rapid simulated torpedo attack against a participating surface ship, in this case the USS Charleston (LCS-18), pretty much at near maximum effective range of that torpedo – by employing that UAV to obtain a fire point solution after getting that initial sonar gain,” he contin- ued. Goggins said this is “a pretty awesome capability to provide to the fleet.”

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The Navy current has five SLUAS ship sets today and plans to continue delivering the capability. The SLUAS was deployed with the fleet in September after DIE completed the final flyoffs in July. Another demonstration was conducted against a surface ship and land site. The Navy has used 21 SLUAS UAVs in demonstration so far. Goggins underscored the Navy team reached this capability by leveraging other transaction authorities (OTAs) via the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in California. “The key thing now we’re really working on is the evolution of that capability going forward,” he added. Earlier this month, the Navy posted a Request For Information (RFI) seeking white papers to determine capabilities for the SLUAS for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions (Defense Daily, Nov. 3). Under the RFI, the Navy is seeking information on a SLUAS to focus on ISR single mission systems but also have a design flexible enough for allow for future modifications and payloads in the future. ======The Navy Has Started Naming Its Submarines After Sea Creatures Again Joseph Trevithick, The Drive, November 23 In the past two months, Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite has announced the names of three future Virginia class attack submarines. In a departure from the established convention, which the lead boat in the class had set, all three will be named after fish. The Navy's boss says these monikers, all of which honor past submarines, will help the members of its Silent Service restore a link to important history and heritage after decades of sailing in boats primarily named after U.S. states and cities. On Nov. 17, 2020, Braithwaite had revealed that two future Virginia class submarines, with the hull numbers SSN-805 and SSN-806, would be named USS Tang and USS Wahoo, respectively. The month before, he had announced that the forthcoming SSN-804 would receive the name USS Barb. All of these will be Block V boats with the additional Virginia Payload Module (VPM), which has four large-diameter launch tubes that will be capable of firing various weapons and potentially deploying other systems, including unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV). You can read more about these boats and their enhanced capabilities in this past War Zone piece. As already noted, the Navy's established naming convention for Virginia class boats is to name them after U.S. states. When it came to attack submarines, before that there had been the Los Angeles class, all but one of which, the USS Hyman G. Rickover, originally to be called USS Providence, were named after Ameri- can cities. In between those two classes, the Navy also acquired three Seawolf class attack submarines. The service had originally planned to buy 29 of these highly advanced boats, but growing costs together with defense spending drawdowns after the end of the Cold War led to that purchase being severely truncated. The first-in- class USS Seawolf, which was commissioned in 1997, is named after a fish, but the trio does not follow any real naming convention. The other two are the USS Connecticut, which presaged the Navy's naming decision with regards to the Virginia class, and the USS Jimmy Carter. These boats, which you can read about in more detail in this previous War Zone story, have since been lever- aged heavily for intelligence-gathering and other specialized missions, including extended operations under the Arctic ice. Jimmy Carter is notably a unique subclass unto itself with the addition of a 100-foot-long Multi- Mission Platform (MMP) module in the center of the hull. The highly modified boat is now America's top underwater espionage and special missions submarine. Beginning in 1981, the Navy also began commissioning its newest ballistic missile submarines, the Ohio class, all but one of which, the USS Henry M. Jackson, are named after states. Henry M. Jackson was a long- time member of Congress from Washington state. Four of these were subsequently converted into guided missile submarines that also featured advanced command and control capabilities, which you can read about more in this previous War Zone feature. “Naming Virginia class submarines is a unique opportunity to reclaim submarine names that carry inspirational records of achievement,” Braithwaite said in announcing the future USS Tang and USS Wahoo. Previous submarines with those names, as well as past USS Barbs, certainly have storied histories. The USS Tang

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The first USS Tang was a Balao class submarine that served during World War II in the Pacific. She sank a total of 33 ships, including Japanese warships, as well as freighters and tankers, over the course of five patrols in 1944. She also helped save downed airmen. Her service came to an unceremonious end on Oct. 25 of that year, when she was sunk by one of her own torpedoes that went off course and came circling back at her. Of her crew of 87, only nine, including her cap- tain at the time, Commander Richard O'Kane, survived and ended up in Japanese captivity. O'Kane subsequently received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Tang's final two engagements against the Jap- anese. O'Kane became something of a legend in the Navy's submarine community and his cribbage board, which survived the sinking of the Tang, now goes into officer's wardroom aboard whatever the oldest attack submarine on active duty is at present. The honor is now held by the Los Angeles class submarine USS Chicago, after the previous oldest boat, the USS Olympia, another member of the same class, left active service last year. A second USS Tang was commissioned in 1951 and was the lead boat in her class of diesel-electric submarines. This boat conducted operations in the Pacific region in the 1950s and 1960s, including patrols in the South China Sea during the Vietnam War. Starting in 1972, the submarine underwent a major overhaul, which extended the hull-length by 22 feet and increased its displacement by 600 tons. A new passive sonar system was installed along with a Prairie Masker acoustic signature reduction system. Afterward, this Tang returned to the Pacific until it underwent another overhaul in 1977 and was sent the following year to Groton, Connecticut, where it took up a new role, training sailors from the Imperial Iranian Na- vy. It also provided other training support to Navy units on the East Coast. The plan had been to eventually transfer the submarine to Iran, but those plans were halted after the Islamic Revolution in that country in 1979. The ex-USS Tang was eventually passed to the Turkish Navy in 1980, where the boat served with the new name Pirireis until 2004. It is now on display in the Turkish port city of Izmir. The USS Wahoo The original USS Wahoo, on which Commander O'Kane had served for a time as Executive Officer, was a Gato class submarine that also served in the Pacific during World War II. This boat sank 20 ships across seven patrols between 1942 and 1943 and became one of the most decorated submarines in the Navy at the time, earning six battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation, which is given in recognition of “extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy.” Wahoo sank in the La Pérouse Strait in the Sea of Japan sometime in October 1943 in the wake of a Japa- nese aerial attack. There were no survivors and the exact location of the wreck was not confirmed until 2006. The Navy tried twice to name a Tench class submarine Wahoo, but that never came to be amid a raft of can- celed submarine orders late in the Second World War and immediately afterward. The service did eventually name one of the 1950s-era Tang class submarines after this storied World War II-era boat. As with the first submarine in that new class, this second USS Wahoo also spent most of its career in the Pa- cific, including conducting patrols in support of the Vietnam War. Just like the first-in-class USS Tang, this boat relocated to the East Coast in 1977 ahead of what was supposed to be a transfer to the Imperial Iranian Navy. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran upended those plans, Wahoo was decommissioned in 1980 and was used as a source of spare parts for other Tang class submarines until it was finally stricken from the rolls for good in 1983 and subsequently sold for scrap. The USS Barb The Navy's first USS Barb was a Gato class submarine that served in both the Atlantic, as well as other bod- ies of water around Europe, and the Pacific. She is credited with sink 17 ships over the course of 12 patrols, in total. Barb's first patrol was in support of the allied invasion of North Africa, nicknamed Operation Torch, which began in late 1942. She then conducted four more patrols around Europe hunting Axis blockade runners during which she sank one German ship. The submarine was then sent to the Pacific, arriving in Pearl Harbor in September 1943. The boat's seven subsequent patrols in that theater left it with an impressive combat record, including the sinking of the Japa- nese escort carrier Un'yō in September 1944. On the night of Jan. 22-23, 1945, Barb managed to penetrate inside what was then known as Namkwan Har-

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bor on China's Hainan island, which the Japanese controlled at the time. The submarine sunk or damaged multiple ships sitting at anchor before withdrawing to safety, despite having no charts of the shallow and heavily mined waters inside what is known today as the Port of Yangpu. This action earned the boat a Presi- dential Unit Citation. Before her final patrol, which began in June 1945, Barb was fitted with an array of five-inch rocket launchers on the deck, which the boat's crew subsequently used to bombard multiple coastal towns in the Japanese home islands. During this patrol, the crew also sent a raiding party ashore that is credited with blowing up a train. USS BOWFIN SUBMARINE MUSEUM AND PARK Barb's battle flag at the end of World War II, with markings denoting ships sunk or damaged and other notable actions, including attacks on land targets using rockets, as well as its three-inch deck gun, and the destruction of the train. Notable awards given to the ship and its crew are also denoted at the top. Barb survived the war, having destroyed the most Japanese ships by tonnage, and was placed in reserve sta- tus in 1946, before being decommissioned the following year. The Navy recommissioned the boat in 1951 and it operated in the Atlantic until it was decommissioned again in 1954. The service then put it through the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) conversion program. Gato, as well as Balao and Tench class submarines, received the GUPPY upgrades, which were derived from features found on cap- tured German Type XXI U-boats and offered extra speed when sailing submerged, as well as improved maneuverability and greater endurance. The Navy again recommissioned Barb in August 1954, but decommissioned her for the last time less than four months later and transferred her to the Italian Navy. The Italians operated the boat for some time after that, having renamed it the Enrico Tazzoli, and subsequently sold it for scrap in 1972. In 1963, the Navy commissioned a second USS Barb, a nuclear Permit class submarine. The Permit class had been known as the Thresher class until the USS Thresher was lost in an accident in 1963, an incident that remains a source of controversy. USN The Permit class USS Barb. This second Barb operated in the Pacific right up until the last years of the Cold War. She was notably responsible for reporting unusual Soviet naval activity in April 1968, which subsequently turned out to be search efforts for the stricken Golf-II class ballistic missile submarine K-129. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) famously mounted a highly-classified effort to recover that sunken boat, nicknamed Project Azorian. The Hughes Glomar Explorer, a modified drillship, built at the direction of Howard Hughes in cooperation with the CIA, was ultimately only able to pull a portion of K-129 up from the bottom of the ocean in 1974. This submarine also received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for rescuing survivors of a U.S. Air Force B- 52 bomber that crashed in the Pacific near Guam in 1972 as Typhoon Rita slammed the area. In 1977, the boat was selected as a test platform for the submarine-launched version of the Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile. The Navy decommissioned this USS Barb in 1989. Fish names are back Before Braithwaite's announcement about the future USS Barb, Seawolf had been the last Navy submarine named after a fish. Before that, the Sturgeon class had been the last Navy submarine class where the formal convention had been to name them after denizens of the deep. The Navy decommissioned its last Sturgeon class boat, USS Parche, a heavily modified spy submarine akin to the USS Jimmy Carter that followed it, in 2005. The Navy also operated a unique diesel-electric research and development submarine, USS Dolphin, until 2007. USS Parche in 2004. It's also worth noting that exceptions generally prove the rule when it comes to Navy ship naming conven- tions. There are already two Virginia class submarines set to be named after notable Americans, rather than states. These are the future USS John Warner and USS Hyman G. Rickover. The Los Angeles class USS Hyman G. Rickover was decommissioned in 2006. John Warner was a long-time Senator from Virginia who also served as Secretary of the Navy under Presi-

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dent Richard Nixon. He had also fought in World War II and the Korean War with the U.S. Marines. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, a Polish Jewish immigrant who first joined the Navy in 1922, is described as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy" and ran the service's Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program for just over three decades after its creation in 1949. Rickover, who eventually became something of a controversial figure, was forced into retirement in 1982, at the age of 82, and died in 1986. He remains, by far, the longest-serving director of the Navy's main nuclear office, also commonly known simply as Naval Reactors. USN Admiral Hyman G. Rickover onboard the submarine USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered vessel. "Fish don't vote!" It's perhaps somewhat amusing that the future USS Hyman G. Rickover will share space with at least three other Virginia class submarines named after fish. Rickover is said to have been responsible for ending the convention of naming submarines after denizens of the deep. Admiral James Watkins, who was Chief of Na- val Operations, the Navy's top officer, from 1982 to 1986, said that the head of Naval Reactors had once de- clared to him "Fish don't vote!" The idea, at least in theory, was that establishing a more visible link to specific American constituencies, even land-locked ones, would create a sense of attachment to individual boats, which in turn would help sway members of Congress to approve funding for new submarines. A similar logic appears to have been applied to the Navy's two subclasses of Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), the bulk of which are also named after U.S. cities. It's not entirely clear if the Braithwaite truly intends to continue naming new submarines after fish, or if the names of other notable, now-decommissioned submarines that have nothing to do with undersea fauna may also make comebacks. For instance, for a time, the Navy had named ballistic missile submarines after notable Americans, including multiple Presidents, and even foreign historical figures. The Benjamin Franklin class USS Simon Bolivar, named after the Venezuelan revolutionary hero who led multiple Latin American countries to independence from Spain in the 19th century, is perhaps one of the more interesting examples. USN Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite speaks with sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Milius in Japan in October. The latest edition of the Congressional Research Service's (CRS) report on ship naming, which is dated Nov. 16, the day before Braithwaite announced the future USS Tang and USS Wahoo, does not say that there has been any formal change in the naming convention for the Virginia class. It also says that the Navy has yet to state publicly how it plans to name its Columbia class ballistic missile submarines, despite the general belief being that these will be named after states, just like the Ohio class. Congress may well have their own opin- ions on all of this and ship naming can often be a politically-charged issue on the Hill, which is the reason CRS' report exists in the first place. World War II-era submarines, all named after fish, are among the most likely to have had the "inspirational records of achievement" that Braithwaite says he is now looking to honor. There will definitely be more submarines in need of names in the future, too, with the Navy's current highly ambitious force plan calling for between 70 and 80 total boats to be in service by 2045. Right now, the service is planning to acquire Block VI Virginia class boats ahead of the planned future introduction of an all-new attack submarine, presently re- ferred to as SSN(X). That design is expected to be based, at least in part, on the Columbia class and have features carried over from the Block VI Virginias. If nothing else, the Secretary of the Navy has made clear that any formal or informal prohibition the service had on naming new submarines after fish is gone, at least as long as he is in the post. ======Columbia-class submarine funding included in defense bill Gordon Jackson, The Brunswick News, December 9 A defense bill that includes funding for the development and procurement of Columbia-class submarines to replace the Ohio-class boats stationed at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The first Columbia-class submarine is scheduled to arrive at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in 2028. The base is currently undergoing renovations costing in excess of $1 billion in preparation of the new submarines.

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Funding for construction of the new ballistic missile submarines is considered a priority because of their role in national defense. The existing ballistic missile submarines, Ohio-class, are aging and will all exceed their lifespans when the boats were commissioned in the 1980s and1990s. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a strong supporter of Kings Bay, has been a vocal advocate for the new fleet of submarines and the importance of the boats completed on schedule. “This legislation ensures construction on the Ohio-class replacement continues to prevent any interruption in future missions at Kings Bay,” Carter said. “The submarines at Kings Bay play a critical role in our nuclear deterrence as the United States continues to face uncertain threats from around the globe. Kings Bay is the elite home to the Atlantic ballistic submarine fleet, and I will continue to support both this mission and Kings Bay.” ======‘Awesome’ New Submarine-Launched Drone Guides Torpedo Attacks From Unprecedented Range David Hambling, Forbes, December 11 The U.S. Navy has deployed new drones launched from submarines to spy out targets and enable torpedo attacks on ships sailing far beyond the horizon. By acting as the sub’s eyes and ears, the drone can greatly increase its strike range – and keep the submarine well away from any defensive weapons or sensors. The deployment was revealed by Rear Adm. Dave Goggins, program executive officer for Submarines, in a webinar at the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium. Goggins called the new submarine-launched unmanned aerial system (SLUAS) “a pretty awesome capability to provide to the fleet.” Modern torpedoes like the Mk 48 Mod 6 Advanced Technology are limited by the range of sensors. Officially the Mk 48 has a range of ‘greater than five miles’; unofficially it is believed to be somewhat over 30 miles. The problem though is that it is difficult to detect, positively identify and track a target at that sort of range from as submerged submarine. These days submarines do not raise a periscope for an attack, which would give away their location to radar; instead, everything is done from sonar. But, depending on conditions, this might only give a ‘target solution’ – a precise fix on the target vessel – from a few miles away. The drone solves all that. It is launched underwater from a 3-inch tube normally used for noisemaking decoys, bobs to the surface and then takes off, unfolding wings and an electric propeller. Equipped with daylight and night vision cameras, it relays data back to the submerged submarine. While sonar might have difficulty pick- ing out one specific vessel from a group, the drone can easily identify and give the exact location, speed and bearing information needed to launch a torpedo. Goggin’s use of the term ‘awesome’ is probably not an accident: the project was developed under the name 'Advanced Weapons Enhanced by Submarine UAS against Mobile targets' – AWESUM for short. The aim was to provide a means of spotting not just ships for torpedo attacks, but also for pinpointing land targets for strikes by submarine-launched cruise missiles. The drone for the original AWESUM development was the BlackWing developed by AeroVironment AVAV , a derivative of their SwitchBlade loitering munition which weighs about four pounds and has a twenty-seven inch wingspan. The speed and endurance are not stated, but if it is similar to SwitchBlade it may cruise for half an hour at 60 mph. Earlier, AeroVironment worked on a version of BlackWIng with an explosive payload, which would have allowed submarines to carry out covert strikes on high-value targets in coastal areas; this version does not seem to have gone into production. Goggins said the drone was tested by USS Annapolis, a fast-attack submarine, using it in a simulated torpedo attack on the littoral-combat ship USS Charleston at “pretty much at near-maximum effective range of that torpedo.” After successful testing, the new drones were deployed in September and are now in active service. “I have five SLUAS shipsets in the fleet today and we will continue to deliver this capability,” Goggins said. “We’re really working on the evolution of that capability going forward.” The Navy seems to be serious about further developments. On October 30th they put out a Request For In- formation for a Submarine-Launched Unmanned Aerial System. This specifies that the drone, which must fit in a three-inch launch tube, should have a flight endurance of at least one hour, “operate at ranges out to the line-of-sight radio horizon” and have advanced encrypted communications. The drone should be able to fly

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autonomously so the submarine would not need to transmit control signals which might give away its location. AeroVironment are likely to have some competition: Lockheed Martin’s Outrider, which debuted in 2017, is also capable of submarine launch and has a flight endurance of more than two hours, with a cruising speed of 40 mph. They may also be far more capable submarine-launched drones out there. In 2016, Rear Adm. Charles Rich- ard, the Navy’s director for undersea warfare, told USNI News of plans for “21-inch torpedo tube launched vehicles with much longer launched duration.” With this sort of aerial asset torpedoes with far greater ranges could be deployed. The launching submarine does not need to be within sonar range, or even in the same general area as the target. That’s going to make things very much more difficult for anyone trying to stop a submarine attack. ======Newest U.S. Navy Submarine Visits Newest Brazil Submarine Base Staff, U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs, December 11 RIO DE JANEIRO-- The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Vermont (SSN 792) is operating in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations and conducted a brief stop for logistics in Rio de Janeiro, Dec. 10-15. Vermont is the newest submarine in the U.S. Fleet and is visiting Brazil’s newest submarine base the Itaguaí naval base in the state of Rio de Janeiro. During Vermont’s visit, Brazil will accept three Brazilian built Scor- pene-class diesel-electric submarine’s into their fleet: BNS Riachuelo (S40), BNS Humaitá (S41) and BNS Tonelero (S42). While operating in U.S. 4th Fleet, Vermont conducted anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises with the Bra- zilian Navy Submarine Tupi (S30) and maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. “It is an honor to visit Brazil’s newest submarine base and see first-hand the Brazilian Navy’s success in the Brazilian Navy Submarine Development Program (PROSUB) through the build of BNS Riachuelo, BNS Hu- maitá, and BNS Tonelero,” said Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, Commander, U.S. Submarine Forces. “The PROSUB program plays an important part in strengthening our bilateral ties and the overall regional security foundation. We will continue to work closely together toward achieving our shared objectives to improve our combined undersea effectiveness.” U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman hosted President Jair Bolsonaro, accompanied by Caudle and other Brazilian dignitaries for a key leader engagement on Vermont, reaffirming the strong history of military collaboration between the United States and Brazil. “This visit reiterates our strong military-to-military relationship, and our common commitment to a partnership that helps strengthen the security of each of our nations, as well as the broader hemisphere. I was pleased to see first-hand, along with President Bolsonaro, the world-class technology and capabilities of this vessel, and to reiterate at the highest level of government our commitment to partnership with Brazil, said Chapman.” Vermont was commissioned April 18, 2020, and is the 19th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine. It is homeported in Groton, Connecticut. Vermont, while in the 4th Fleet area of operations, will operate under the command and control of Command- er Task Force 46 to complement the undersea warfare capabilities of U.S. Southern Command. The crew will adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines to ensure the health and safety of the local population and Sailors onboard. U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Command’s joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region. ======USS Topeka becomes 10th Los Angeles-class attack submarine stationed in Hawaii Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes, December 16 FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — Pearl Harbor became home to another fast-attack submarine as the USS Tope- ka changed its homeport to Hawaii on Tuesday.

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The vessel, formerly homeported in Guam since 2015, became the 10th Los Angeles-class submarine to be stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the Navy said in a news release Wednesday. It is assigned to Submarine Squadron 7. The sub is slated to soon go into Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for regularly scheduled major maintenance for upgrades and repairs, the Navy said. “The crew and their families did a fantastic job of getting things ready in a timely manner and transitioning to a new place,” Cmdr. Richard Salazar, Topeka’s commanding officer, said in the news release. “There is so much logistics and stress that goes into a change of homeport, but the crew and their families did a tremendous job navigating through it all, and we are so happy to be here.” USS Topeka was “the tip of the spear” during its five years stationed at Guam, Capt. Mike Majewski, commo- dore of Submarine Squadron 7, said in the news release. “She steamed thousands of nautical miles in support of national and Pacific Fleet objectives and participated in numerous national and international exercises,” he said. Since 2015, the submarine deployed four times, participated in 14 exercises and earned the service’s Engi- neering Efficiency Award each year, the Navy said. The Topeka became the fourth Los Angeles-class submarine to be homeported in Guam in 2015 as part of the Obama administration’s Pacific rebalance intended to enhance the Navy’s forward presence in the region. Topeka was commissioned in 1989 and was given a complete engineering overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, N.H., before being sent to Guam. The sub can support a variety of missions, including anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface ship warfare; surveillance and reconnaissance; and strike warfare, the Navy said. Topeka returned from its last deployment, in the Western Pacific, on Oct. 24. ======Navy plans to retire 48 ships during 2022-2026 Richard Burgess, Seapower Magazine, December 11 A defense bill that includes funding for the development and procurement of Columbia-class submarines to replace the Ohio-class boats stationed at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The first Columbia-class submarine is scheduled to arrive at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in 2028. The base is currently undergoing renovations costing in excess of $1 billion in preparation of the new submarines. Funding for construction of the new ballistic missile submarines is considered a priority because of their role in national defense. The existing ballistic missile submarines, Ohio-class, are aging and will all exceed their lifespans when the boats were commissioned in the 1980s and1990s. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a strong supporter of Kings Bay, has been a vocal advocate for the new fleet of submarines and the importance of the boats completed on schedule. “This legislation ensures construction on the Ohio-class replacement continues to prevent any interruption in future missions at Kings Bay,” Carter said. “The submarines at Kings Bay play a critical role in our nuclear deterrence as the United States continues to face uncertain threats from around the globe. Kings Bay is the elite home to the Atlantic ballistic submarine fleet, and I will continue to support both this mission and Kings Bay.” ======Russian nuclear submarine test-fires 4 missiles Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press, December 12 MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian nuclear submarine on Saturday successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles in a show of readiness of Moscow’s nuclear forces amid tension with the U.S. The Defense Ministry said that the Vladimir Monomakh submarine of the Pacific Fleet launched four Bulava missiles in quick succession from an underwater position in the Sea of Okhotsk. Their dummy warheads hit their designated targets on the Chiza shooting range in the Arkhangelsk region in northwestern Russia more

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than 5,500 kilometers (over 3,400 miles) away, the ministry said in a statement. The Vladimir Monomakh is one of the new Borei-class nuclear submarines that carry 16 Bulava missiles each and are intended to serve as the core of the naval component of the nation’s nuclear forces for decades to come. Another submarine of the same type performed a similar launch of four Bulava missiles in 2018 — a costly demonstration of the efficiency of the country’s nuclear deterrent mimicking the conditions of a major nuclear conflict. In a report to President Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Saturday’s launch wrapped up large-scale drills of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces that began Wednesday. As part of those maneuvers, another Russian nuclear submarine also performed a practice launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Barents Sea, a ground-based ICBM was launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia and Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers fired cruise missiles at test targets at an Arctic range. Russia has expanded its military drills in recent years amid tensions with the West as relations have sunk to post-Cold War lows after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. The series of missile launches comes less than two months before the New START U.S.-Russian arms control treaty expires in early February. Moscow and Washington have discussed the possibility of its extension, but so far have failed to overcome their differences. New START was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries still standing. Arms control advocates have warned that its expiration would remove any checks on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces, in a blow to global stability. ======

======The following selected history articles is a calendar listing of submarine activities as part of Undersea Warfare News weekly news bulletin emails on these days during the months of November and Decem- ber 2020 in Undersea Warfare History http://www.subforce.navy.mil/ November 30, 1993 | President William J. Clinton signs legislation that lifts the ban on women serving aboard combat ships. December 1, 1943 | USS Peto (SS 265) sinks Japanese transport Tonei Maru. December 2, 1944 | USS Sea Devil (SS 400) attacks a Japanese convoy in the East China Sea and sinks merchant tanker Akigawa Maru and passenger-cargo ship Hawaii Maru. December 3, 1943 | USS Tinosa (SS 283) sinks the Palau-bound Japanese fleet tanker Azuma Maru northwest of Sonsorol. December 4, 1944 | USS Flasher (SS 249) sinks Japanese destroyer Kishinami and damages a merchant ship sinking more than 100,000 tons of enemy cargo in the South China Sea. December 7, 1941 | The Japanese attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet and nearby airfields and installations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. December 8, 1943 | USS Sawfish (SS 276) sinks Japanese transport Sansei Maru southeast of Chi Chi Jima. December 9, 1941 | USS Swordfish (SS 193) makes initial U.S. submarine attack on Japanese ship, torpedo- ing a ship 150 miles west of Manila. December 10, 1942 | USS Halibut (SS 232) Early in the morning, Halibut closed for the attack. A hit amid- ships sank the Genzan Maru and later the Shingo Maru. December 11, 1944 | USS Sea Owl (SS 405) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 76 in the East

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China Sea. December 14, 1944 | The rank of U.S. Navy Fleet Admiral (five-star admiral) is established during WWII. December 15, 1944 | USS Hawkbill (SS 366) sinks the Japanese destroyer Momo west of Luzon. December 16, 1944 | USS Swordfish (SS 193) attacks a Japanese convoy south of Hainan Island and sinks Japanese army transport Atsutasan Maru. December 17, 1942 | USS Grouper (SS 214) sinks the Japanese cargo ship Bandoeng Maru about 15 miles northwest of Cape Henpan, Buka Island, Solomons. December 18, 1943 | USS Aspro (SS 309) attacks a Japanese convoy in Sakishima Gunto, damaging fleet tankers Sarawak Maru and Tenei Maru, and escapes counter attacks by destroyer Shoikaze. ======

======MILITARY NEWS Saved by the rain: WWII submarine crew lived thanks to storm https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/national/military-news/saved-by-the-rain-wwii-submarine-crew-lived-thanks-to-storm/77- 0b55d106-9d24-4ef9-bbae-36dcee9508cd Author: Lewis Turner Published: 6:05 PM EST December 15, 2020 Updated: 9:28 PM EST December 15, 2020 Submariners suffered some of the greatest loss during World War II because when a boat went down, there was generally no escape. KINGS BAY BASE, Ga. — Archie Holte thinks of rain showers a bit differently than most people would. “We were going through the Lombok Straight," Holte remembered. "We had to go through at night because they could shoot you from both sides.” During World War II, he served and remembers going days underwater without ever seeing the sky, let alone the rain. Holte, and the men who served alongside him, were going through a treacherous stretch of islands, a straight that separated the South China Sea, Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was a narrow body of waters where subs had no place to hide. Since theirs is known as the silent service, they depended on stealth to avoid attacking ships that were just above on the surface. “This one ship we came across was a depth charge factory, because boy he really laid it on us,” Holte remembers. The Japanese ship raining down a cloud of depth charges that could send the crew of the submarine to their deaths in an instant. For a bit of historical perspective, Holte, his crew and the thousands of other submariners in World War II were some of the first to pierce the Pacific Front. It was the submarines that really lead the way against Japan, considering a good portion of the American surface fleet had been disabled in the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Yet, the Japanese, for some reason, never bombed the subs or the fuel reserves that were precariously close to the battleships they sunk in the harbor. It was sailors like Holte and Antonio Faella, affectionately known as bubble heads, who were able to get out first. “When the war broke out, about the only thing we had out there was submarines," Faella said. "We held the Japanese front until the surface craft arrived.” That had some devastating impacts.

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Keith Post is a submariner, historian and runs a submarine museum in St. Mary’s, GA. “The sub force suffered the highest rate of causality of any other force in the war," Post said, noting that it was a small force. However, by percentage of men serving on submarines, many did not come home. "If a boat went down, all 80 guys went down," Post explained. "You didn’t’ survive that." “I think about how horrible it must have been for them to go down,” Faella said. “I think about when I was depth charged, and we made it, some men weren’t so lucky." Often it did take luck, or maybe some divine intervention to survive in those situations. Archie’s sub had no where to hide. They just had to sit and wait, in total silence, wondering if the Japanese warship above would finish them off. “If he made one more pass, he would have blown the hatch off," Holte said. "But a typical rain shower came in and he couldn’t hear us anymore.” The rain was just loud enough to hide their movements. A shower some may take for granted is why Holte is here today. “Grace of God, yeah we might not be here anymore.” ======AN-1: America’s Plan for Submarine Aircraft Carriers https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/an-1-americas-plan-for-submarine-aircraft-carriers/ Alex Hollings | December 22, 2020 Today, America’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines represent two of the most potent forms of force projection wielded by any force in military history. For a short time in the late 1950s, America had plans to put them together into a single GI Joe style superweapon: A submarine aircraft carrier. The nuclear days before we got MAD For a short four years after the United States dropped the only atomic bombs ever used in anger on the Japa- nese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America enjoyed a monopoly on the destructive power of splitting the atom. But on August 29, 1949, America’s former World War II allies in the Soviet Union conducted their own nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk test site in modern-day Kazakhstan. While America’s use of atomic weapons may have brought the world into the atomic age, it was truly the Soviet test that hurled the world’s two dominant superpowers into the decades-long staring contest we now know as the Cold War.

A 15-kiloton nuclear artillery round is fired from a 280-mm cannon 25 May 1953 at the Nevada Proving Grounds. (Photo courtesy of the National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada Field Office) The massive destructive power of these new weapons forced a strategic shift in military operations the world over. Today, it’s difficult to fully appreciate the scope of the challenge nuclear weapons posed to military operations in those early days. Since the early 1960s, the nuclear powers of the world have operated under the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD. The premise behind MAD was simple as laid out by Presi- dent Kennedy’s Defense Secretary Robert McNamara: Any single Soviet nuclear attack would be met with a barrage of American nuclear weapons, which would prompt a full-fledged launch of Soviet nuclear weapons

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in a deadly cascade. The result, everyone knew, would be the end of life as we know it. MAD ensured there would be no win- ners in a nuclear conflict — effectively rendering nuclear weapons moot on the battlefield. If any single nuclear attack could bring about the end of the world, it was in the best interest of all nations never to launch such an attack at all. But prior to the advent of the MAD doctrine, nuclear weapons were largely seen like any other weapon in a nation’s arsenal. Because these weapons were so capable, many military leaders began de- vising entire strategies around their creative use (from developing what would become America’s nuclear triad to fielding backpack nukes on skiing Green Berets).

During the Cold War, Special Operators were tasked with car- rying SADM backpack nukes behind enemy lines. (DoD Pho- tos) Of course, not all military planning was based on finding new ways to use nuclear weapons. There was also a pressing need to develop strategies and technologies that would be able to fight after the first few volleys of a nuclear exchange. One area of particular concern was America’s newfound air power. At the onset of World War II, the United States maintained just 2,500 or so military aircraft, but by the end of the war, America was an aviation powerhouse. With more than 300,000 tactical aircraft and a fleet of the most advanced bombers on Earth (the B-29 Stratofortress), America knew a potential World War III would be fought largely in the skies… but that posed a problem. How do you launch aircraft after all your airfields have been erased by nuclear hellfire? That question led to a number of interesting programs, including the UFO-like VZ-9 Avrocar that theoretically wouldn’t need runways to take off. Another strategy first introduced in the 1950s called for a fleet of fighters that didn’t need runways, or even hangars that could be targeted by enemy bombers. Instead, the U.S. Navy wanted to launch fighter jets from submarines, just like they had been experimenting with launching cruise missiles. Launching winged cruise missiles from submarines

USS Halibut (WikiMedia Commons) In the 1950s, the United States was already hard at work experimenting with the idea of launching large missiles from submarines, in the early stages of what would become America’s seaward leg of the nuclear triad. In fact, the concept seemed so promising that some Navy officials began to wonder if they could launch small fighters from the hull of a submarine, just like they could with missiles. After conducting missile tests aboard modified fleet ships, the Navy built two diesel-electric cruise missile submarines known as the Grayback Class. These subs could carry four large Regulus II missiles — which were turbojet-powered cruise missiles. After the Grayback Class subs’ promising performance, the Navy built a single Halibut-class vessel: a nuclear-powered submarine that could carry five of these large missiles. Unlike the submarine-launched ballistic missiles of today, these missiles were not fired while the sub was submerged. Instead, it would surface and launch the winged-cruise missiles via a ramp that led down the bow of the ship. In order to defend itself against enemy ships, the USS Halibut also carried six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes, January 2021 Page 24

making the 350-foot long submarine a 5,000 thousand ton warfighting behemoth. Thanks to its S3W nuclear reactor, the Halibut had limitless range, which was important because the Regulus II missiles it carried had a range of only around 1,000 miles. Because the Halibut had been designed to deploy winged cruise missiles of a similar size and weight to crewed fighter aircraft, the Navy saw an opportunity. Not only could these new submarines be used for missiles… they could also feasibly be used as carriers. The plan to build submarine aircraft carriers

(WikiMedia Commons) World War II had proven the value of aircraft carriers to the U.S. Navy, but after losing five such vessels and seven more escort carriers in the conflict, the Navy could see the value of an aircraft carrier that could submerge after launching its fighters. Using the Halibut as a model, the U.S. Navy devised the AN-1 submarine aircraft carrier, which would carry eight fighters stored within two hangers inside the ship’s hull. In order to launch the fighters, the submarine would surface and orient the fighters straight up to be launched vertically. In order to manage the vertical launch, separate boosters would be affixed to the aircraft once they were on the launch rail. Those boosters would then fire, propelling the fighter into the air with enough speed and altitude for the fighter’s own engines to keep it flying.

According to the Navy’s plans, the AN-1 submarine aircraft carrier could launch four fighters in just 6 minutes and all eight fighters in less than eight minutes. Today’s Nimitz-class supercarriers can launch a fighter every 20 seconds when moving at full steam, but nonetheless, eight fighters in eight minutes was seen as an impressive figure at the time, especially for an aircraft carrier that could submerge again after launch. Initially, the Navy hoped to use conventional fighter aircraft with the new submarine, and for a short time, the Grumman F-11F Tiger was considered for the role. But the 1950s saw such rapid advancement in aviation that the F-11 was soon deemed too slow to compete in the latter half of the 20th century. Instead, the Navy looked to Boeing to devise purpose-built fighters that could not only manage the stress of a vertical launch from an aircraft carrier submarine, but that could also attain speeds as high as Mach 3. The challenges of flying a fighter from a submarine aircraft carrier

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The proposed Boeing fighters never received a formal designation, but plans called for them to have an overall length of 70 feet, with a height of 19.5 feet and a wingspan of just 21.1 feet. They were to use a Wright SE- 105 jet engine that produced 23,000 pounds of thrust and were to be crewed by a single pilot. Boeing’s plan called for two additional SE-105 engines to be attached to the fighters to sustain its vertical lift- off, but once it had reached sufficient altitude, the aircraft would eject the two additional engines, which would later be recovered for re-use.

Vertical lift-off tests on other platforms had proven the viability of such a launch approach, but take-off is only half of what fighters do aboard aircraft carriers. In order to work, the fighters also needed to be able to land. On surface ship aircraft carriers, that’s done in a somewhat traditional manner, with fighters landing on the carriers’ deck and using a tail hook and cable to arrest its forward momentum. Without sufficient deck space for such landings on a submarine, Boeing considered having its AN-1 fighters land vertically just like they took off. In theory, it was possible, but tests of such a landing approach proved too risky for all but the most experienced pilots. In order to land vertically with the engine facing the deck of the ship, the pilots would have to turn and look over their shoulder during landing — like using a jet engine to back into a parking spot from above, knowing full well that your aircraft (and potentially the submarine) would explode if you made even the slightest mistake. The military landscape would shift dramatically again in the years that followed, as new ballistic missiles made it possible to launch nuclear weapons at far-flung targets with a great deal of accuracy and the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction reduced the likelihood of an early nuclear exchange wiping out airfields. America would ultimately invest heavily in massive supercarriers that, while unable to hide from enemy missiles, offer a great deal more capability and versatility than the AN-1 submarine aircraft carrier ever could.

Q: Why did the cabbage win the race? A: Because it was a head!

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USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS

======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-073 NEWS-01: Groton Base Thanksgiving Caring and Sharing Submitted by: Wayne Standerfer, National Commander on 12/5/2020 ------Shipmates, Please copy and access this website link to see what the Groton Base is/and has been doing to support our Submarine Community. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/pandemic-doesnt-stop-sailors-from-getting-a-taste-of-home-this- thanksgiving/2371034/ The members of Groton Base continually work 24/7 in promoting USSVI and should be recognized for their above and beyond efforts. When playing the video, do not restrict your observance to the speakers, but also take notice of how Groton Base members have spent untold hours in upgrading (cleaning, painting etc.) to improve the appearance (walls, deck, stage etc.) of our building. For our members that contributed both in financial and manual labor support, shipmates your contributions have not gone unnoticed. All the best and take care, Wayne Standerfer NC ======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-074 NEWS-01: USSVCF Bulletin - New book from the authors of "Poopie Suits and Cowboy Boots" Submitted by: John E. Markieiwicz, USSVCF President on 12/8/2020 ------Shipmates, MORE SUB TALES The USSV-CF is pleased to announce the arrival of Frank and Charles Hood’s latest book, "More Sub Tales", now on sale in both softbound and e-book versions on Amazon. (E-book versions for the Apple Store and the B&N Nook Store are coming soon.). The book has 50% more content than "Sub Tales" and will keep you or a gift recipient entertained for many hours. They guarantee that you will learn some aspects of submarine history that you did not previously know! The book itself is 650 pages, with 33 stories and over 300 charts, maps, pictures, and other annotations. Here is the best link to get more info: https://www.facebook.com/2hoodssubbook/photos/a.397659090673206/1084967055275736/ PRICING: $24.99 for the softbound book (nearly 2 inches thick), $9.99 for the e-book AVAILABILITY: Softbound book qualifies for Amazon Prime 2-day free shipping for Prime membersthe Kindle version is available for immediate download. Here are the links: SOFTBOUND:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PJPWLHY/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1... E-BOOK (KINDLE): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PP2LLJC/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1...

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CHARITABLE FOCUS: ALL PROFITS are donated to the USSVI Scholarship Fund. This amounts to a little more than $5.00 per book, regardless of format. This will continue until the Hood Brothers reach their final goal of $50,000. Right now, they have donated a little over $41,000 to the cause. Order your copy today! This has been a labor of love by the Hood Brothers and we think you will be very pleased with the results. JOHN E. MARKIEWICZ PRESIDENT, USSV-CF ======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-075 NEWS-01: NEWS-01: USSVCF Bulletin Submitted by: Ken Earls, Ex Dir & Treas, USSVCF on 12/9/2020 ------Shipmates, Planning for end-of-year charitable gifting? Keep in mind that this year is different in many ways. One difference is the CARES Act re-incentivizes charitable giving by creating a $300 above the line deduction for quali- fied charitable contributions. This deduction is available to all taxpayers that take the Standard Deduction on their2020 return. Your US Submarine Veterans Charitable Foundation is a 501-C-3 Charitable Foundation and this Cares Act provision applies to any donation you give to it. Of course, we are not providing specific tax advice, but rather giving you additional information you can use. This year you may be able to use the Standard Deduction and also take Charitable Donations on your 2020 Federal Income Tax Return - up to $300.00 in donations. Don't delay, act before the end of the year to get this special tax benefit. Go to www.ussvcf.org to make your donation or mail your check to: USSVCF PO Box 3870 Silverdale, WA 98383-3870 Thank you! Ken Earls Executive Director & Treasurer Charitable Foundation United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. [email protected] ======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-076 NEWS-01: Agent Orange Submitted by: Vic Van Horn, WRD, VA Rep for USSVI ------Shipmates, ATTENTION USSVI IS IN STANDING WITH MVA in all matters that pertain to Agent Orange contracted by our submariners. In the past our members that filed with the VA, were denied because of special operations as documented in logs. The MVA has asked us to stand with them in the fight for acceptance by the VA for any members stricken with Agent Orange, especialy submarine sailors that put into port at various ports while on Westpac assignments. Included in those ports is: Guam, Phu Quac, Viet Nam. All areas were contaminat- ed with Agent Orange. If you have been denied by the VA, please resubmit for coverage, and/or treatment again. Let your Base Cdr know when you resubmitted so we can track it. This info is needed for the fight for your rights and treatment.

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Base Cdr please report monthly to your District Cdr, and they in turn will report to their Regional Director, who will pass it along to me. I ask for your help in this important mission. HIGH REGARDS, VIC VANHORN WESTERN REGION DIRECTOR/ VA REP. for USSVI. ======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-077 NEWS-01: Holiday wishes Submitted by: Wayne Standerfer, National Commander on 12/21/2020 ------Shipmates, The USSVI National Board of Directors would like to wish all our Brothers of the Phin and their families a very “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Hanukkah” (observed December 10-18) and a great “New Year”. We are looking forward to 2021 answering our hopes and prayers for a return to calm seas, family gatherings, and ability to personally meet with our shipmates. All the Best, take care, and please be safe, Wayne Standerfer NC ======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-078 NEWS-01: USSVI VSO NEWS FOR December 2020 Use CTRL + click Enter to access all articles in BLUE Submitted by: John Dudas, USSVI VSO on 12/21/2020 ------Shipmates, What Tricare for Life Enrollees Should Know About Medicare Advantage Plans (very informative) What Tricare for Life Enrollees Should Know About Medicare Advantage Plans | Military.com Is the Commissary Surcharge Going to Increase? Is the Commissary Surcharge Going to Increase? | Military.com Research Delays Push Back VA Decision on New Agent Orange Conditions Research Delays Push Back VA Decision on New Agent Orange Conditions | Military.com Many VA Benefits Will Be Expanding in 2021 Thanks to a New Law Many VA Benefits Will Be Expanding in 2021 Thanks to a New Law | Military.com Congress Passes Sweeping End-of-Year Bill Impacting 'Every Corner' of the Veteran Community Congress Passes Sweeping End-of-Year Bill Impacting 'Every Corner' of the Veteran Community | Mili- tary.com VA Now Has One Centralized Phone Number for all Customer Service VA Now Has One Centralized Phone Number for all Customer Service | Military.com New Law Will Give Gold Star Families Free Park Access VA Now Has One Centralized Phone Number for all Customer Service | Military.com The 66 Religious Symbols the VA Will Put on Tombstones The 66 Religious Symbols the VA Will Put on Tombstones | Military.com Your Military Paycheck Will Be Smaller in January. Here's Why Your Military Paycheck Will Be Smaller in January. Here's Why | Military.com Hope Your Christmas and New Years are Great this year!

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John Dudas USSVI Veterans Service Officer ======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-079 NEWS-01: Retransmission of previous msg. (#2020-078) due to inop links Use CTRL + click Enter to access all articles in BLUE Submitted by: John Dudas, USSVI VSO on 12/22/2020 ------Shipmates, What Tricare for Life Enrollees Should Know About Medicare Advantage Plans (very informative) https://www.military.com/benefits/tricare/what-tricare-life-enrollees-should-know-about-medicare-advantage-plans.html? ESRC=mr_201130.nl Is the Commissary Surcharge Going to Increase? https://www.military.com/spouse/military-benefits/is-the-commissary-surcharge-going-to-increase-qb.html?ESRC=mr_201130.nl Research Delays Push Back VA Decision on New Agent Orange Conditions https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/11/24/research-delays-push-back-va-decision-new-agent-orange-conditions.html? ESRC=mr_201130.nl Many VA Benefits Will Be Expanding in 2021 Thanks to a New Law https://www.military.com/benefits/2020/12/17/many-va-benefits-will-be-expanding-2021-thanks-new-law.html?ESRC=mr_201221.nl Congress Passes Sweeping End-of-Year Bill Impacting 'Every Corner' of the Veteran Community https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/12/17/congress-passes-sweeping-end-of-year-bill-impacting-every-corner-of-veteran- community.html?ESRC=mr_201221.nl VA Now Has One Centralized Phone Number for all Customer Service https://www.military.com/benefits/2020/12/17/va-now-has-one-centralized-phone-number-all-customer-service.html? ESRC=mr_201221.nl New Law Will Give Gold Star Families Free Park Access https://www.military.com/benefits/2020/12/17/va-now-has-one-centralized-phone-number-all-customer-service.html? ESRC=mr_201221.nl The 66 Religious Symbols the VA Will Put on Tombstones https://www.military.com/off-duty/2020/12/14/66-religious-symbols-va-will-put-tombstones.html?ESRC=navy-a_201216.nl Your Military Paycheck Will Be Smaller in January. Here's Why https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/12/08/your-military-paycheck-will-be-smaller-january-heres-why.html?ESRC=mr_201214.nl Hope Your Christmas and New Years are Great this year! John Dudas USSVI Veterans Service Officer ======USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-080 NEWS-01: Blue Water / Agent Orange claim filing information Submitted by: John Dudas, USSVI VSO on 12/24/2020 ------Shipmates, The USSVI has joined with the Military Veterans Advocacy inc. group (MVA) in a legal term called “STANDING” with their efforts to assist in getting the Agent Orange Presumptive benefits to all Blue Water Sailors who are eligible. The case for Submarines has been almost impossible due to the Deck Logs not con- taining any information for location of submarines who are on missions denoted as “Special Operations” which is a security classification and being able to prove they were actually within the 12 nautical mile territorial waters of Vietnam. January 2021 Page 30

The MVA has the legal expertise and military and Federal Agency contacts to assist us in getting the Veter- ans Administration and the US Navy to be able to verify that our submarines who were in the Vietnam waters were actually there without releasing any “Special Operations” information. The MVA was one of the groups that sued the VA and won their case to get the Blue Water Act into Law and extend the old limit of Boots on the Ground out to the 12 mile water limit of Vietnam. What the USSVI Submariners have to do at this point is to contact a local Veterans Service officer and get a claim submitted for any of the Presumptive Diseases you have been medically diagnosed with. You will need the help of a Veterans Service Officer to get through the VA Claims Process, so do not try and do it yourself. If any of you have already filed a claim and have received a denial Letter from the Veterans Administration, you need to submit an appeal immediately because the date of the denial letter starts a 1-year process that will end your claim if you do not appeal it within that time frame. There are 22 states that use the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers and they are easy to find online at HTTPS://www.nacvso.org . Their website contains 2 links to locate your service officer. 1. by State and 2. By county. You can find a NACVSO right in your county for assistance. If your state is not covered by a County Veterans Service Officer, then the remaining states use their own State Veterans Service Officers which can be found by searching your State Veterans Service Division which are in the remaining 28 states. There are currently 14 Presumptive Diseases established in the Agent Orange exposure list. They can be found at https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/conditions/index.asp . There are 3 more possible diseases that were added to this years NDAA which the president gave the Veterans Administration 30 days to add coverage. They are Hypothyroidism, Bladder Cancer and Parkinsonism. If you have been diagnosed with any of these 3 then get your claim filed because they will soon be covered. You as an individual do not have access to the classified records in the Navy System to prove your claim by yourself. It will take the cooperation of both our organizations to produce an outcome beneficial to the Subma- riners who need their claims approved by getting the US Navy and the Veterans Administration to agree on the best method of providing the needed information so the VA can complete a successful claim. Your very own Veterans Service Officer is your best choice for submitting a complete claim, and if you need help finding one, please contact me at this email: [email protected] and I will assist you in contacting one close to your home. Respectfully, John Dudas USSVI Veterans Service Officer ======

======Do you have a short story, food for thought, or funny story to share? Let me know at [email protected] ======Curtis & Leroy - Mule Traders Curtis & Leroy saw an ad in the Herald-Citizen in Cookeville, Tn. and bought a mule for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the mule the next day. The next morning the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry, fellows, I have some bad news, the mule died last night." Curtis & Leroy replied, "Well, then just give us our money back." The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already." They said, "OK then, just bring us the dead mule."

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The farmer asked, "What in the world ya'll gonna do with a dead mule?" Curtis said, "We gonna raffle him off." The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead mule!" Leroy said, "We shore can! Heck, we don't hafta tell nobody he's dead!" A couple of weeks later, the farmer ran into Curtis & Leroy at the IGA grocery store and asked. “What'd you fellers ever do with that dead mule?” They said, "We raffled him off like we said we wuz gonna do." Leroy said, "Shucks, we sold 1000 tickets fer two dollars apiece and made a profit of $1998.00 The farmer said, "My Lord, didn't anyone complain?" Curtis said, "Well, the feller who won got upset. So we gave him his two dollars back." Curtis and Leroy now work for the government. They're overseeing the Vote Count, Bailout & Stimulus Programs. ======College Fund This morning, I was telling my son about getting stuck on an elevator the day before. His response was …”Sooooo….Did ya get out”? At that moment I decided to go ahead and drink his college fund away! ======

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I call my toilet "the Jim" instead of "the John.” That way I can tell people that I go to the Jim first thing every morning.

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======Life Changes: From a FB post I asked a friend who has crossed 70 & is heading towards 80 what sort of changes he is feeling in himself. He sent me the following: 1. After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children and my friends, I have now started loving myself. 2. I have realized that I am not “Atlas”. The world does not rest on my shoulders. 3. I have stopped bargaining with vegetable & fruit vendors. A few pennies more is not going to break me, but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees. 4. I leave my waitress a big tip. The extra money might bring a smile to her face. She is toiling much harder for a living than I am. 5. I stopped telling the elderly that they've already narrated that story many times. The story makes them walk down memory lane & relive their past. 6. I have learned not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. The onus of making everyone per- fect is not on me. Peace is more precious than perfection. 7. I give compliments freely & generously. Compliments are a mood enhancer not only for the recipient, but also for me. And a small tip for the recipient of a compliment, never, NEVER turn it down, just say "Thank You.” 8. I have learned not to bother about a crease or a spot on my shirt. Personality speaks louder than appear- ances. 9. I walk away from people who don't value me. They might not know my worth, but I do. 10. I remain cool when someone plays dirty to outrun me in the rat race. I am not a rat & neither am I in any race. 11. I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. It’s my emotions that make me human. 12. I have learned that it's better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. My ego will keep me aloof, whereas with relationships, I will never be alone. 13. I have learned to live each day as if it's the last. After all, it might be the last. 14. I am doing what makes me happy. I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to myself. Happiness is a choice. You can be happy at any time, just choose to be! I decided to share this for all my friends. Why do we have to wait to be 60 or 70 or 80, why can't we practice this at any stage and age? ======

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======HOLY HUMOR ======WHERE IS GOD?! A Chief and his wife had two little boys ages 8 and 10, who were EXTREMLY mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and the Chief and his wife knew that if any mischief occurred on the Navy Base, their sons would get the blamed. The boys' mother heard that a Chaplain on base had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The Chaplain agreed, and asked to see them individually. So, the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the Chaplain in the after- noon. The Chaplain, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly.... "Where is God?" The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open. The Chaplain repeated the question... "Where is God?" Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. So the Chaplain raised his voice some more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed... "Where is God!?" The boy screamed and bolted from the room. He ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked... "What happened?" The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied... "We are in big trouble this time! God is missing and they think we did it!". ======Do you have sea stories to share? Please send them to me for future Deck Logs. Your Editor, [email protected] When trying to upload another sea story from the www.olgoat.com (After Bat- tery) website, It no longer is available and no explanation was provided. I found another source for Sea Stories: see http://www.submarinesailor.com/ stories/

======Admiral Rickover’s Praise By Toby L. Currier Admiral Rickover's Praise by Toby L. Currier on SubmarineSailor.Com Admiral Rickover's Praise As a non-qual assigned to USS PHOENIX (SSN702) in either 1980 or 1981, I was selected to participate in sea trials aboard USS DALLAS (SSN700). This was her second set of trials, having failed radiography the first time around. All of the big wigs and many Johnny Lunchpail members of Electric Boat were onboard and feeling quite good about themselves when DALLAS was finally over its final hurdle and pronounced ready to join the fleet.

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They were all gathered in crew's mess as Admiral Rickover came on the 1MC and began what I came to learn was one of his more flattering speeches pertaining to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics. He launched into an overview and history of the nuclear navy (of which, of course, he was the father) as well as relating to his captive audience that he was a student of the ancient Phoenicians and their early shipbuild- ing. The shipyard personnel were, at this point , looking around at each other and giving each other non-verbal attaboys for being mentioned in the same sentence as Father Rickover's vaunted Phoenicians. Their smug- ness was short-lived as the little genius without the collar devices concluded his speech thusly: "Though I am eternally grateful to the men and women of Electric Boat for delivering the USS DALLAS to the fleet, I have every confidence that the ancient Phoenicians could have delivered her sooner." Published February 2006 ======

I will take a 4 pack of subs to go please! Boise (SSN-764) gets under way; Newport News (SSN-750), San Juan (SSN-751), and Providence (SSN- 719) remain moored outboard Emory S. Land (AS-39), Souda Bay, Crete, 1 April 2003 Photo Owned @ Copyrighted by James Gilly, RM1(SS), USN (Retired).

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