Mystery Dolphins Revealed!

Ok. I was hoping somebody might be able to figure out what these dolphins are. But, alas, I only had two guesses and they were both wrong. The eponymously named "Anonymous" thought they might be a new "trident" form of dolphins while another coincidentally named "Anonymous" guessed that these were the new Singapore dolphins.

For the record, here are the Singapore fish:So, just what are the Mystery fish? Brace yourself. Whose mighty Navy has these new dolphins? The Boy Scouts of America. That's right. These fish belong to the Sea Scout program as an award for youth that complete a training course known by the acronym SEAL. Man, the DoD has these kids right where they want them.

Any Sea Scout leaders out there know how this award came to look an awful lot like the Submarine Warfare Badge? Typically, the pointed heads at BSA HQ take a dim view of something they call the "militarization" of Scouting. (I'm sure the late Lieutenant General Baden Powell rolls in his very military grave at the mere mention of a demilitarized Scouting programme. {spelled his way})

I'll bet the Sea Scouts don't have to have their dolphins "pinned" like the rest of us. But, then again, that would be child abuse.

A Wake for the Kittiwake

Any submariner that sailed with Subron 6 or 8 over the years will instantly recall the USS Kittiwake (ASR-13). Every time the Ustafish left the pier while I was a lookout, I would take a good look at the KittyKat and pray that I would not have a need for her services while I was gone. (Why not, it beat looking at the tender.)

She was commissioned back during THE BIG ONE, WWII and served faithfully until she was sent to the James River Fleet in 1994. She had a few run ins at the D&S piers. In 1974 she hit the USS Finback and in 1984 she hit the USS Bergall but this sub sailor still liked having her around.

Well, time marches on and word comes today that the Kittiwake has been acquired by our good friends on Her Majesty's Cayman Islands who plan to sink her for an artificial diving reef for tourists with an aqualung. There is some irony in knowing that this ship that was designed to send divers down to save submariners' lives will now be on the bottom of the Caribbean as diver's attraction.

I wonder why, during all my time on the Spanish Main, didn't the Ustafish pull into the Caymans? I went there on my honeymoon cruise and found it to be a great port. Maybe it's not seedy enough for the fleet.

So long, Kittiwake! I would love to get down to the Caymans and dive on the KittyKat!

Mystery Dolphin Question

I recently ran across these dolphins and couldn't believe I had never seen them before. Any guesses from the learned of the fleet?

Submariners of 9/11

Pat Murphy

Brian Moss

While we take a collective moment to remember the cowardly terrorist attacks of 9/11, let's take a special moment and remember our brother Submariners that perished that day, doing their duty.

ET1 (SS) Brian Anthony Moss USN, USS Alabama
LCDR Patrick J. Murphy USNR, USS Sand Lance, USS Daniel Webster
LCDR Ronald J. Vauk USNR, USS Glenard P. Lipscomb, USS Oklahoma City

Moss was on active duty and assigned to the Pentagon while Murphy and Vauk were both Reservists completing their AT.

Ron Vauk

Let us remember these brothers today and keep their families in our prayers.

If I missed any submariners from 9/11, please let me know and I'll update the post.

Up From The Ranks

COL Rocky Farr, SF, CM, PF, FS, etc., etc.

I saw this and just had to pass it along. Col. Rocky Farr has gone from the jungles of Viet Nam to the halls of medicine and now serves as the SOCCOM Command Surgeon. Needless to say, this Doc knows his stuff. Can you imagine a Navy Doctor with more than 40 years of service with the formative portion being in a line unit as a trigger puller?

If this guy can hold on for a few months, I will nominate him to be Surgeon General. Whenever he decides to retire, I think I may know a worthy successor from the Naval Service.

To often, very talented enlisted personnel never make rank and ultimately leave the service. But here recently, it seems like prior enlisted officers are popping up all over the place. This is a good trend as I see it and I hope it continues. Anybody that can come up as a hard way warrior has my vote of confidence.

When I first arrived at Lejeune to serve alongside Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, I saw a pattern emerge over the course of two week of Marine Corps Indoctrination Training with a group of Chaplains and RP's. We were a mixed lot with both officers and enlisted folks who were there to learn about the mission of the USMC.

Several of the Chaplains had been prior enlisted but one of them was constanlty stopped by young enlisted Marines that need someone to talk to. He had been a Force Recon Marine and had served out his enlistment, gone to college and then to Seminary, was ordained in the Southern Baptist Church and had returned as a reserve Chaplain Captain.

Once those young Marines saw the Parachutist Wings and the Dive Badge combined with the Cross, they were drawn to him. We waited quite a few times for the good chaplain to hear a request or give advice. But it proved the necessity of the Chaplains role in the modern force.

Hero Nominates Hero

Imagine my surprise when the GOP roll call of states at the convention reached Maryland and the votes for John McCain were cast by none other than Commander Everette Alvarez. Alvarez was the longest serving POW in Viet Nam having been shot down in 1964.

Alvarez flew A-4's off of the USS Constellation. When Alvarez was shot down, the North Vietnamese Communists staged a parade through the streets of Hanoi with locals shouting, "Alvarez, Alvarez, Sonovabitch!Sonovabitch!"

Alvarez has been vocal in his support of McCain, writing an article entitled, "War is Personal for McCain and Me."

Sound Off On Uniforms

Navy Times wants to hear from the Navy community (that includes vets too!) what you think about the new enlisted khakis. I touched on this a couple of weeks ago. I know change is inevitable but the US military seems to be hell bent on haggling with tailors on new uniforms while we have bigger fish to fry.

I forgot to mention the Coast Guard's recent tune up of the ODU. They call their fatigues "operational" vs. "battle" dress uniforms. The Coasties can now leave their shirttails untucked. If you're in the USCG, USCGR or the Auxiliary you can pick up the old uniforms at fire sale prices.

Not to be outdone by all of this maritime change, the Army has announced the death of the office greens. The venerable old blues will now be used in their place. Though, come to think of it, I don't ever see the doggies in green. They apparently get to wear BDU's everywhere while Marines can't stop to get gas on the way home from the base in them.

While the cover story the DoA is pushing talks about the history of the blues going back to the days of the horse cavalry and Washington's Continentals, I tend to remember the blue uniform as the one that burned down the South during the War of Northern Aggression.

The Army could use a regional variant for use in the South to avoid unearthing bad memories. The Citadel uses a nice, welcoming uniform.

Anyway, if you are interested in keeping up on the latest uniform changes, check out Military Uniform Gouge.