Kittiwake Reunion Supported

In response to my original post I received a message from Nancy Easterbrook, Project Manager for the Cayman Kittiwake project. She is planning on inviting all of the members of Kittiwake's crew to come to Grand Cayman to the dedication service in a few months. If all goes according to plan, they hope to tow her to the Caymans in June/July 2009.

Anyone interested in traveling to the Caymans for this event should contact Nancy if you'd like to be kept on their 'update' email as they progress this project forward. Her email is divetech@candw.ky

Of all of the Caribbean islands I was able to get ashore on, I loved Grand Cayman. I hope some of you KittiKatters make it down there for the show.

A Better Man Than Most

Sometimes, those of us that served in the submarine force (or any combat arm for that matter) tend to have a low opinion of our military support folks. I mean, some of these folks in the staff corps rarely go to sea (our beloved Chops excepted) and a number of folks with advanced degrees come in to the service with ranks of O-3 or above without so much as signature on a contract. I usually view these folks as civilians who happen to work for the military.

Every once in a while a staff corps officer stands head and shoulders above his peers. 61 year old orthopedic surgeon Bill Krissoff decided to seek a commission in the Navy Medical Corps after his son, a Marine 1st Lieutenant, was killed in Iraq.

Dr. Krissoff needed a little help to get around the age limits of the Navy. After running into a wall of DoD red tape, he went all the way to the top; CinCUS aka the Prez himself.

My admiration of Dr. Krissoff, now LCDR Krissoff, MC, is on many levels. To have raised a son with the sense of duty to serve his country is only the beginning. You see, LCDR and Mrs. Krissoff raised two sons that joined the Marines and now the father wants to go down range.

I rest easy knowing that this country has dedicated men willing to serve like Lieutenant Commander William Krissoff, Medical Corps. If you ever run into him in the fleet, give him a big BZ for exemplifying the spirit of No Slack, Fast Attack. He's already earned it.

Dutch Submarine Walrus

Back in October, the Dutch made a little visit to the East Coast in one of their subs, HNLMS Walrus (S802). The return trip to Norfolk brought back a few good old subvet memories. The Walrus made a trip to the D&S piers in the early 90's and played host to this sailor.

I have to admit that I was a little shocked when I came down the ladder of the Walrus. Now, keep in mind, American sailors; Submariners especially; are constantly told how advanced our gear is when compared to the rest of the world. That theory comes up a little short while serving on any boat named after a fish.

As I stared at the Walrus' Chief Of the Watch station computer control screen, couldn't help but think about the control panel on the Ustafish with those clumsy fuses. These Dutch boys had top of the line electronics from Philips. The also have an x-shaped rear control surface instead of horizontal stern planes and a vertical rudder like the one tested on the USS Albacore AGSS-569.

I also recall the Dutch hospitality the Walrus crew provided. While I can take a pass on that swill, Heineken, I'll take Dutch coffee everyday. I have several more memories of the Dutch Navy from when we went to Holland, but that's a story for another time.

Hostile Waters

I just finished reading Hostile Waters. Deep in the midst of the cold war, the Soviet Union tried its best to keep up with the US Navy's mighty Submarine Force. Outmoded subs were pushed to the brink of their endurance by commanders safely ensconced in the creature comforts of Moscow.

The Yankee I missile sub, the K-219 was the price the Russians paid for playing loose with nuclear weapons safety. The bravery of their submariners just wasn't enough to prevent the loss of life and the boat. It lies in 18,000 feet of water in the Atlantic.

If you ever wondered what Ivan was up to while you were out there turning 5 knots to no where, check out this book.

Off base on Navy Uniforms

The flack is starting to rise in the ranks over the ridiculous uniform regs for when to wear the new NWU off of base. Back in the hazy past, I once heard of a group of students at Subschool in Groton that would sneak off base to a grinder shop near the shipyard in New London.

Since they were all under the rank of Petty Officer, nobody had a crow on their working jackets. We, I mean they just drove out the gate and looked confident and enjoyed a great grinder for lunch.

Man those grinders tasted great! Or so I hear.

Keep up the pressure people! The Navy brass needs to elevate the NWU to the same status as the Air Force and Army. Marines, we'll just have to say a prayer for you guys.

Latest name for the NWU: Aquaflage

Uniform Bad News.

The more I hear about the new intructions for wearing these blue camos, the more I begin to think they will go down in history being known as "those damn blue camos." We have all enjoyed the sweetness of getting out of the convict's suits but now come the bitterness of a "new" way.

• Goodbye ball caps. New rules will only allow the ballcap in your command area if approved by your CO. Leave the pier, go down to Subtrafac for training and you'd better have that 8 point cover. If I need to carry two covers, one will stay in the barracks.
• Goodbye foul weather jackets. This one is not so bad since I could never get one when I needed it anyway. Every queer in the sonar shack had one but God forbid some poor seaman in Deck Div get one to work (aka chip, paint, chip, etc.) in topside. BTW, what ever became of those nylon flight jackets issued to CO's, XO's and COB's? (Not to mention the Chop and SKC.)
• Since we couldn't roll up our sleeves the right way, we get to roll our sleeves like the damned Army. Not a big gripe, just different. I think the video mentions some sort of damage control usage for the new method.

Sorry to see the ballcaps sidelined. The subfleet sailors really stand out around the base with the dolphins on the hat.

Navy Unit Patches Emerge From the Shadows

Below is the latest video on the wearing of the new camo uniform has a startling revelation: Navy unit patches will be allowed to worn on the right breast pocket. Unit patches in the Army have played an important part in unit camaraderie, cohesion and pride while the Navy's patches were relegated to name tags and ships plaques,unless, of course, you serve in the semi-autonomous, self-superior naval air forces.

This is a fairly big deal for the Navy. I wonder how this will impact the fleet. The design of these patches themselves could be a problem in itself. While most surface sea commands tend to use the heraldic crest format, the subfleet tends to be very graphic design oriented or to use even commercially inclined design. The aviation community varies from cartoons to lewd.

My guess is that some of the airdale squadron patches will have to be reigned in. We'll have to see a NAVINSTR message about wearing only command approved patches on the NWU.

Congratulations, Navy. One more step toward sanity! Now, if we could only wear the damn things where someone might see them.