The Future Is Now: FOB In A Box

AW1 Tim certainly appreciates technology, and although I view some things in a “is that really needed?” light,  every once in awhile something comes along that makes absolute sense.

Today’s example is the “FOB in a Box”.  This is another in the evolution of shipping containers. It is a series of support modules designed to be either built into existing containers, or built to the same specs. These modules provide food service, laundry, showers and toilets, etc. They are east to transport and, in many cases, can be set up and ready to go by two men in as little as two hours time.

From Fox News:

Forces often need to operate in areas where the local infrastructure is rudimentary at best or has collapsed. Kitchen, laundry, water and sanitation facilities are essential for forces that will be based at home but on contingency status — meaning those needing to deploy quickly.

Fortunately, the forward operating base (FOB) now comes in one big box.

The box part of these pop-ups are standard shipping containers, meaning they can be transported just like anything else by air, water, road or rail. They’re stackable too, plus they can be hoisted about and put on a pallet with a standard hook lift or maneuvered by truck and crane and then easily unveil a kitchen, bathroom and more.

 

The kitchen module is well-thought out, and capable of easily feeding 300-500 people.

A standard kitchen that can produce meals for 300 to 600 comprises four containers that can be set up by two people within ten hours. It can be augmented with two additional containers to feed 500 to 1,000 — and by modifying it with six containers it can feed 3,000 soldiers.

What does a pop-up kitchen look like? All of the interior walls, including the ceiling and floor, are stainless steel providing compliance with hygiene requirements in style.

Forces often deploy to areas where contagious diseases spread by viruses, micro-organisms and parasites pose a threat. These kitchens in a box tackle this problem with UVC and air-optimization systems.

UVC, ultra violet radiation or UV light, disinfects water, air and surfaces prevents microbes from breeding by damaging the genetic material. Some microbes can evolve to resist chemicals and antibiotics; UVC solves the resistance problem.

 

I think that this is a great idea, and it tags along with my own idea of building ship=borne self-defense modules for commercial vessels. I have been saying, since the time we were reflagging Kuwaiti tankers in the Gulf, that a self-defense system designed to fit into 1-4 cargo containers could be designed and mounted easily onto the deck(s) of commercial shipping vessels and provide support for dealing with small attackers, such as pirates.

These new support modules for FOB are also a great idea for any sort of emergency deployment operation, such as disaster relief, where large numbers of people may need to be taken care of. Medical clinics, small surgical and dental set-ups, as well as bunk rooms for support personnel could all be built into these containers and shipped via truck, train or plane to where needed and be ready for use in an extremely short period of time.

Well done.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/02/military-base-in-box-all-rage/?test=faces#ixzz1fP3pQLso

A chef prepares a four-course meal for up to 3,000 soldiers in a kitchen in a box -- one that can be assembled anywhere in just a few hours.

Navy Abandons It’s Honored Dead

A disturbing and infuriating situation has arisen.  Apparently, under the “leadership” of  CDR Renee Richardson, USN – head of the Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel, the US Navy has decided NOT to repatriate the bodies of US Navy sailors interred in Tripoli. These men were sailors from USS Intrepid who lost their lives in an attack against the Barbary pirates.

From “The Intrepid Project”

 

United States Navy Master Commandant Richard Somers was one of the first officers to enlist in the new Navy at the turn of the 19th Century. The young officer and his men fought gallantly in America’s first naval war against the States of North Africa. He died with his 12-man crew of the USS Intrepid on September 4, 1804 while engaged in a secret mission during the Battle of Tripoli.

Today the first Navy commandos lie abandoned in mass graves in a foreign land.

When their bodies washed up on the shores of Tripoli, the bashaw – the king of the pirates – invited a pack of dogs to devour them as American prisoners of war looked on. These 13 naval heroes remain buried today in mass graves in Libya.

This nation has ample resources to repatriate the remains of these brave sailors to their United States, and see them buried with full military honors. Yet, our own Navy, under the leadership of CDR Richardson, has chosen to abandon their bones to the soil of a foreign land, a land that has, more often than not, been hostile to our nation.

That this slight to these sailors should take place should not surprise anyone who has seen the demise of tradition and honor under recent CNO’s.  Those Navy leaders placed diversity above warfighting, and have chosen to expand their own “diversity enterprise” at Millington while discharging competent Petty Officers from the fleet to “trim the budget”.

This Navy has chosen to also abandon the former USS Olympia, the last surviving warship of the Great White Fleet to it’s likely demise of either being sent to the breakers, or sunk at sea.

We are throwing good money down the black hole of shipbuilding on such un-needed and inefficient platforms as LCS & DDG-1000, yet we can’t find the funds to bring a few good men home.  Big Navy has more admirals per sailor than at any point in our history, more staffs and Make-Work commands than ever before, yet we can’t save USS Olympia, the last of her kind.

CDR Salamander has an excellent piece about this, and I encourage all of you to take a few minutes and read his article. When you’ve finished, call your Congress Critter(s) and give them a piece of your mind regarding this situation.

The men of USS Intrepid have lain in foreign soil long enough. It’s time to bring them home.

USS Philadelphia, previously captured by the Tripolitans, ablaze after she was boarded by Stephen Decatur and 60 men and set afire, making their escape in the ketch Intrepid, depicted in the foreground.

US Navy to Increase Spending On ASW

I’ll believe it when I see it.  When the US Navy’s top brass claims that “Diversity is Job One” then you know that anything related to warfighting is being seconded to political expediency.

Having said that, there’s an interesting article in Bloomberg Business Week which claims the US is increasing it’s spending on ASW, Anti-Submarine Warfare.  What the article really is, is an advertisement for Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc, a company in the underwater detection equipment business. There are some half-truths and strange comments in it, but worth the time to read.

From the article:

The Pentagon and its allies will focus spending on devices able to spot subs even in the noisiest shipping lanes as China’s naval build-up heightens tensions with neighboring nations and underscores the need to secure commercial shipping flows, Ultra Chief Executive Officer Rakesh Sharma said in an interview.

“Even with global defense cuts the sonar business is expanding,” Sharma said. “Mineral supplies and commodities, for example, are all transported by sea, so it’s becoming imperative to protect trade routes. Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as the U.S., will all start investing in anti-submarine warfare as the possible threat from China grows.”

It’s no coincidence that India, like the US, sees China as the greatest threat to security and stability in the Pacific.  As the PLAN expands it’s submarine force, alongside it’s surface and Naval Air Forces, free nations and those interested in the blessings of liberty should pay close attention.  China wants a blue-water navy, and that means one thing: projection of power.  Those who bother to read might well remember what happened the last time a powerful Asian nation invested in a blue-water navy. The result was the “East Asia Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere.”  Reader’s of AW1 Tim’s Blog know how that turned out.

There’s one section of the article that stood out, and I don’t know if the speaker is being intentionally obtuse or is just ignorant:

…….developing sonars geared to Asia-Pacific operations at a unit in Indiana, the CEO said. Emitting more powerful acoustic pulses, they can spot submarine signatures in the most sound-polluted waters, …….

Anyone whose business it is to do ASW knows that the LAST thing you want to do is use an active sensor. “Pinging” is used for final targeting and attacking. As soon as you light that thing off, EVERYONE knows it. It’s like turning on the light in a dark room and hollering SURPRISE!  A hunter uses stealth to locate and track his target. The idea is to NOT let the target know YOU are there. To find him and attack before he can respond. Active sonar has it’s place. It’s a good thing, but it’s not used as the speaker in this article claims it is.

This part, too is also interesting:

“Water is a very good insulator and when a submarine is sitting on the seabed not moving for days it’s very difficult to identify,” he said.

Submarines, especially nuke boats, don’t sit on the bottom. It’s not just that they risk getting stuck in the muck, literally, but that the silt and mud will be sucked up into the water-intake system and clog it.  For nukes, that risks losing reactor cooling ability.  That’s a bad thing in oh so many ways.

I don’t know whether the reporter simply mis-understood what was being said, or whether the company spokesman mis-spoke. But if you’re in the business of providing ASW technology, then it seems to me to be important that you understand how it works and how it’s employed, or you ought not to be speaking at all.

All in all, though, it would be nice to see the US Navy actually return to being the premier deep-water ASW force it was during the Cold War.  It ought not to be used by politicians as a petri dish for their social-engineering experiments.

Chinese Jin Class SSBN

Paul F. Foster, The Green Destroyer

The US Navy reports that it has had a successful test of new bio-fuel made from algae and regular fuel.  The test bed was former USS Paul F. Foster,  decommissioned in 2003, and designated to replace ex-Decatur as the Navy’s Self Defense Test Ship. In support of this new role, she is assigned to Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division^.  She is now the last surviving example of the Spruance Class.

From NavyTimes:

PORT HUENEME, Calif. — The Navy says its largest test of alternative fuel use was a success with the safe arrival of a destroyer powered by a mix of algae-based fuel and petroleum.

The Paul F. Foster ship arrived Thursday morning to the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Port Hueneme in Southern California after traveling for 17 hours on a maiden trip from San Diego.

Officials say the test on the decommissioned destroyer was a major milestone for the Navy aiming to cut its fossil fuel use in half over the next decade. The Navy plans to incorporate what it calls a “Great Green Fleet,” entirely run on alternative fuels by 2016.

The Navy says the destroyer performed the same as when it runs on fossil fuel.

It is interesting to note that while many “Eco” groups are demanding, pontificating, and otherwise bloviating about the need for more “eco-friendly” and “renewable source” fuels, the US Navy, and, indeed, the entire US Military has taken the lead in actually researching, developing, testing, and using these new fuels, as well as other “green” energy sources.

How embarrassing it must be for groups like “Greenpeace” to be talking, while the military is doing.  Impre.com sums it up best:

……. and considering that even Greenpeace’s largest ship, the MV Esperanza, runs on fossil fuels despite all the environmentally friendly adjustments, one cannot help but be bewildered at the fact that it was a U.S Navy man-of-war that was to steal their thunder.

The US Navy: Leadership By Example.

Pics Of New Chinese ASW Aircraft

Feng, over to Information Dissemination has a nice article, along with a few images, of China’s new ASW aircraft. China has followed the pattern of a medium to long range turboprop, and the result is, at least, pleasing to the eye. Not many details of it’s sensor suite are available, but it does appear to have a MAD boom.

From the article:

The long rumoured ASW aircraft has finally been revealed. In recent photos from an airport (my guess in Shaanxi AC), we see Y-8 ASW aircraft (dubbed HIgh New 6) amongst them. Here are some of its photos. You can see from here that it has a large surface search radar under its chin, a FLIR sensor, internal bomb bays on both side of of the middle section of fuselage, a series of antennas underneath the fuselage and MAD boom at the back. You can also see a large window on each side of the rear fuselage for observation purpose. The aircraft itself is using the Y-8 Category 3 platform as can be seen by the 6 blade propellers.

This platform is another step in the PLAN’s  journey to develop and deploy a blue water Navy capable of projecting power throughout the Pacific.  Those who underestimate the long-game that the Chinese are playing do so at their own peril. China has every intention of replacing these United States as the dominate Naval and political power in the Pacific, without making the mistakes the Japanese made with their “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere“.

If you haven’t added “Information Dissemination” to your blogroll, you really should. It’s a well-written site with excellent authors and articles.

DDG-1000: Do We Really Need This Ship?

The initial hull segment for the namesake of a new class of destroyer was put into place at Bath Iron Works on Thursday, 17 November 2001.  Named after Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, this vessel will be the largest ship built at BIW in the past 3 decades.  Despite the fine materials and exceptional craftsmanship used in it’s construction, the real question regarding this class is whether our Navy needs it.

DDG-1000 is proclaimed as a “revolutionary” design, but quite a number of folks, myself included, have reservations about that entire concept.  Traditional advances in shipbuilding and ship design have always come from evolutionary concepts. Taking a proven design and making it better, using proven and reliable concepts and using those, along with well-thought out concepts about future Navy needs has been the halmark of professional Navies, espially the US Navy. It has been the foundation of strength and the backbone of our ability to be victorious time and time again.

Now comes a new generation of Navy leadership intent on, to my mind, leaving legacy systems and institutions rather than actually addressing the needs of our Navy, and our nation. These men have nearly bankrupted our Navy Shipbuilding budget through their “revolutionary” concepts, left us with a great fleet of white elephants, vice a great fleet, and likely endangered our fleet and our maritime defenses while polishing their names and resumes.

LCS, the Littoral Combat Ship, or as it’s referred to by many, the “Little Crappy Ship” has yet to show any return on it’s investment other than extended maintenance costs, an increasing delay in readiness, virtually no reliability, and nothing to show for the obscene amounts of tax money thrown at it. It is over-sized, under-armed, sucks fuel like a frat boy at a keg party, and has yet to have any of it’s alleged modules available for use.

Now comes the DDG-1000, and over-sized, under-armored, under-armed frankenship whose chief purpose for existence seems to be the guaranteeing of employment for shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works.  I absolutely concur that it is well-built. BIW has the finest shipbuilders in the world, and I want to make it clear that I have NO complaints about them. However, with this design, our Navy has been sold a bill of goods.  Some of the technology that this ship is supposed to use isn’t even available yet.  She has no specified mission for which she is properly designed or armed.

For heaven’s sake, this simple comparison should point out the glaring problem for even the most naive of our citizens: DDG-1000 is as big as the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee. She is more than 600 feet in length, more than 16,000 tons displacement, and yet her firepower if only a pair of 155mm guns, and 80 VLS boxes, of which the majority are assigned to Sea Sparrow (AAA) use.

More disconcerting is the use of the “Tumblehome” bow. This design is useful for small channels and restricted waters at moderate speeds.  However, it has known stability issues, especially at high speeds and heavy seas, both of which this ship should expect to see. The DDG-1000 is a blue-water vessel, and not something to be used in-shore, so why the use of this bow design?

We are building a Tiffany Navy when we need a blue-collar, blue-water navy. We need prize-fighters, not  cruise ships.

Our leadership should have taken the initiative to continue with the DDG-51 production,  to extend the service life of the CG-47 class cruisers, and to develop a new and evolutionary follow on of the Ticonderoga class, based upon her proven hull design and powerplant.

We could still do this by halting further production of the LCS & DDG-1000 and using that money to keep the DDG-51 line open while a follow-on to CG-41 is developed. We should also give serious consideration to supplementing both of those with a license-built frigate from one of our European allies.

It’s not too late to stop this foolishness. We simply need a congress and a CNO willing to do the right thing, rather than just go along and not make waves.

From CDR Salamander: A Nice Perspective On Our Old Friends

With  Russia’s fourth-generation Project Mk 955 Borey-class and it’s missile, the RSM-56 Bulava (NATO code name SS-NX-30)  they’ve begun to shift attention towards the non-boomer part of their submarine fleet.  The main thrust seems to be Project 885 Yasen (NATO code name Graney) class nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine.

Cdr Salamander has an excellent article regarding this, to which all of us should be paying attention.  The comments section is especially good, and well worth the time to peruse.

I’ll also take this opportunity to once more comment about our dearth of ASW capability.  While the rest of the world is busy modernizing their submarine fleets, and expanding their numbers, our own navy is eliminating ASW platforms, squandering much-needed resources on poorly-designed and near-useless vessels like LCS and DDG-1000.  Power-Point rangers have sold our nation a bill of goods under the false economy of “revolutionary” ship development, vice the evolutionary concepts which made the US Navy the most powerful in the world.

There will be a terrible bill presented, to be paid in blood and treasure at some future point due to the short-sightedness and narcissistic leadership that placed legacy systems and personal politics above the actual needs of our Navy, and our Nation.

Until then, go and read CDR Salamander. He should be a daily visit.

They Also Serve, Who Only Stand And Wait

“They also serve, who only stand and wait”  is a line from one of John Milton’s poems. A sonnet, actually. It is one of my favorite poems where he asks God how he can be useful to Him because he is blind. Where others can do all these great things, Milton is limited and, thus, questions his worthiness in God’s plan and his stature among men.

Anyone who does their best, who puts in an honest effort to hold their own, has done their job. Any veteran who served, whether directing fire from a position on the front lines, or packing MRE’s for shipment back stateside, is doing their part to ensure victory. There are no small parts, every job is important, and is there for a reason. A veteran is a veteran, and November 11th is there to recognize all of them.

Here is Milton’s poem, for those interested. It’s one of my favorites.

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide,
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.”

More on John Milton may be found here.

Paranoia Runs Deep

Tyrants, Dictators, and petty princes of all types have one thing in common: paranoia.  They all see shadows, hear the faint rumblings of approaching destruction, and well they should.  They appointed themselves above everyone else, and soon enough, they realize that others might just have that same idea.

Hugo Chavez is a loathsome creature. I don’t relish in the misfortunes and sufferings of others, but in his case, I’ll make an exception. He’s dying of cancer. There’s a lot of folks who are upset that it’s taking so long.  In his waning days, he’s also hearing things, or at least his military is.

Chavez says the Venezuelan Navy has detected a submarine. In their own waters, no less. The horror!

From the Washington Post:

The submarine was detected on Tuesday near the Venezuelan island of La Orchila in the Caribbean north of Caracas, where Venezuelan troops are participating in training drills near the island, Chavez told state television by telephone.

“It was pursued. It escaped because it’s much faster than ours,” Chavez said, referring to Venezuela’s diesel-powered submarines. He said that judging by its speed and size, “it’s a nuclear-powered submarine.”

Huh. Imagine that. Chavez also accuses the usual suspects. Pretty much anyone NOT named Hugo Chavez:

The leftist leader has long had tense relations with the United States, and has recently called the U.S. together with its European allies “the empires.”

“Now you know how the empires are used to going around the Caribbean Sea and going everywhere, and they also use their satellites for espionage. It’s espionage,” Chavez said.

More here from allheadlinenews

His latest accusations against the United States might be among his last as the ailing Venezuelan president fights a losing battle against cancer, according to former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega.

Noriega wrote in a column for the newsletter InterAmerican Security Watch that Chavez’s cancer is spreading more quickly than expected and could kill him within six months.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90064557?Submarine%20near%20Venezuela%20prompts%20accusations%20against%20U.S.#ixzz1dV71uNMM

Hugo's World

On Being A Veteran

Our job as veterans is to live our lives in such a way as to be worthy of the sacrifice of those who never made it home.  They gave their tomorrows for our today. We must never forget that, nor them.

We all lost friends, and we were all changed by our service in ways that we never expected, ways that sometimes took time to understand and accept.  We need to embrace that, and build upon it. Use those experiences to make a better nation for all of us, especially for our children, our families. We all have skills to offer, especially the core values of leadership, accountability, and willingness to sacrifice for those around us, our brothers and sisters who took the oath as we did.

Those who have never served will never fully understand the bond of friendship, of love between comrades, brothers in arms, that transcends time and circumstance. Years may pass between us, but if an old shipmate calls, it is as if time never advanced,  that age never asked it’s bill be paid. We still respond as we remember them, young and immortal, fresh faced and in the prime of youth, ready to meet our fate.

My wife could never understand how I could take a call from an old shipmate at O-Dark thirty,  and head out to talk with him,  do what I could to help him out. I have brought a brother home to share my couch, my meals, whatever I could. It is more than a Christian thing, It is the promise of one veteran to another that we will always give you as hand up.  Brother to brother.  I have an obligation to my own family to see that their needs are met, but beyond that, if I can help a fellow veteran, I feel honor-bound, blood-bound,  to do so.

May no soldier go unloved, uncared for.

God Bless all our veterans, and all who have taken the oath.