Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Ain’t it?
Ah the “Red Griffoons”. An OPSO on that ship was surely lucky (knowingly or not) that he had ‘em aboard.
Too bad they lost that S-3 over the side that cruise to…. well…. buffoonery in that “out of the wires thang”! (caught on CNN to boot). Knew the Skipper. A real good feller named Bones. Became lightening rod and took all the static hisself.
They did good that cruise though during- “shock & awe”. As I remember it- 30+ sorties a day! Think about that. 6 jets- all on da roof….A luxury we ain’t got now with the “All-Hornet” wing.
That being said, the now decomissioned “Griffoons” MOST notable achievement on that cruise is that incident where they damaged/sunk that big ol’ personally owned yacht..er… no….”naval target” with a laser mav.
Read between the lines at:
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=1500&ct=1
&
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=6499
Don’t know that feller flying aboard- I’d give ‘em the Callsign “Hoss” for Hoss Cartwright…It musta been like landing inthat movie”Final Countdown”. I’ll bet them TF34 blades got a good “honing”!
b2
Just saw this (catching up on reading comments)…
B2, you’re a tease to hang all that out there without giving the details.
And Lex showed an irritating amount of restraint by not replying, too.
*flouncing off in a huff*
Oh, I have windmills of my own to tilt against. I don’t begrudge any man his
fbl,
Every S-3 on that ship during OIF was on the roof most days because operations demanded they be. 30 sorties a day for a ten plane squadron is a lot. For an 8 plane squadron- a real lot.
Having enough gas in the air is the Operations dept responsibility led by the Operations Officer.
Therefore the Operations Officer was lucky to have S-3′s is all…
If that’s windmills sobeit! And yes, my simple mind hasn’t forgotten the “Story of the 650 mile Divert”. Can’t wait to read the spin….
Look Pancho, another Knight!
Re that “ship” sunk/damaged. How many folks in Iraq in 2003 could own a yacht that could also be a ship? Geez.
Pogo.
b2
B2, I understood your references to OPSO and “lucky.”
Lex was kind of enough to enlighten me on the rest. Yes, I know who would likely own a yacht. I was just confused by trying to figure out why it would warrant the kind of mention it got in news stories.
And if I understood correctly, the Griffoons weren’t solely responsible.
That’s right fbl, the USMC naval air auxiliary assisted that effort NOT the USN (thank ‘em at Miramar for me)…..On the other hand, some folks are Naval Aviation teammates ONLY when they get white knuckles “in the barrel”, like in that story the exGriffoon and Lex wrote about that sandstorm…..
As far as the “significant naval target” and “warranting attention”- I simply don’t know and don’t need to know – I just saw pics. I just brought it up as a fond memory Lex surfaced in me and I simply gave the deep-sixed Griffoons their due…Only fittinn me being the sentimental type.
.
As far as the the rest of it, and references to 650 nm diverts, are best left to insiders who will have to confront ‘the reality’ IF they are still on AD (hopefully not on the road…), or more likely, spin, mitigate and risk manage the “shortcomings” all resulting in a loss of “capabiltity”….Lex wouldn’t do that o’course but others? Unfortunetly, gladly and believe every word they write or speak…
Do I dwell on this to resurrect the nearly dead Viking or artificial reef Intruder?…not a chance.
I only do it to show Naval Aviation “Paradise Lost”. I detest a bright shining lie and doublespeak, even if it’s a relatively small one compared to other USN buffoonery-like shipbuilding…Sure I could take all this to “Proceedings” and be tedious but even I know when to quit (plus it ain’t good for my day job…Hornet Sharia and all).
Some forms of ‘institutional mendacity’ ™ are simply too big to overcome. Someday! On Pancho!
b2