Comments on: A Victory for Common Sense

By: lex

lex — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:23:33 +0000

If you read the SCOTUS summary, you’ll note that the Navy didn’t take issue with four of the six preliminary injunctions imposed. Only two of them created an issue; shutting down active sonars within 2,200 yards of an observed marine mammal, and training during surface ducting conditions.

I think the court struck a good balance, taken as a whole.

By: nichevo

nichevo — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:55:47 +0000

Granting the primacy of national security, surely we can strive for a win-win? 5 minutes or an hour or day before commencing, put out the same tones on broadcast at lower but steadily increasing volume.

Perhaps in our work with marine mammals we have figured out subtler ways of telling them to clear out? But they can certainly be warned off without major issue to the test results. Assuming it works.

Right? We all like Flipper and Shamu and such, don’t we?

In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if sonarmen in the exercise area already conduct just such wildlife warmups. Incremental cost approaching zero to do it, neh?

By: Curtis

Curtis — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:28:04 +0000

If we can do MFA again should we press for unrestricted world wide use of LFA? That would fire up the whalehuggers!

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:49:01 +0000

ASW is truly an art. The first step in prosecuting an inbound sub it to identify its acoustic signature. The SENSO’s that I flew with never ceased to amaze me with their ability to pull discrete frequency lines out of the mess of noise that is the ocean. Like any other trained skill, if you don’t use it you lose it. Most of the work we did in S-3′s involved passive sonar but without the ability to “go active” when necessary the fight would have been over, contact lost.

By: AWC N

AWC N — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:08:40 +0000

Hurrah! ASW isn’t dead.
The P-3 bubbas haven’t been allowed to do any EER training either if there are mammels chattering about.
A big waste of precious $$ to fly from Whidbey to Sand Diego to play and have to turn around and go home.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:09:38 +0000

I’m all for saving whales and dolphins, as well as other animals, but not at the expense of human lives. This training is crucial to keeping real people alive, and, need I say, free.

I’ve always been astounded that those that protect the rights of the protestors are usually the first to be protested. It’s a weird system, but it’s ours.

I’m glad to see the Supreme Court overturn the decision by the 9th Circuit.