Lillian Freeman’s Post

What is the Matrix? Hood sank stern first with 1,418 men aboard. Only three survived: Ordinary Signalman Ted Briggs (1923–2008), Able Seaman Robert Tilburn (1921–1995), and Midshipman William John Dundas (1923–1965). Given that it is improbable that all the sailors who perished were "the worst sinners in Jerusalem" - or that the 3 sailors who were spared were indispensable VIPs, essential for the divine plan - we face the unpleasant conclusion that a) either life is a lottery or b) we must admit that there are hidden variables; I find it more convenient to believe the latter explanation, but your mileage may vary. At any rate, and shifting focus from a war-like event to peaceful activities, the more one works in healthcare (where for instance triage life-and-death decisions are a constant theme) the more he/she is motivated/forced to seek a soothing explanation for what they witness; which is the seeming randomness of terminal events.

An important read the day after Veteran's Day. An important read 365. https://lnkd.in/eNCpFX8d #veterans #tbi

When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago. When is the second best time? Today. “…if we have a 2025 version of the 1936 act and its money, and could force mode zoning, environmental impact statements, lawfare, etc to claw back real estate...then we could be ready for wartime production by 2028 at the earliest. Given our present sloth, I'd move that out a year. The executive summary here is that, no, the USA is not prepared to meet wartime needs right now. Not just for building new ships. We have almost zero capacity to repair any battle damage forward or at home. Zip. We gave it all away. We have a show Navy that can at best do imperial policing. We do not have a war Navy ready to fight in the western Pacific for more than 90-days, at best.” https://lnkd.in/esizUmQk

A succinct 5 minute explanation of why the Stennis needs to be renamed, and the incoherent policies that have been applied to naming aircraft carriers. There is nothing "wrong" with the USS John C Stennis, but there is something wrong with the continued silence on the the Navy regarding this issue. For half the cost of paying the SGLI death benefits of one deceased servicemember, the Navy could put this issue in the wake. That it has not done so is baffling to me. Decades from now, this ship will have had many thousands of sailors and Marines cycle through and complete their tours of duty. What name they will do it under depends on the courage of the leaders of today, and perhaps tomorrow. Like deferred maintenance, delay on this can be costly in the long run. All the necessary ingredients exist to complete this change, with the obvious exceptions of courage and resolve. Without those two, silence is the logical choice. The other choice is to explain why the name will not or should not change. Given the history of naming carriers, "tradition" as a defense won't stand up to scrutiny. https://lnkd.in/eqghcjHp

With nearly 20 years of my life dedicated to this aircraft, this article is the best summary of the range of highs and lows experienced in the journey.

What does it sounds like under the waves of our National Marine Sanctuaries? Our collaboration with the US Navy will help us better understand the sounds produced by marine animals, physical processes (e.g., wind and waves), and human activities. https://lnkd.in/d-AvT-94

The dreadnought USS Florida (BB-30) conducting a high speed run. The USS Florida (BB-30), part of the Florida-class battleships, was notable as the first class of U.S. battleships uniformly equipped with turbines rather than using mixed propulsion systems for testing. Earlier classes had only a few ships experimenting with turbines while others relied on triple-expansion engines. The Florida-class design aimed for a top speed of 21 knots with an expected output of 28,000 shaft horsepower (shp). On trials, Florida exceeded expectations by producing 40,511 shp and achieving a maximum speed of 22.1 knots. However, her sister ship, the USS Utah, performed slightly below her target output, reaching only 27,030 shp but still managed to meet her design speed, attaining 21.04 knots during trials.

A cruiser by any other name is just as expensive: What we are seeing is classification creep to make ships appear less expensive to the uninformed. The Constellation class frigate was sold as an upgrade to the LCS when in reality it is a slightly cheaper destroyer and as they are brought into service while Burkes are retired, they will be effectively be a downgrade from our current DDG’s. Likewise DDG(X), with a expected displacement of 13,500 tons is more appropriately called a cruiser.

GUNDECKING In the modern Navy falsifying reports, records and the like is often referred to as "gundecking." The origin of the term is somewhat obscure, but at the risk of gundecking, here are two plausible explanations for its modern usage. The deck below the upper deck on British sailing ships-of-war was called the gundeck although it carried no guns. This false deck may have been constructed to deceive enemies as to the amount of armament carried, thus the gundeck was a falsification. A more plausible explanation may stem from shortcuts taken by early midshipmen when doing their navigation lessons. Each mid was supposed to take sun lines at noon and star sights at night and then go below to the gundeck, work out their calculations and show them to the navigator. Certain of these young men, however, had a special formula for getting the correct answers. They would note the noon or last position on the quarterdeck traverse board and determine the approximate current position by dead reckoning plotting. Armed with this information, they proceeded to the gundeck to "gundeck" their navigation homework by simply working backwards from the dead reckoning position.