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t0 Dro a ° turning 10 port
ficer l, downwind. The conning of- gua d . 10 verify that ‘he plane-
his he- CStr0yer's turn*ng in his wake; the maia hisses a beat when he sees nin„ iaSuad’ ran"e’ and starboard run- quarte!8 Tu°f,the destr°yer off his port done • u ° destr°yer driver has not just a.n^, nS really wrong. He was in« nn -fU 6 °Ut stat‘on’ and is com- Proper1, U teW deSrees to regain the how r- .rCanng' He never thinks about lookv fS ! b'S station-keeping maneuver
rier’s u°.^e startled OOD on the car- ► ^ brtdge.
naledCthCreen commander has just sig- new h£ screening units to take up the The frigate that was on
new ar °ard heam now heads for her TakjneCti°r off the carrier’s port bow. poin,8 tke shortest course between two • ’ the frigate tracks right along the
greyhounds around the ,ra farm
The view is different from here!
(OOni'1'8 bccn 0^*cer"°f-thc-deck and v, r?n a Suided-missile destroyer
bridge3! WQtCh °ITicer on the nag com!! , an amphibious task force
chalk-Jn Sr! !know something of the surfa8es facing bridge teams in the havn u Warfare community. Now I iCa(fb,C.Ca an °°D on the USS Amer- Preri-,r ", and lve gained new ap- °ver ih°n *°r tbe av'at°rs I used to see er ‘here on the carrier.
shold8e Watchstanders on a small boy what •, VSlt a catrier’s bridge and see When '1 °°kS Hke from the 09 level
b -pi
the ca 2l00.recovery is complete and to s'§nais he is turning to port
0 nroceed downwind. The connin
guard H°kf.!° Verify that the P|ane
anvnn ‘^ clearing the air, but can’t fin< our r e.!° lsten^ ^hy don’t you speak t< to I. 3 ^ent* >'our written commen but S ., the“Nobody asked me we’n ' column. If we publish it fee,1 Pay y°u $60.00. If we don’t, you’l chest f°r having gotten il off y°u tistened 1 'eaS' you wil1 know that wi
junior officer-of-the-watch’s maneuvering board line of relative motion, with an 8-knot speed advantage over the carrier. The frigate crosses the carrier’s bow at 1,100 yards: No problem, right?
- A Knar-class frigate at 290 R/2,000 yards closes at 20 knots to 200 yards off the carrier’s port beam, positioning herself for an aerial photograph of the battle group. The bow of the frigate is pointed directly at the carrier’s island. But the frigate’s OOD has doublechecked the advance and transfer, and knows exactly how long he can wait before putting his rudder over and slowing to base speed. Think of the tension that confident frigate driver is creating on the carrier’s bridge: The carrier has ships riding on her starboard side on both bow and stem, so if this frigate with a bone in her teeth suddenly loses her rudder while making her spectacular approach, the carrier is trapped.
Don’t get me wrong. Bird farm watchstanders make plenty of scary mistakes. Carriers are notorious for turning downwind without warning, adjusting course three times before telling the plane-guard destroyer that the course has been changed at all, and making unannounced speed changes to sweeten the wind for landing aircraft. I know these things happen, and I have probably done them all. But realize what 1, as the carrier’s OOD. have to contend with:
- The crosswind that was acceptable for the just-launched A-6 is out of limits for the E-2 now in the pattern, but I cannot adjust my course until we trap the F-14 coming in on the ball.
- An A-7 has boltered three times and is low on fuel. We have to launch the alert tanker from catapult number 1, and that requires 24 knots of headwind. 1 have only 18 knots.
- Every mile I run into the wind for aircraft launches and recoveries causes the staff watch officer consternation, because I am getting farther and farther behind our point and intended movement (P1M). (I am convinced that P1M exists only as a figment of the staff’s imagination!)
- There is a blind zone behind my wingless bridge. When you cross under my stern inside the sea return on my radar, you pass through an arc in which I cannot be sure of your position. It makes me nervous.
There are more examples, but you get the idea. All I am saying is that before cursing the guys on the bird farm, please consider what you could do to help:
- If you become unsure of my intentions while following me, pul your rudder over and keep your bow aimed at my stern light. You can hardly get in trouble doing that! It will make you more comfortable, and I will see the target angle I prefer to see when I’m turning.
- Don’t be afraid to pick up your primary tactical circuit handset to ask me to give my course and speed. It will get you the information you need. (And it will remind me how thoughtless I was for not keeping you better informed.) This is especially critical at night when it is difficult to determine target angle.
1 think one reason you don’t ask more questions is because your tactical communicator—a lieutenant (junior grade)—thinks he’ll sound stupid to the carrier’s admiral or captain. Remember that my communicator is probably a JG, too: the admiral is probably not listening, anyway; and I can’t imagine that any carrier skipper would mind your asking how to avoid ramming his ship.
We need to work together safely; keeping each other better informed of when and where we’re turning, and how fast, would go a long way toward keeping both our ships intact. Try to cross-deck your junior officers to the carrier during deployments. Once surface warfare officers see things from the 09 level, they’ll probably drive the greyhounds of the sea a little differently when they operate with a carrier.
I know I will.
93
r°Wedings / August 1987
Nobody asked me either, but...
By Norman Polmar
Joining the Lehman-bashers
John Lehman is egotistical, a sore loser, and a lousy winner. He takes care of his friends. He hurts his enemies. If you cross him you are in trouble. 1 crossed him on three issues while he was Secretary of the Navy, and he gave it to me with both barrels, not giving a damn what the rationale was for my position in any of the cases.
Thus, I join the ranks of “Lehman- bashers,” a popular sport in Washington these days. But I want to distinguish my position from that of many of my fellow bashers, most of whom are active-duty Navy and Marine Corps officers. They seem to have forgotten that for six years Mr. Lehman garnered for them the lion’s share of the defense budget:
He got the administration and Congress to buy two aircraft carriers in one fiscal year, something not done since 1945.
He obtained funding to recommission
four battleships; there had not been four dreadnoughts in active service since 1955.
He got three classes of amphibious ships funded. (The Carter administration had vetoed all such funding.)
He bought the Marine Corps both the AV-8B Harrier II jump-jet and the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft. (The Carter administration had given the Marines an either-or choice.)
He moved the Marines into the badly needed V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft program in record time.
He sustained the Navy’s much- wanted F-14 Tomcat fighter and A-6 Intruder attack aircraft programs (after the Carter administration planned to stop both).
He bought more bullets, rockets, and missiles than were previously planned.
And, he got the administration to approve rebuilding the fleet to 600-plus ships from a post-Vietnam nadir of about 475 ships.
These accomplishments, which the
Navy admirals and Marine generals loved, and which left the other service chiefs crying “foul,” have apparent ^
been forgotten by the Lehman-bashers-
Also forgotten has been the truly l°n§ lasting impact that Lehman will have on the Navy: he abolished that person! fication of bureaucracy, the Navy Ma terial Command; he helped fire Adnn ral H. G. Rickover, who had become ^ the rock of resistance in the channel o progress; and he embraced competh,ve procurement with the result of imprcS sive reductions in weapons costs.
Some of Lehman’s actions were n° universally applauded by Navy adm'ra and Marine generals . . . although W public they certainly greeted most wi praise or at least silence. Now that t secretary is gone, the criticism of nja\ of those Lehman initiatives is both l°u and strong. This is the most troublesome aspect of the Lehman-bashing n- active-duty officers.
Lehman and the naval profession deserve better.
94
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