My visit to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

JEFFHEAD.COM ^ | 16 Sep 2005 | Jeff Head

[Turbo Pig]

Mare Island in '91, MarDet late 91- early 93. The MarDet I was assigned to was the last one. They decommisioned us right before they started mothballing her. Wish I could see Saddam face to face, so I could punch him. A-hole started trouble while we were on the ship's final cruise, so we busted hump to get on station in the Gulf. Caused the cancellation of port calls in Thialand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

[Jeff Head]

hehehe...she's put up with me for twenty-eight years...and God bless her for it. That fact alone tells you she is a high order angel.

That's great news about your son, congratulations! The Ohio is a first rate boat. You have Fremail.

[pabianice]

Nice job, Jeff.

[Bean Counter]

Interesting pics! USS Ranger was my first carrier, and the last time I saw her was pierside in San Diego...

USS Stennis looks like she's getting a USS Reagan style island modification...

Thanks for posting these pics!

[tanknetter]

Number 6 is 'black oil" that looks and smells like asphalt... This must mean that 6 oil was used through the Viet Nam period. The Iowas could carry 2.2 million gallons of oil. Glad I didn't get the job of cleaning out the bunker tanks.

Actually Muir specifically says that cleaning out the bunkers and boilers was a real pita.

[Jeff Head]

Thanks, you're welcome.

[tanknetter]

Well...the DDX ships are getting cut back and cut bak. I believe the BBs could be made into awesome arsenal ships with all of the upgrades you also mentioned. Wish they would give it a go...couldn;t be more expensive per copy than one DDX.

Well, the issue isn't with the cost of reactivation and upgrading ... it's with manpower and maintenance. The leanest-case scenario I've seen for the Iowas have them at ~1000 men per ship. On top of that there are all the schools that need to be kept open, which is even more of a manpower drain. On top of that, the Iowas are incredibly old technology in terms of their machinery plants and getting guys to want to crew their engineering departments is going to be problematic. The Navy is definitely having issues with the "newer" (but still really old) conventially-fueled Kitty Hawk and JFK ... my understanding is that they staff out the engineering departments with the guys who can't cut it at nuke school.

Burkes will still be serving 30, if not 40 years from now and the DDX well beyond that. There are only a few ships with steam plants somewhat similar to the Iowas (Sh*tty Kitty and Big John, plus some of the older fleet auxiliaries (I think the Camden and Sacramento, which used the machinery plants from the fifth Iowa, Kentucky, are out of service now ... or close to it). The gators are also similar ... but still VERY remote from what the Iowas have.

[Jeff Head]

The maintenance costs for the ships and all that goes into keeping people trained and schooled in their use would be very costly. Probably prohibitively so. However...if the SHTF in a major way, then it might well prove worth it.

[Jeff Head]

You are weclome. It was a good trip and I'm looking forward to the next time we travel over that way...hopefully with more time on our hands

[Vineyard]

All the Aircraft Carriers will have 1 or 2 old airframes for damage control / fire-fighting training. The airframes are ones that have no usefulness other than a training asset, and will be gutted of anything that is useable. The airframes can also be used to practice manuevering around on a flight deck ....

The airframes will even have fires started in them - places where pans of oil can be lit, creating a nice smokey and realistic fire, so that the newer members can practice putting out fires.

In this case, it appears that no one considered it worth the effort to move the airframe off and put it somewhere else. And obviously a fairly well used airframe (smoke, water and AFFF - aqueous film forming foam, etc.) will create something that won't be considered a museum article. So these planes just got left onboard.

Mike
(who works at PSNS)

[Jeff Head]

Thanks for that info. Very interesting. That is what os so great about FR. People with almost every experience conceivable out there reading these threads.

[Issaquahking]

I want to know where you got that special lens that makes the weather turn NICE in Bremerton and surrounding area?!
Was stationed at the Trident base when it was being built... After working around the subs for 2 1/2 years, one understands why they only have two types of vessels on/in the water-that is subs and targets.

Grat pix Jeff!

[JohnHuang2]

Thanks for the ping, good buddy! MEGA PING coming up!

[JohnHuang2]

Jeff Head MEGA PING!!

[Jeff Head]

hehehe...the several days of good, clear, and cool weather surprised us too. But I'm not arguing...it made for some nice pictures.

[Jeff Head]

BTW, that Bangor/Kitsap is one NICE base!

[Jeff Head]

Thank you my friend...it was a great trip!

[rockrr]

Great pics (beautiful kids!)

Thanks

[Jeff Head]

Thank you. The grandkids get all their looks from grandmom's side...that's for certain, hehehe.

[Sally'sConcerns]

I was raised in Houston and took many field trips to the monument and the Battleship.

I envy you your trip. You saw some beautiful parts of America.