Seventy Years Ago: South Pacific Area

October 18, 1942, Vice Admiral Robert Lee. Ghormley, Commander, South Pacific Area, was replaced by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey.

Ghormley had been in charge of the Navy/Marine Corps operation to invade Guadalcanal in early August, commanding forces, eventually including Army units, from his headquarters at Noumea. US Navy losses had been especially heavy.

The decision was made by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. He was concerned about Ghormley's pessimism and sought to replace him with a more aggressive and dynamic leader.

Halsey was such a man.

Election 2012: One-Stop

I hope everyone in Pamlico County knows by now that in-person early voting starts tomorrow.

Citizens desiring to vote can appear at the Board of Elections office at Pamlico County Courthouse any time between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm tomorrow and every weekday between now and November 3. The one-stop site will also be open 9:00 pm to 5:00 pm Saturday, October 20 and 29, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sunday October 21 and October 28, and the final day of One-Stop from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Saturday, November 3.

Voters who have not yet registered can both register and vote at One-Stop.

Election day is Tuesday, November 6. Polls open at 6:30 and remain open until 7:30 pm.

To date, the Board of Elections has received 110 absentee votes by mail. Those votes will be counted on election day, before the in-person votes are counted.

Vote! Brave Americans gave their lives so you can.

On Violence

 ‘Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent’

Mayor Salvor Hardin - Isaac Asimov (The Foundation Trilogy)

Or, as I have observed here and here, starting a war is a mug's game.

We Can't Afford (Fill In The Blank)

I have previously revealed my annoyance at the idea that we can't afford doing what needs to be done because of the deficit. This is the "Oh, we're too poor" complaint. My usual response would be "balderdash!" I may change my response to "malarkey!" That's a good word, too.

I just came across a really well done blog that examines many issues similar to the ones that I address in this blog. It's always reassuring, even if it is true that the other author does it better than I do.

Here's a link to an essay entitled "Dam The Economists."  John, the author, points to the Hoover Dam, built at the height of the Great Depression and summarizes the continuing economic benefits to the country.

His point is similar to the one I make here , where I point out that the Great Depression was also an era of Grand Undertakings.

More On Collision

Now we know a bit more about the collision between USS San Jacinto, an Aegis Cruiser and the nuclear submarine USS Montpelier. Montpelier came to periscope depth about 200 yards or less directly ahead of San Jacinto.

At that point, collision was inevitable. The Navy's report disclosed nothing about the damage to Montpelier, but revealed that San Jacinto's sonar dome was "completely depressurized."

The ships had been operating together in an antisubmarine exercise in the Atlantic. What this incident tells me is that both ships are extraordinarily quiet.

Typically, investigations of such collisions put the onus on the submarine to be sure there is no surface ship in the vicinity before coming to periscope depth or surfacing. But what if the surface ship is extremely quiet? Was San Jacinto operating too slowly to be detected? Were the two vessels communicating? Why did San Jacinto not detect the submarine when it was less than a mile away? Lots of questions.

As for the sonar dome, that will be an expensive repair. One of the challenges the Navy faced with the large multi-mode sonar installations beginning with the AN/SQS-26 series of sonars was that the self-noise of water rushing past the dome reduced the sonar's sensitivity. The problem was the steel "window" surrounding the transducer. In 1976 my ship, USS Patterson, received one of the first inflatable rubber sonar domes. This was not a simple modification.

I expect repairs to San Jacinto will prove to be expensive and time consuming.

Collision At Sea

"A Collision At Sea Can Ruin Your Whole Day"

Old Navy Saying

Let's hope there was no serious injury or loss of life. There will be damage to one or more careers, but that is only one of many hazards in a hazardous profession. I wish the Captains and their crews well.

North Carolina Wind

A little more than three years ago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill completed a nine-month comprehensive study of coastal wind energy.

The study's conclusion: "North Carolina is well positioned to develop utility scale wind energy production and it is the opinion of the project team that the State should pursue it aggressively."

That was in the summer of 2009. Here is a link to the study - click on "Full Study." If you don't have the time or patience to read it (it's 378 pages), just look at the illustrations and maps. Especially the maps at the end of the study. The map on page 370, for example, shows Bayboro as a possible interconnection substation.

Has the State pursued wind energy production aggressively? No.

Why not?

Could it be because in 2010 the North Carolina State Legislature was taken over by a political party that has:
1. No interest in any kind of energy but petroleum, natural gas and coal?
2. No interest in freeing the US from  petroleum imports?
3. No interest in reducing carbon emissions?
4. No concern over sea level rise?
5. No interest in economic development in Eastern North Carolina?

How about all of the above?

It looks like any push for coastal wind energy development will have to come from the people of Eastern North Carolina working together in their own interest. In the present political climate, neither Raleigh nor Washington is likely to pick up this challenge without a strong push from us.

Pot

I confess. I have never smoked a joint - or whatever they are being called these days. For that matter, I have never smoked a cigarette. Not once.

Doesn't mean I never smoked tobacco. I used to smoke a pipe and an occasional cigar. Gave that up thirty-five years ago. The smoke irritated my eyes and didn't do much good for my chronic sea sickness. Not great for a ship captain.

I always thought alcohol was the most dangerous drug. But I drink alcoholic beverages.

I did my best to keep alcohol off my ship. And marijuana. And other illegal drugs.

In my years at sea, I never saw a sailor who was unable to perform his duties because he smoked marijuana on liberty. But there were many times I saw sailors unable to get the ship underway because they were drunk when they got back to the ship.

I went to college in a state with statewide prohibition on the sale of distilled beverages. But very cleverly, the state had a tax on illegally sold beverages. That's called having your cake and eating it, too.

Interesting article in today's New York Times about marijuana laws. It seems the states of Washington, Oregon and Colorado have provisions on their November 6 ballots to legalize marijuana. The one in Washington might even pass.

Lawmen are among the supporters of legalization.

It's worth a look.