SEA TRIALS STORIES. CONT’D.
Reading the reprint of Tom Maloney’s remarks at the BATON ROUGE inactivation in the January 1995 SUBMARINE RF.r VIEW brought back vivid memories of the Great Sea Trial Rig for Red Before Sunrise Flap of 1977.
As Tom relates, two stubborn old men were needling each other by taking carom shots off of new construction skippers who were facing probably their most stressful ordeal up to that time: making their first personal underway in command in a new construction SSN. It was nuts.
It began, I think, when Rickover wanted to start the PHILADELPHIA trials well before sunrise. Curt Shellman, the SUBLANT N4 who was riding, got in a fight with him over it and Joe Williams weighed in. Bud Kauderer, who was Chief of Staff may have also gotten a piece of the action earlier as the SUBLANT representative on the LOS ANGELES trials.
All I know for sure is that I got a call in my cabin at Squadron Six from Bud and Curt one afternoon saying that the two of them had just had a meeting between them to decide who would ride as CSL rep on the BATON ROUGE trial. They told me I had been selected and that the second place finisher wasn’t even close.
Tom told you we finessed the old men but he dido ‘t tell you how. Now it can be told.
When Tom went to get Admiral Rickover we rigged Control for white with the navigation party and appropriate others red-goggled. HGR came through and up the ladder. As soon as his buns went through the upper hatch, we did a silent rig for red. By the time he came down the sun had risen.
I rode a lot of trials in those days. I know a lot of sea trial sea stories. Watch for my memoirs.
Warm regards,
RADM Austin B. Scott, Jr., USN(Ret.)
230 Magnolia Lake Road
Aiken, SC 29803
USS 0-9 (SS 70)/
USS SOUALUS
Squalus Memorial Chapter, U.S. SubVets WWil and Thresher Base, U.S. SubVets are conducting a drive to raise funds to purchase a pair of monuments in memory of the lost crew members of the 0-9 and SQUALUS.
These monuments will be similar in nature to the WWII and Thresher Memorial Monuments and will be placed in the proximity of these monuments at Albacore Park, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
If anyone has knowledge of family members of 0-9 or family members and crew of SQUALUS, please contact us. Any donations may be sent to:
0-9/Squalus Monuments
P.O. Box 315
Chocorua, NH 03817-0315
(603) 323-878
A LETTER TO A CONGRESSMAN
January 13, 1995
The Honorable Sam Brownback
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Sam:
This evening I read GAO’s report entitled “Attack Submarines, Alternatives for a More Affordable SSN Force Structure” (GAO/NSIAD 95-16).
At some point this year, your commitment to a strong national defense is going to be put to the test. It is very possible that when decisions are made about the size and composition of the Submarine Force, those who look to the military as a source of all spending cuts will wave the GAO report at you and quote extensively from its findings.
Accountants believe that they can analyze anything involving numbers and arrive at meaningful recommendations. GAO, in its report, has taken many numbers and arrived at what it considers to be a rational result. In actuality, all they have built is a skeleton, devoid of flesh and lacking a brain.
The size and composition of the Submarine Force cannot be fixed without taking into consideration the threat, operational and industrial factors, national policy, and the ability to produce submarines in the future. Many of the elements that must be considered cannot be reduced to numbers and are beyond the ken of accountants.
If Congress relies only on cold numbers, it may well reduce Submarine Force levels below the point from which there can be no recovery, in effect deciding that this nation no longer will have submarines in its arsenal. Given international conditions and technology, that would be a grave mistake.
Should you find yourself needing detailed information regarding the Submarine Force, present and future, I suggest that you contact the Navy’s Office of Legislative Affairs. They will be able to get you what you need, and, if you have the time, will be able to arrange familiarization embarkations. A day at sea is worth weeks of reading and committee hearings.
If I can be of assistance, please ask.
Sincerely,
John D’Aloia, Jr.
311 West Alma Street
St. Marys, KS 66536
