Disqus - Latest Comments for cabslach

Re: Inspector General Audit of Naval Supply Systems Command Management of Inventory Items with No Demand for 5 Years

cabslach — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 01:40:05 -0000

Many museums would be glad to take the parts off your hands. Disposal should cost nothing.
As far as parts go for ships, where are the hatches and watertight doors from Enterprise? Is the plan to reuse parts of the Nimitz? Many assemblies cost 10's of thousands of dollars. HII should not have to make new parts that are reusable.

Re: Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Suffers Fire

cabslach — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 02:26:57 -0000

Morale is probably low. I bet the reenlistment rate will be significantly lower. If the damage control took 30 hours as reported elsewhere, how will they cope with a plane wreck or actual battle damage? Did a dryer overheat? Does this mean they need to retrofit all the laundry rooms with sprinklers?

Re: Navy Extends USS Nimitz Service Life to 2027 in Line with Carrier John F. Kennedy’s Delivery

cabslach — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 02:19:30 -0000

HII schedulers must be pulling their hair out. Delays for the JFK, Ford not coming in as planned and now the Nimitz. Not to mention the midlife refuelings taking a year or two longer than anticipated. At least they can reassign people to the Columbia class except that typically requires another skill set. If they knew they were going to extend her, I bet there were repairs that should have been done during the 3 months it sat at PSNS.

Re: Navy Extends USS Nimitz Service Life to 2027 in Line with Carrier John F. Kennedy’s Delivery

cabslach — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 02:12:54 -0000

Only way would be to have other shipyards build non-nuclear carriers. Just use the plans for the Kitty Hawk, Connie, or America. HII can not build them quickly.

Re: First Columbia-class Sub, Two Aircraft Carriers Face Delivery Delays, Navy Officials Tell Senate

cabslach — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:14:55 -0000

Gutting began before the 90's. The last public yard new build was around 1970 (AOE 4). Closure of Charleston and Mare Island severly limited the Navy's maintence abilities. The Navy lost leverage with Newport News, now HII.

Re: First Columbia-class Sub, Two Aircraft Carriers Face Delivery Delays, Navy Officials Tell Senate

cabslach — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:03:47 -0000

The SSGNs do not need to go to HII. PNSY, NNSY, and PSNS can decommission them. PSNS is the logical choice since they would also recycle them and remove the reactors to Hanford.

Re: First Columbia-class Sub, Two Aircraft Carriers Face Delivery Delays, Navy Officials Tell Senate

cabslach — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 19:59:39 -0000

In six months or more the NIMITZ is to go to HII for inactivation. Obviously they do not need the added work load since they are building new carriers and have one in refueling (albeit very late on delivery). Have the NIMITZ go to PSNS which has a water pit facility. However, the REAGAN is currently in DD and the new FORD class drydock has not begun construction (which will take 4 or 5 years). Just let the NIMITZ sit so HII can assign its workforce to finish what they've started.

Re: Counting Down on Federal Retirement

cabslach — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 17:56:15 -0000

FERS is a mistake. CSRS handcuffs you to working for the government. New system is portable so get trained and certified then move on. Government loses out.

Re: Local Toastmasters comes to end

cabslach — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 22:11:06 -0000

This year we may see more examples of this. Hopefully any members who want to continue can find another club to join whether in person or by using Zoom.

Re: Record Aircraft Carrier Work Underway at Newport News Shipbuilding

cabslach — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 17:41:17 -0000

The Navy doesn't often donate sections unless someone is willing to pay for it. Never mind the saving realized by not having to scrap whatever is saved. To date, I am only aware of two submarine sails being saved and over 100 subs have been recycled.

Re: Record Aircraft Carrier Work Underway at Newport News Shipbuilding

cabslach — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 17:34:37 -0000

The Long Beach's reactors were heavier than other CGNs or subs. Lead lined shielding bays had to be ripped out. There was no hurry to build the barge used to transport the reactors up the Columbia. Enterprise has a similar problem in that the reactors are paired and share a common bulkhead. Leaving them together likely exceeds the capacity of the river locks. No east coast burial sites have been approved. Disposal will take a long time and the Navy can not afford to tie up the carrier dock at PSNS. Haven't heard if the recycling yard in Brownsville, TX has any interest in removing the rest of the ship and leaving the reactors for later. Since the Kitty Hawk is on its way there they might not have room anyway.

Re: Record Aircraft Carrier Work Underway at Newport News Shipbuilding

cabslach — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 17:25:14 -0000

The city of San Francisco has banned anything nuclear.

Re: TRANSCOM Commander: American Shipyards Need Revitalization to Help Modernize Military Sealift Command

cabslach — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:44:17 -0000

Sadly, due to Congress, the public shipyards have been reduced to only four. They have so much nuclear work that they couldn't build a new ship even if it was legal - which it isn't. Since they are so specialized they also may not be in a position to repair non-nuclear ships due to lack of experience. They need millions, maybe billions, of modernizations to meet future needs to be able to dock the FORD class carriers that are planned.

Re: Report on Virginia-class Attack Submarine Program

cabslach — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 19:38:32 -0000

The nuclear boat building yards are straining now and will get worse when the Ohio class replacements start production. What happens when they have to support the Australian push for nucs? Most of our allies are building non-nuclear subs since they are cheaper and quieter. Other shipbuilders could be making them while the nuclear yards continue producing SSNs and SSBNs. A mixture of subs seems like a good idea to me.

Re: Did Russia's Diesel Submarines Really Hunt Down a British Nuclear Sub?

cabslach — Sun, 22 Apr 2018 22:54:26 -0000

If the Russian subs were able to avoid detection, that's a good argument for the US to add a few to our arsenal. They would be much cheaper than a nuclear powered boat; could be just as deadly with Tomahawk missiles on board, and, like their WWII counterparts, able to go anywhere in the world. They would also be good for littoral defenses, freeing up nuclear vessels for longer cruises.

Re: Senate Armed Services Bill Directs Navy to Study Building a Light Carrier, Pluses Up Shipbuilding Totals Over Trump Budget

cabslach — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 14:21:46 -0000

The land is no longer held by the government. The workforce is non-existent to man it. Public yards aren't even allowed to build anything new. That needs to change.

Re: Senate Armed Services Bill Directs Navy to Study Building a Light Carrier, Pluses Up Shipbuilding Totals Over Trump Budget

cabslach — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 21:31:25 -0000

The Kitty Hawk is in ready reserve here in Bremerton. Is the Kennedy in the same status in Norfolk? All the other carriers are either museums or being scrapped.

If the Navy expands, it needs to increase personnel at the public shipyards to handle the workload. Private yards like building new ships; maintenance is fraught with all sorts of unknowns that leads to arguments with NAVSEA.

Re: Attack Sub USS Boise Set for Private Yard Maintenance in 2019 After Public Yard Backlog Defers Job

cabslach — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 21:07:17 -0000

It's now in private hands and not as a shipyard.

Re: New Carrier Landing Tech Wows Pilots on First Deployment

cabslach — Mon, 08 May 2017 03:37:14 -0000

“They were landing in the same spot on the runway every time, tearing up where the hook touches down,” he told a Washington, D.C. audience about field testing of the capability. “So we quickly realized, we needed to either fix the runway or adjust, put some variants in the system. So that’s how precise this new system is.”

Yes, the arresting cable is being hit in the same spot but the comment says the runway needs to be fixed, too. A redesign of the cable impact area may also be warranted if there is a way to insert a splice that is stronger.

Re: New Carrier Landing Tech Wows Pilots on First Deployment

cabslach — Mon, 08 May 2017 03:15:54 -0000

If the deck is getting worn in a concentrated area, replace the steel with some HY-130. It should take a beating much better than the current steel being used. Not the whole deck, just where needed. This will take a little bit of time with all the pre-heats required. Also, not a lot of qualified weldors for this steel but the Naval shipyards have them.

Re: The One U.S. Submarine That Could Completely Destroy North Korea

cabslach — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 19:31:07 -0000

Hundreds of drones from Radio Shack should be sent across the border with packages of food, radios, and books. Amything to show the people what they are missing. Later start sending drones offering $10 thousand for the assassin who takes out Kin Jong Un. Let his own people change their lives for the good. Sadly, as noted elsewhere, you don't know if a more reasonable person would fill his empty shoes.

Re: Kirby's Disturbing History: Murder sprees

cabslach — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 19:53:20 -0000

The parents of Steven Shea are both gone now. One thing they resented for the rest of their lives was that Steven's killers were never convicted for their crime against him. They did go to prison for life (one of them has died) but for other crimes.

Re: America Needs Its Underwater Nukes. Delaying the Process Would Be a Disaster.

cabslach — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 14:55:47 -0000

Great Britain is discussing this now. They have Trident-design subs that also need replacing.

Re: America Needs Its Underwater Nukes. Delaying the Process Would Be a Disaster.

cabslach — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 14:54:57 -0000

Completely agree. Low cost, easy maintenance, smaller crews. They only need cruise missiles and torpedoes.

Re: Despite Redesign, Camry's Reign as Top US Car in Jeopardy

cabslach — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 02:26:29 -0000

Gas prices have started to go up. It's 30 cents more here than just before Christmas. People will be looking for economy again if the trend continues. My 2012 Camry Hybrid with 66K miles on it gets 38-40 MPG so I'll keep it. Would hate to give up my 2001 Camry Solara with 95K miles on it, tho' I only get 25 MPG in it. I want Toyota to build another coupe!