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Ask a Vet - Bonus Edition
Author: TriSec    Date: 02/01/2014 11:28:42

Good Morning.

I'll dispense with the statistics this morning. It's been one of those weeks; it was fairly quiet up until Thursday, and then there were a boatload of stories and updates to things I've been following here. We'll dive right in.


I'll start with my favourite whipping post of late. The F-35 Lightning has some more problems. Ooh, big surprise there!


WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 jet developed cracks in testing of the fighter's durability and wasn't sufficiently reliable in training flights last year, the Pentagon's chief tester found.

On-ground testing of the Air Force and Marine Corps versions of the fighter revealed "significant findings" of cracks on five occasions in fuselage bulkheads, flanges, stiffeners and engine mounts "that will require mitigation plans and may include redesigning parts and additional weight," according to an annual report on major weapons by Michael Gilmore, director of operational testing.

Gilmore has repeatedly raised questions about progress of the $391.2 billion F-35 program, the most expensive U.S. weapons system. This year's report, released Tuesday, may draw particular scrutiny because the Pentagon will propose increasing purchases to 42 planes in fiscal 2015 from the 29 Congress authorized this year.

Lockheed, the top U.S. contractor, drew 16 percent of sales from the F-35 last year. "That number will grow in 2014," Bruce Tanner, chief financial officer for the Bethesda, Md.-based company told reporters last week.

In a full-page discussion of durability testing and cracking, Gilmore disclosed an incident in late September when a bulkhead "severed." He said "analysis and corrective actions" were continuing.

Aircraft based in Florida, Arizona, California and Nevada for pilot training missions continue "to be immature" and rely "heavily on contractor support and workarounds unacceptable in combat operations," Gilmore wrote.

Reliability measures "are all below" target goals for the current stage of development, he said.


Lockheed may be building one of those rare aircraft that go from prototype direct to museum piece, without the "service career" portion of an aircraft's life cycle. We'll see. But speaking of museums, there's still some fallout happening from the sequester. (Remember that?) If you're a civil war buff, maybe you want to read this one.


NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — When the turret of the USS Monitor was hoisted from the ocean floor in 2002, the real heavy lifting was just beginning: conserving and restoring more than 200 tons of Civil War ironclad artifacts.

The task went to The Mariners' Museum. Now, diminishing federal dollars have darkened a lab containing the revolving turret and other large pieces, closing to the public a window on the nation's maritime history and delaying possibly by decades their public display.

The museum has seen a steady decline in annual funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration amid budget cuts and shifting federal priorities. The private museum was designated by Congress as the official repository for the artifacts, but museum officials say they can't do it alone.

The museum's president and CEO, Elliot Gruber, said the 5,000-square-foot lab containing the turret, two Dahlgren guns and the Monitor's steam engine will remain dark until the federal government restores funding levels. The museum, he said, can't pour more money into the project while sustaining its own vast collections of maps, books, paintings and other exhibits - 35,000 pieces all told.


Of course, on the other hand there is some actual government spending to report on today too. Actual US dollars went to build a bridge that will benefit actual Americans. The bridge is a flyover - it provides a direct route to some waterfront land across a busy highway, reducing traffic and increasing efficiency for all parties concerned. Except one thing...it's in Bahrain.


MANAMA, Bahrain — A tied-arch suspension bridge to connect Naval Support Activity Bahrain to expansion land along the waterfront was installed Friday after it was moved overnight roughly 260 yards from the site where it was built.

The 2,860-ton bridge will provide easy access between the main base, and 77 acres of leased land — known as NSA-2 — the U.S. Navy is developing across one of Bahrain’s busiest roadways. Without the bridge, access to NSA-2 from the main base involves a 20- to 30-minute drive through the city. Navy officials claim the $8 million bridge will result in a 10 percent reduction in the Navy’s vehicle fleet in Bahrain, saving more than $500,000 annually, and will also make it possible for emergency vehicles, pedestrians and electric carts to quickly move between facilities.

Naval Support Activity Bahrain, home to the U.S. 5th Fleet, has about 7,000 U.S. personnel and is growing. The bridge is considered an important milestone in the growth of the base, which now occupies 137 acres. A vehicle maintenance facility, warehouse, dining facility and barracks to house about 1,000 sailors are under construction on NSA-2, which officials say will be more of a planned complex. The Navy plans to bring two more coastal patrol ships to Bahrain in the spring, and has a long-term plan to port littoral combat ships here.


I've got another story about something I've been following off and on for a number of years. Every now and again, another commander is reduced in rank, re-assigned, or otherwise punished for their transgressions. I noticed it a while ago (primarily because I see repeated stories in the military press.) If you saw Dr. Maddow's reporting on these things this week, you have only seen the tip of the iceberg, but I digress. The Pentagon has been investigating, but it doesn't seem to help. If anything. the commanders are becoming more brazen.


WASHINGTON — There are miserable bosses, and then there are toxic military commanders.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Schmidt was unquestionably among the latter in the view of some staff members under his thumb. A profane screamer, he ran through six executive officers and aide-de-camps in a year. He retired this month after an Air Force inquiry concluded that he was "cruel and oppressive" and mistreated subordinates.

More than a dozen people who worked with Brig. Gen. Scott "Rock" Donahue, a retired commander with the Army Corps of Engineers, reported him as a verbally abusive taskmaster. One was so desperate to escape from division headquarters in San Francisco that he asked for a transfer to Iraq. An Army investigation cited the general for "exhibiting paranoia" and making officers cry.

Troops who served under Army Brig. Gen. Eugene Mascolo of the Connecticut National Guard, described him as "dictatorial," "unglued" and a master of "profanity-fused outbursts." An Army investigation found widespread evidence of "verbal mistreatment." He received a written reprimand but remains in the National Guard.

U.S. military commanders are not trained to be soft or touchy-feely. But over the past two years, the Pentagon has been forced to conduct a striking number of inspector-general investigations of generals and admirals accused of emotionally brutal behavior, according to military documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The affliction of abusive leadership has even infected some civilian leaders at the Pentagon, raising questions about the Defense Department's ability to detect and root out flaws in its command culture.


Finally this morning....a bit of a mystery to wrap things up. I've been sitting on this one for a while. It's interesting, but doesn't really fit in with any of my themes...so we'll end today's dump with it.


PHILADELPHIA — The mystery surrounding a Marine’s missing heart has already drawn two nations into a Philadelphia federal court battle.

Now, it also threatens to play a part in the confirmation of President Barack Obama’s pick to lead the State Department’s intelligence arm.

Daniel Bennett Smith, poised to become the department’s assistant secretary for intelligence and research, was recently questioned about his role in the autopsy of Brian LaLoup, a Marine sergeant from Coatesville, Pa., whose heart disappeared after he killed himself while stationed in Athens, Greece, in 2012.

At the time, Smith served as the United States’ ambassador to the country. But it was his potential new post that prompted U.S. Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., to ask Smith for a full account of his actions.

Toomey posed his questions as part of the run-up to Smith’s expected Senate confirmation vote later this year.

“I remain deeply saddened by the tragic death of Sgt. LaLoup, and the subsequent events regarding his heart,” Smith wrote in response to Toomey. “From the outset, this matter was a high priority for me. I personally raised the issue at the most senior levels of the Greek government, pressing for a full investigation and accounting as well as the return of Sgt. LaLoup’s heart.”

Smith’s response was outlined in an email sent to LaLoup’s family from Toomey’s office and later obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer. It offers the most detailed picture yet of the U.S. response to questions surrounding the handling of the Marine’s remains.

Attempts to reach Smith directly were unsuccessful Monday. State Department officials have repeatedly said their investigation continues.


And so, I'm headed "Back to Gilwell" for the day. A new Woodbadge course is forming up, and I'm on the senior leadership....we're having another staff meeting today. TTFN!
 

4 comments (Latest Comment: 02/02/2014 13:59:53 by velveeta jones)
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