[SDUnionTrib] A fire that raged for almost five days in July has doomed the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard to the scrapyards, Navy officials announced Monday.
The ship will be decommissioned within a year and will be scrapped, a Navy official told reporters during a conference call Monday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The cost of repairing the ship was estimated to be between $2.5 billion and $3.2 billion, said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage Monday. The cost and time involved were deemed to be too much by Navy leadership.
"After thorough consideration, the secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations have decided to decommission the USS Bonhomme Richard," said Ver Hage, the commander of Navy Regional Maintenance Center.
The Navy looked at all possible courses of action to "make sure we understood the art of the possible," Ver Hage said. Officials assessed every space on the ship and Ver Hage said about 60 percent of it ‐ the flight deck, the island and many of the decks immediately below them ‐ would need to be completely replaced.
The Navy looked at three options for the ship ‐ repairing it to full mission-capabilities, refurbishing it as a tender or hospital ship, or decommissioning, Ver Hage said.
In addition to the expense, rebuilding the Bonhomme Richard would take five to seven years, Ver Hage said. To reconfigure the ship would cost more than $1 billion ‐ more than the cost of building a brand new tender or hospital ship.
Decommissioning will cost the Navy about $30 million and will take between nine months and one year, Ver Hage said. He talked of possibly towing it to storage or to shipbreakers in the Gulf of Mexico, adding that no contract has been awarded yet.
The decision to decommission the ship was made by Navy leaders just before Thanksgiving, Ver Hage said, and Navy leadership and Congress were briefed on the decision Monday.
The fire on the 844-foot ship docked at Naval Base San Diego began around 8:30 a.m. on July 12 ‐ a Sunday ‐ and sent acrid plumes of smoke into the San Diego skies for two days.
Temperatures topped 1,200 degrees F at the height of the inferno.
By the following Tuesday morning, the smoke plume was noticeably smaller, although the fire smell stayed in neighborhoods nearest the base for another two days.
An email from the Navy's top admiral days after the fire revealed the ship had fire, smoke and water damage on 11 of its 14 decks. Some decks were warped and bulging and, in some spaces, completely gutted.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, although officials have said the fire began in the ship's lower vehicle storage area. Arson is suspected. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service searched the home of a Bonhomme Richard sailor in August, according to an ABC 10News report. A San Diego Navy official declined to comment on the sailor or the status of the multiple ongoing investigations Monday
This is a clearly popular topic. Alaska Paul submitted gCaptain’s report, and Abu Uluque gave us The Drive’s, commenting:
Pictures and video at the link.
As I noted while the fire was still burning in July, it smelled like an electrical fire as far as 30 miles north of San Diego Bay.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/01/2020 11:44 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Not surprising. The major discoloration of the hull showed the steel was de-tempered. They would have had to replace the whole thing. Might as well just build from scratch at that point.
I just found this site and it certainly covers the crime news. I'm bookmarking it.
[Breaking911] LOS ANGELES — Special agents with the FBI Thursday morning arrested a Hollywood man on a federal charge alleging that he recklessly operated a drone that crashed into a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter.
The drone damaged the LAPD aircraft and the pilot was forced to initiate an emergency landing. The drone also damaged a vehicle when the unmanned aircraft fell from the sky after the crash.
Andrew Rene Hernandez, 22, was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday that charges him with one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft.
According to the complaint filed in United States District Court, during the early morning hours of September 18, LAPD officers responded to a burglary call at a pharmacy in Hollywood. The responding officers requested air support, and an LAPD helicopter flew toward the scene. As the helicopter approached the pharmacy, the pilot saw the drone and attempted to evade the unmanned aircraft. Despite the evasive efforts, the drone stuck the helicopter, forcing the pilot to initiate an emergency landing. The drone damaged the helicopter’s nose, antenna and bottom cowlings. According to the complaint, "if the drone had struck the helicopter’s main rotor instead of the fuselage, it could have brought the helicopter down."
LAPD officers located parts of the drone near the pharmacy and discovered a vehicle damaged by the drone as it fell from the sky. Further investigation, including a review of the drone’s camera and SD card, led to the identification of Hernandez as the drone’s operator.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/01/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under:
[Popular Mechanics] From forceful fighter jets to tough-as-hell tanks, the world’s militaries often use monster machines to flex their might. But intimidation comes in all sizes. And if we’re going by the most perniciousness per pound, no tech tops the tiny military scooter French paratroopers briefly (and successfully) employed in the 1950s.
Seeking a modern version of a pack mule that could be dumped out of the back of a cargo aircraft behind enemy lines, France’s post-World War II military equipped its airborne armies with a light, simple, and nimble vehicle that could descend into battle under a parachute.
Absurdly, the Vespa 150 TAP (Troupes Aéroportées; airborne troops) was based on the updated version of the goofy and gutless civilian Italian motor scooter seen in the 1952 movie Roman Holiday. The French vehicle company Ateliers de Construction de Motocycles et Automobiles (ACMA) built the scooters near Dijon from 1956 to 1959, fashioning around 600 for French military forces.
#1
Is this really any worse than a Totota HiLux with a Russian 12.7 mounted in the back? (ala Somalia)
You go with what you got.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/01/2020 11:47 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It shows the depth of knowledge that the writer doesn't know the difference between a recoilless rifle and a bazooka .
It should be noted that you didn't want your butt on that tube when you were firing it.
[FoxBusiness] Defense Department had promised to label more military-controlled companies.
The Trump administration is poised to add China’s top chipmaker SMIC and national offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, according to a document and sources, curbing their access to U.S. investors and escalating tensions with Beijing weeks before President-elect Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden ...Candidate for president in 2020. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing... takes office.
Continued on Page 49
[Nasdaq] Lockheed Martin Corp.’s LMT Aeronautics unit has recently secured a $1.4-billion contract for providing aircraft sustainment support and services for the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The contract, acquired under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, has been awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, GA.
Per the deal terms, Lockheed Martin will provide program management support, spares, supply support services, support equipment, diminishing manufacturing sources, sustaining engineering services, alongside other associated support and services.
C-130J Specifics
As the world’s premier tactical airlifter, the Super Hercules features tremendous lift capacity, long range and austere landing field capabilities. Rolls-Royce’s RYCEY AE 2100D3 engines and six-bladed Dowty Aerospace R391 composite propellers from General Electric GE improve this aircraft’s performance over legacy C-130 jet. The C-130J Super Hercules’ importance is significantly growing on a global scale, which has currently 25 operators across 21 nations.
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday independent businesses selling on its platform crossed $4.8 billion in worldwide sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, an increase of more than 60% from a year earlier.
More than 71,000 small- and medium-sized businesses worldwide have surpassed $100,000 in sales this holiday season to date, Amazon said. (bit.ly/2JePBBn)
[ALMASDARNEWS] The NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... forces reportedly got a glimpse of the Russian-made S-300 last week, following tests by the Greek military in the eastern Mediterranean.
On Sunday, Ottoman Turkish media reported that Greece conducted tests on the Russian system at a firing range on the island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean, near the coast of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... , between November 23 and 27, noting that the tests were conducted in the presence of American, German and Dutch military personnel.
This tests raise some questions, especially because NATO, in particular, Washington, is strongly opposed to Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 system.
Greek media had previously revealed that Athens had already conducted training and tests on launching missiles from the Russian system, from NATO’s Khanate field in Crete, and that the test was carried out in the presence of most of the military attaches accredited to Athens.
Greece had acquired the Russian system from Cyprus, which it bought and was unable to activate due to Ottoman Turkish threats, as Cyprus was forced in 1997 to give up the system in favor of Greece, in exchange for weapons and other military equipment.
Before the start of the latest Greek experiment, the Ottoman Turkish Anadolu Agency quoted military sources as saying that "what Greece intends to do constitutes a serious air and missile threat facing Turkey," and that "those who raise their voices against Turkey (referring to the United States and NATO) remain silent regarding Greece’s activities in this regard are remarkable."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/01/2020 00:29 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under:
[Townhall] After weeks of vote counting, including a full recount, GOP candidate Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks was officially declared Congresswoman-elect in Iowa’s second congressional district. The seat was held by Democrats comfortably for nearly two decades, and Dr. Miller-Meeks clinched victory by just six votes.
Tell me about this. Trump had huge coattails in 2020. He helped elect many people to Congress and in State legislatures across the country. It seems to me to beg the question": "How in the heck was this Presidential election not rigged bigly against Trump?"
#7
Trump had huge coattails in 2020. He helped elect many people to Congress and in State legislatures across the country. How in the heck was this Presidential election not rigged bigly against Trump?
What are the odds that a presidential candidate:
..has huge coattails but loses to a guy who didn't even campaign at all and whose volunteers did not knock on doors? = improbable, maybe 1 in 5 odds
..carries Ohio by 8 points - and loses both Pennsylvania and Michigan? = Prob'y less than 1 in 10
..carries every bellwether county in the country ... and still loses the election? = Prob'y 1 in 100
What are the chances of all the above happening without fraud? 1 in 5,000
[PJ] On Sunday afternoon, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) shared an unsettling analysis of the 2020 election results that raises serious questions about statistical anomalies and four particularly suspicious "data dumps" in the key swing states of Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
"Interesting . . . Trump margin of ’defeat’ in 4 states occurred in 4 data dumps between 1:34-6:31 AM. Statistical anomaly? Fraud? Look at the evidence and decide for yourself," Paul tweeted.
He added a jab at Big Tech censorship: "That is, if Big Tech allows u to read this."
#1
Time to look into the results of ALL the States. All of the results are suspect. Have you often wondered how some of these douche bags who are in office got elected? Well just maybe they didn't!
Presently, I have no assurances that my vote went to the candidate for whom I voted.
Get rid of the mail-in voting ASAP. Get rid of the infernal voting machines. Throw out all votes that cannot be verified. Make certain there is an unbroken chain of custody in voting. Follow the laws. Prosecute harshly all who violate these election laws.
[ZH] With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris having already assembled their own parallel White House coronavirus task force staffed almost entirely with Obama Administration vets, Dr. Scott Atlas, the so-called "anti-Fauci" who has reportedly become President Trump's go-to advisor on all coronavirus-related topics, has decided to resign.
According to Fox News, Dr. Atlas has resigned from his post Monday evening. The move comes as Gov Gavin Newsom warns of "dramatic, arguably drastic" new lockdown-like restrictions coming to the Golden State (which represents one-fifth of the American economy, and roughly 1/8th of the US population).
Fox News exclusively obtained a copy of Dr. Atlas’s resignation letter, which was dated Dec. 1. In the letter, Dr. Atlas touted the Trump administration's work on the coronavirus pandemic, while wishing "all the best" to Biden and his team.
"I am writing to resign from my position as Special Advisor to the President of the United States," Atlas said, thanking him for "the honor and privilege to serve on behalf of the American people." "I worked hard with a singular focus—to save lives and help Americans through this pandemic," Atlas wrote, adding that he "always relied on the latest science and evidence, without any political consideration or influence."
"As time went on, like all scientists and health policy scholars, I learned new information and synthesized the latest data from around the world, all in an effort to provide you with the best information to serve the greater public good," Atlas wrote. "But, perhaps more than anything, my advice was always focused on minimizing all the harms from both the pandemic and the structural policies themselves, especially to the working class and the poor."
Atlas, who had been criticized for opposing lockdowns in defiance of "science" (Dr. Robert Redfield once warned that "everything he says is false"), warned in his letter that "although some may disagree with those recommendations, it is the free exchange of ideas that lead to scientific truths, which are the very foundation of a civilized society." "Indeed, I cannot think of a time where safeguarding science and the scientific debate is more urgent," he said.
Before his arrival, "that expertise had not been present", Dr. Atlas added.
Atlas, who spoke with the president on Monday, joined the administration in August, and was considered a Special Government Employee serving on a 130-day detail. That detail is set to expire this week, and it's probably safe to say that Biden hasn't invited Dr. Atlas back to serve in his administration.
#5
so basically a firefighter from Fahrenheit 451, who will deal with all those 'problematic' books
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 ||
12/01/2020 15:19 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I will happily take the job and burn any book or material I find to be racist and discriminatory. Then I can star new acquisitions after they build a new library.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[SDUnionTrib] A fire that raged for almost five days in July has doomed the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard to the scrapyards, Navy officials announced Monday.
[Popular Mechanics] From forceful fighter jets to tough-as-hell tanks, the world’s militaries often use monster machines to flex their might. But intimidation comes in all sizes. And if we’re going by the most perniciousness per pound, no tech tops the tiny military scooter French paratroopers briefly (and successfully) employed in the 1950s.
...Candidate for president in 2020. 
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday independent businesses selling on its platform crossed $4.8 billion in worldwide sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, an increase of more than 60% from a year earlier.
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
[ZH] With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris having already assembled their own parallel White House coronavirus task force staffed almost entirely with Obama Administration vets, Dr. Scott Atlas, the so-called "anti-Fauci" who has reportedly become President Trump's go-to advisor on all coronavirus-related topics, has decided to resign.
