Nuclear Submarine Runs Aground South of Guam

The Associated Press ^ | Jan 8, 2005 | The Associated Press

[Doohickey]

688 fairwater planes are nearly useless. The sail is too short and too far aft, putting them too close to the center of bouyancy. The thing was a tub at PD and lacked the depth control system that 637s had to bring water onboard in a flat hurry if you were in danger of broaching. So to compensate, you have to flood as you come to PD. A good helm/planes/DOOW/COW team can time it perfectly to be about 2000 pounds heavy when the scope breaks the surface. That's why you hear stories about 688s losing depth control...you have to run heavy at PD to keep from broaching.

[Ace_Bebop]

Tell me about it. Nothing was more tiring that PD at even a moderate sea state.

I wouldn't have minded trying it once on another class, just for variety's sake.

[Doohickey]

Pinging the list with news of Petty Officer Ashley's memorial service.

The remains of Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen Ashley will be flown to his hometown of Akron, Ohio on Friday. The 24-year-old died Sunday from injuries sustained a day before when the U.S.S. San Francisco ran aground about 350 miles south of Guam during a submerged operation.

Today, Petty Officer Ashley's shipmates and friends on Guam gathered at Big Navy's base chapel to say goodbye.

The chapel was packed - standing room only, according to Navy officials, who provided KUAM News with a tape containing portions of the service. We were also able to interview some of Petty Officer Ashley's shipmates.

You may never have met petty Joseph Ashley, but if you had you would have liked him - a lot. That is the unanimous feeling from the shipmates of Petty Officer Ashley we spoke with today. Shipmates like Lieutenant Junior Grade Josh Chisholm, who is a chemistry/radiological assistant aboard the U.S.S. San Francisco. He remembered of his friend, "He always brought a smile to everyone's face when he was around just positive upbeat attitude and very competent individual. As an officer standing watch, for us he was someone you knew you could trust who you knew would do the right thing."

Command Master Chief Bill Cramer is the senior enlisted officer aboard the San Francisco, and says he and Petty Officer Ashley immediately bonded, as they are both from Ohio. "He loved being on the San Francisco," Cramer said, "he loved being a country boy as he put, his nickname was 'General Cooter' on board the ship."

During today's memorial service, it was Petty Officer Ashley's nickname, derived from the TV show "The Duke's of Hazzard" and his love of all things southern that brought laughter through the tears. Commander Kevin Mooney, captain of the San Francisco, delivered Ashley's eulogy at today's service, recalling a time when he was using an analogy during a pep talk to the crew. In the analogy, he likened himself to a general, to which the sailors quickly told their commander that there was already a general aboard the San Francisco.

He recalled, "That revelation began a special relationship between Petty Officer Ashley and me. He soon became the only sailor on board who did not address me as 'captain'. Instead, we simply addressed each other as 'general'."

Commander Mooney said Petty Officer Ashley lived every day to the fullest and left a legacy of dedicated service any man could be proud of. "In closing, I will now give my last order to Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen Ashley - sailor, rest your oars," he tearfully announced.

As for Petty Officer Ashley's shipmates, the crash and the loss of a friend and comrade has not caused them to rest their oars. Command Master Chief Cramer says the day after the San Francisco limped back into port, most of his sailors mustered on the pier even though they weren't required to, ready to go back to work. He says many of the men who were thinking of getting out of the Navy have decided to stay a while longer because of the bond forged through the ordeal.

When asked if he could speculate what Petty Office Ashley would say about the San Francisco's mission, if he could know what happened, he immediately responded. "Get'er done," said Cramer of Ashley's attitude and work ethic. "That's what he would say...get'er done."

One other neat little tidbit about Petty Officer Ashley was that he loved to write poetry, which he would frequently e-mail to his shipmates. Today, one of his shipmates wrote the following poem for his fallen brother:



Southern Pride: Ode to the Gen'ral

I write this for a man I know.
You all should know him well.
We call him Gen'ral Cooter and
this here's the tale I tell:
The only Gen'ral that I know
who sailed the ocean blue
Aboard a mighty submarine
Ole Cooter'd lead us if
The South should rise again,
And Rebel pride would flourish strong
In all the men he knew,
Cause nothin' mattered much on race
As Cooter's army grew.
One day he gathered with his men;
His shipmates of the sea,
And leave home, they set on out,
A foreign port to see.
The mighty Captain welcomed them,
Beneath the waves they flew
With shellbacks there, and pollywogs
And Cooter's army grew.
Through many missions, tests, and trials
The mighty ship prevailed
Her warriors would prove their worth
Wherever she was sailed.
The best damn boat in all the fleet,
And all the sailors knew
The Captain had the finest men
Cause Cooters Army grew.
But an underwater mountain
Did cause the ship to wreck,
And all those roughneck salts onboard
Were flung on to the deck.
The Gen'ral could not rise again,
Soon ev'rybody knew.
We did our best to save his life,
And Cooter's army grew.
The Captain stood there by his side
And bid him stay and fight.
Some re-enforcements would arrive
If he could make the night.
And prayers abounded with support
From all the loyal crew
They rallied strength and gathered hope
And Cooter's army grew.
We found some good ole country songs
To ease his pain away,
But with Hank Jr. playin' loud
Ole Cooter slipped away,
And following the midday sun
He left our battered crew.
The Gen'ral soldiers mourned his loss,
But Cooter's army grew.
And as we laid him down to rest,
We held his banner high,
And heard a hoot and holler from
Those Rebels in the sky.
And as the good Lord took him in,
He kept our Gen'ral true.
The angels came to march with him,
And Cooter's army grew.

B.A. Dirksen
-1/0/05-

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

Thanks for the ping. My husband has duty today so he won't be able to look at the thread until tomorrow. There is a lot of good discussion going on here and I'm sure he'll want to be involved.

[SS Guy]

This doesn't really apply to Petty Officer Ashley but I was in the mood for some more poetry. Looks like the thread has about peterd out.

===========================================================

Soul of a Submariner!!!

He cast his soul to the wind, and let his spirit free.
And his life was set on course, with a submarine decree.

Society had many rules, no way he would live by.
No commuting to an office, no wearing suit and tie.

No time to conform, no time for kids and wife.
The sea was to be his home, the service was his life.

If only he could tell, of the sights that he had seen.
Of the seas that he had sailed, on that fine old submarine.

But his tales will go untold, because of history past.
Of lessons paid in blood, the "Silent Service" it was cast.

Though the days drift into years, the memories do not fade.
Of good boats and tough missions, and the sacrifices made.

Of Silver Dolphins and great shipmates, and moonless dark sea nights. Of travel to exotic lands, and many bewildering sites.

O' to hear the claxon sound, his friends they do not know.
He prays to once again, go where Submariners go.

Each year he grows more restless, the salt flows through his veins.
But the depths are for the young, not the old with many pains.

His heart beats with a fever, his mind drifts to the sea.
He knows the taste of liberty, and what it costs to be free.

He will hear the vents no longer, he will go to sea no more.
For his final set of orders, has cast his soul ashore.

By John Chaffey, Powell, WY-c 2001

[HipShot]

Thank you Dookickey. That's a tear jerker, and it grants insight into the souls of that fine Captain and crew.

I hope they get her back; she's too young to be razor blades, and that crew needs to be kept together.

[Robert A Cook PE]

One other point: You can't use GPS underwater (GPS requires multiple reception of UHF signals from several satellites.)

So, underwater, you're still using essentially dead-reckoning from speed and course assumed from the instruments. Yes, those instruiments are good, much better than the iron compass and gyros and pitlog (submerged speed sensor) of old, but it's just more accurate dead reckoning.

If the mountain underwater wasn't on the chart -> there's no way you're goign to be able to plot a course around it, and (if it's slope underwater is steep enough) there's no way you're going to spot it in time even IF the fathometer was pinging.

Which, in deep ocean transits at high speed, is normally off.

[dread78645]

One other point: You can't use GPS underwater (GPS requires multiple reception of UHF signals from several satellites.)

So, underwater, you're still using essentially dead-reckoning from speed and course assumed from the instruments. Yes, those instruiments are good, much better than the iron compass and gyros and pitlog (submerged speed sensor) of old, but it's just more accurate dead reckoning.

Yep. We'd come up to PD, catch a couple of satellites and reset the DRAI (dead-reckoning analyzer indicator ?) and boogie on.

... even IF the fathometer was pinging.
Which, in deep ocean transits at high speed, is normally off.

Procedure on the Tinosa was to send a watchstander out to get a sounding every couple of hours or so.

"Piss, Fetch (coffee), Sounding." was the order (I doubt you'll find it in the Bluejacket manual).

[Hammerhead]

I think that was mid 80s.

we stood topside to watch that boat pull in and try to moore pierside for 2 hours.

we were laughing our @sses off.

word was the Capt. spent too much time partying out on the town with his crew - enlisted included.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Procedure on the Tinosa was to send a watchstander out to get a sounding every couple of hours or so.

"Piss, Fetch (coffee), Sounding." was the order (I doubt you'll find it in the Bluejacket manual).

And that watch sent topside with the deep water sounding lead was really PO'ed every time he was chewed out for dripping water across the COB's clean decks!

[dread78645]

That was the mail-bouy watch.
;->

I should have said " ... was to send a watchstander out [of the sonar shack to the control room] to get a sounding ..."

[Doohickey]

Speaking of coffee runs (for those who don't know, the United States Navy is fueled by coffee)...

On a 688, Sonar is directly forward of Control. In fact, the sliding door is usually left open and a curtain hung up instead.

Anyway it always galled me when I was COW, the Sonar Sup would stick his head out of Sonar and ask if the messenger could make a coffee run (usually during wakeups). This, despite the fact that threre were one or two sonar girl nubs hiding out in SES.

We need a sea story thread.

[RebelTex]

"We need a sea story thread."

Please ping me to that thread if one starts. I've always loved a good sea story.

[BykrBayb]

Doohickey - Thank you for sharing this.

rsobin - Thank you for pinging me to this.

Kathy - I've counted up all the tissues you've made me go through, and I'm getting even with one post. #1083.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1316627/posts?page=1083#1083

[Kathy in Alaska]

And you did get even. Thanks, Billy, for your service.

[maestro]

UR# 149....114.......etc. Very interesting........................

thanks for your postings.

m

[FreedomCalls]

New photos just in:

[kf6pbn]

Looks like she's riding more like a 593/594 class boat.

[kf6pbn]

Please add me to your ping list for "steely eyed killers of the deep"

[kf6pbn]

J/M
Submariner
1978-1987
Atlantic and Pacific fleets
BTDT


EITHER YOU ARE QUALIFIED,
OR YOU'RE NOT!

BTDT too.
Pacific fleet
1964 -1970
SS Guy


"There ain't no Submariners down in Hell"

BTDT
ET1(SS)
Fast Attack Tuff
Pacific and Alantic fleets
1972-1981
593/594 all the way