Maritime Executive has as a short article about what has become of the former USCGC Bramble, a buoy tender that transited the North West Passage in 1957 along with USCGC Spar and USCGC Storis.
Museum ships are certainly desirable, but they are very hard to keep in presentable condition. Two very significant and unique museum ships, USS Olympia and USS Texas, have been constantly on the brink of failure. In addition to a fairly large number of light ships, we are fortunate to have Taney at the Baltimore Maritime Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland, and Ingham in Key West.
Wanted to pass this along, and encourage participation. Note eligibility for USNI membership is essentially unlimited, so that should not be a barrier to participation. Deadline 31 Dec. The USNI page about the contest is here.
R 211703 NOV 19 FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-5R// TO ALCOAST UNCLAS//N05700// ALCOAST 366/19 COMDTNOTE 5700 SUBJ: DEADLINE FOR U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE’S 2019 GENERAL PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST A. Coast Guard External Affairs Manual, COMDTINST M5700.13 (series) 1. This ALCOAST announces the U.S. Naval Institute’s 2019 General Prize Essay Contest. 2. Overview. Located at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization, has provided an open forum for honest debate, informed discussion, and professional development for members of the Naval Services since 1873. The vision and mission of the USNI is to give a voice to those who seek the finest Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard by providing an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security. USNI is known for its flagship magazine Proceedings and a variety of historical and professional books. 3. USNI General Prize Essay Contest. Dating back to 1879, the General Prize is the Naval Institute’s premier essay contest. Winning authors this year will join a long line of great naval thinkers and innovators, including Commander Alfred Thayer Mahan, Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce, Lieutenant Ernest J. King, Lieutenant Commander James Stavridis, and Commander James Winnefeld. This year’s General Prize Essay Contest invites you to “dare to write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.” Participate in this open annual essay contest to discuss the most compelling issues, ideas, and solutions impacting the sea services. There is no restriction on topic. All essays are judged in the blind by the Naval Institute’s Editorial board composed of serving Sea Service professionals. a. Eligibility: Open to all persons eligible for membership (including existing members) in the Institute (to include U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard). The essay must be original and not published or being considered for publication elsewhere. b. Length: 3,000 words maximum, excluding notes and sources. c. Prizes: First prize – $6,000. Second prize – $3,000. Third prize – $2,000. d. Submission Deadline: The deadline for entries is 31 December 2019. The winners will be announced and published in the May 2020 Proceedings. Note: essays are submitted directly to USNI and the U.S. Coast Guard plays no role in selecting the winning essays. Applicants shall ensure entries conform to Chapter 6, sections (A) through (C) of REF (A). e. Additional details: submit the essay as a word attachment to essay@usni.org with “General Prize Essay Contest” in the subject line. Include word count on the title page but do not include your name on the title page or within the essay. Provide a bio and contact information in a separate attachment. 4. Other Essay Contests and Writing Opportunities: a. Essay Contests. USNI hosts essay contests throughout the year on a variety of topics including: Coast Guard, Cyber, Emerging and Disruptive Technology, Enlisted Perspectives, Innovation & Risk, International Navies, Leadership, Marine Corps, Naval History, Naval Intelligence, Naval Mine Warfare, and Naval Postgraduate School Foundation/USNI. For details see: https://www.usni.org/essay-contests. b. Other Writing Opportunities. Authors can also submit articles for publication in Proceedings or Naval History magazines, USNI Today (online), and USNI’s Blog (online). For details see: https://www.usni.org/periodicals/proceedings-magazine/submission-guidelines. 5. RDML Douglas M. Fears, Assistant Commandant for Response Policy, sends. 6. Internet release is authorized.
The Drive reports that Russia is looking at building more icebreaker warships.
A Russian shipbuilding industry official says that the country’s plans for fleets armed icebreakers, such as the Project 23550 Ice class corvettes, are growing and that they may be able to carry more even weapons depending on their exact configuration.
When I originally posted on the Project 23550 class, I questioned whether we would ever actually see these vessels armed with missiles. After all, adding containerized missiles may be an option, but so far, the Russian Navy has not seemed enthusiastic about putting missiles on ships that do not also have defensive systems like electronic warfare and close in weapon systems. That is why, when this report talked about installation the Russian Pantsir-EM gun and missile defense system, it seemed to take on additional significance. But on reading it more carefully this was just speculation. The only upgrade actually mentioned by the “Russian shipbuilding industry official” was that the “This ship and others in its class may ultimately have a 100mm main gun, instead of a 76mm one as originally planned,”
Even with only a 76mm gun, this is the most heavily armed icebreaker in the world, but only because everyone else is virtually unarmed.
Both this ship and the Polar Security Cutter have space and weight provision for containers. The only real difference is that the Russians have a containerized missile system they are trying to sell, and it has been pictured on this class.
If we start actually seeing cruise missiles, electronic warfare systems, and hard kill self defense systems like Pantsir-EM on Russian (or Chinese) icebreakers it will be real wake up call. But so far, the way these ships are armed is not significantly different from the Soviet era Ivan Susanin class naval and coast guard icebreakers.
I would note that if we start to see conflict over Antarctica, these ships could be useful there. Not against the US since we could put an aircraft carrier within striking distance, but perhaps against some of the other claimants.
I really don’t think we need to mirror the Russian capability to put containerized missiles on our icebreakers, but the Polar Security Cutters will be valuable, almost irreplaceable auxiliaries, and unlike the Russians, we have very few icebreakers, so we need to be able to quickly upgrade their defensive capabilities
USS Zephyr (PC 8) and U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Pacific personnel, conducting operations in support of JIATF-S Operation Martillo. U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Casey J. Hopkins
It sounds like the Coast Guard will use a decision tree with a lot of “if then” statements.
There is a weigh in. If you pass you are home free, if not, then to the taping.
The body fat screening involves taping males on their necks and waist, and females are taped on their necks, waist and hips. The member is now also taped with the abdominal body fat measure, Rooney said. If the member passes either of those two measurements, they are considered compliant.
…..
The Coast Guard standard for the abdominal circumference is a maximum of 39 inches for men and 35.5 inches for women.
For Coast Guard members who exceed both taping measurements, Rooney said they receive a medical screening to determine if they’re eligible to take a physical fitness test, involving a 1.5- mile run, push-ups and sit-ups. Standards are age-based.
“If they pass it, then they’ll be in compliance,” Rooney said. “If they are not eligible, refuse to take it, or they fail it, they will be screened as we already do for medical events that maybe we have missed, and if not there, they’ll be placed on medical weight probation.”
There is more in the original post. Sounds relatively easy to comply, but still sounds like the threat of separation is the only motivation for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It might be said that motivation should come from within, but there are circumstances where the demands of the job discourage healthy lifestyles.
I always appreciated the fact that the Coast Guard generally gave me a place and time to exercise. Hopefully everyone is getting this opportunity and is encouraged to take advantage. For the unit this may be a short term sacrifice, but it pays long term dividends.
We might provide motivation for heathier choices by having physical fitness on fitness reports and enlisted marks and support of fitness for subordinates included on fitness reports and senior enlisted marks.
Comments on the recent post, “Defense Primer: U. S. Precision-Guided Munitions,” had enough new information to justify an update on the two smart rounds being developed for the 57mm Mk110, ALaMO and MAD-FIRES. We last discussed ALaMO on April 2, 2019 and MAD-FIRES, May 28, 2019.
This 24 July, 2019 report on MAD-FIRES confirms that, “If ordered, MAD-FIRES won’t be the first smart, guided ammunition for the LCS and FFG(X). The ALaMO round is preceding it. Designed by L3, ALaMO (Advanced Low-cost Munitions Ordnance) HE-4G is a low-cost 57mm guided smart munition being developed for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship, new Fast Frigate, and the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Security and Offshore Patrol Cutters. (emphasis applied–Chuck)
A 2017 report that suggests MAD-FIRES might be applied to the Mk38 mount and discusses earlier development of guided bullets as small as .50 cal. under the EXACTO program.
This 2018 contract tells us that development of the MAD-FIRES should be completed in May 2020. No indication that the Coast Guard will get MAD-FIRES, but it is probably premature to expect that.
This 27 Sept. 2019 contract, indicates this is still a DARPA program, meaning it is still in development.
The Raytheon Co., Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded an $11,133,688 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00017) for a within-scope change to previously awarded contract (HR0011-15-C-0081) to develop long-lead, high-risk items in preparation for the MAD-FIRES Phase III program. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $11,133,688 are being obligated at the time of award. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (61%); McKinney, Texas (22%); and Karlskoga, Sweden (17%), with an estimated completion date of January 2021. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Some speculation:
MAD-FIRES
The video above seems to show a couple of things about the MAD-FIRES round. First that is expected to “hit to kill” rather than being a proximity fused round. Second that It is a subcaliber round, you can see the discarding sabot parts fall away as the round leaves the muzzle. The discarding sabot suggest it will be a higher velocity round than the current unguided 3P round and that it may have a longer range.
The use of a different discarding sabot or perhaps none, may mean the same projectile could be fired from either larger or smaller caliber weapons.
The MAD-FIRES program often seems to be linked to an earlier program called EXACTO that created a guided .50 caliber round. That program used a form of laser guidance, which may be the case with MAD-FIRES.
There are reports that the British Type 31e frigate will use the MAD-FIRES round. This is logical in that this will be the first ship in the Royal Navy to use the 57mm gun, but there is also something unusual about this design. In addition to the 57mm, the ship is armed with 40mm guns, one forward and one aft on top of the hangar, in lieu of Phalanx or another CIWS. The 40mm gun, like the 57mm is a Bofors design, marketed by BAE. It may be that the 40mm guns will also be equipped with MAD-FIRES. A 40mm so equipped could start engaging incoming anti-ship cruise missiles at much longer range than Phalanx could. This could be the CIWS of the future.
ALaMO
ALaMO is apparently intended primarily to target smarms of small boats. To at least some extent it can be used against air targets, but the developer has not been making any claims regarding countering anti-ship cruise missiles which may be telling. It may be that ALaMO is not as fast, as maneuverable, or long ranged as MAD-FIRES. It is almost certainly cheaper.
The Coast Guard Cutter Bluebell sits moored on the Willamette River waterfront in Portland, Ore., June 4, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer David Mosley.)
The following is from the Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9). Note this refers only to the river buoy tender (WLR/WLI). Earlier, CG-9 indicated that the Inland Construction Tender (WLIC) is expected to share a common afterbody with the buoy tender, so I presume there will be many similarities.
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The Coast Guard released top-level requirements for the inland buoy tender waterways commerce cutter (WCC) variant in a special notice Nov. 6.
The WCC program plans to exhibit and present updates at the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans Dec. 4-6, 2019. The program will have a booth (No. 347) and provide information about its mission needs, status, and desired fielding schedule during a presentation on Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CST. A team of program members will be available to meet one-on-one on Dec. 4 with any shipbuilder that has built a ship that satisfies the inland buoy tender requirements or that could meet the requirements with minor modifications to the ship. The deadline to request a meeting regarding prospective inland buoy tenders is Nov. 18, 2019.
I am posting this because, first I think it is important, and two, it extends over such a long period the information might get lost. So it will be here if you need to reference it.
s
R 30 OCT 19
ALCGOFF 156/19
SUBJ: OFFICER PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT VIRTUAL ROAD SHOWS
1. The Boards, Promotions, and Separations Branch (OPM-1), Assignments Branch
(OPM-2), Officer Evaluations Branch (OPM-3), and Career Management Branch
(OPM-4) have scheduled several virtual road shows beginning 13 November 2019.
Each virtual road show will be led by the Officer Career Management Branch
and have a guest presenter to offer tailored advice to a specific audience
and/or topic.
2. The virtual road show schedule and guest presenter is as follows:
a. 12 November 2019, 1400ET: OPM-3 OSMS 2.0
b. 11 December 2019, 1400ET: OPM-4 Career Management/CMD Screening Panels
c. 15 January 2020, 1400ET: OPM-1 Promotion Boards
d. 12 February 2020, 1400ET: Post Graduate School Counseling Session 1
e. 11 March 2020, 1400ET: Post Graduate School Counseling Session 2
f. 15 April 2020, 1400ET: OPM-2 Afloat Assignment Officer
g: 13 May 2020, 1400ET: OPM-2 Intel/DCMS Assignment Officer
h. 27 May 2020, 1400ET: OPM-2 Prevention Assignment Officer
i: 10 June 2020, 1400ET: OPM-2 Support/Special Assignments Assignment Officer
j: 24 June 2020, 1400ET: OPM-2 Aviation Assignment Officer
k: 15 July 2020, 1400ET: OPM-2 Chief Warrant Officer Assignment Officer
l: 05 August 2020, 1400ET: OPM-2 Response Assignment Officer
3. The information we provide is meant to generate a discussion between OPM and
the officer corps and assist officers in the field with becoming more aware of
the most current trends and policies affecting their assignments, promotions,
and evaluations.
4. In an effort to meet the volume of officers requesting Post Graduate counseling
(mandatory for Junior Officers within their first two tours), OPM-4 will offer
two virtual road shows as well as post a podcast recording of the presentation
on the OPM-4 Portal Page in the spring of 2020. Mandatory counseling can be
accomplished in one of three ways: attend the virtual roadshow, listen to the
podcast, or thru completion of individual member counseling requests scheduled
thru HQS-SMB-CGPSC-OPM-4@uscg.mil. Commanding Officers shall note the method by
which mandatory counseling was attained in the Command endorsement section of
the Post Graduate Panel Submission in Direct Access. Aviators within their first
two tours applying to Aeronautical Engineer Officer Training and/or Flight Safety
Officer are not required to complete counseling with OPM-4, but are still welcome
to request counseling if desired.
5. To sign up for a virtual road show please email the OPM-4 inbox at
HQS-SMB-CGPSC-OPM-4@uscg.mil with the subject “VIRTUAL ROAD SHOW” and the
requested presentation date. We recommend commands encourage their
officers attending virtual roadshows to do so from one consolidated location.
This should generate robust wardroom conversation and maximize call in
opportunities for others.
6. Call in instructions and additional information will be posted prior to
each virtual road show on the Career Management Branch (OPM-4)
portal page: https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/psc/psc-opm/opm-4/SitePages/Home.aspx.
7. CAPT M. T. Brown, Chief, PSC-OPM, sends.
8. Internet release is authorized.
An Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules aircrew flies over the Coast Guard Cutters Midgett (WMSL 757) and Kimball (WMSL 756) off Oahu, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2019. The Midgett joined the Kimball as the second national security cutter homeported in Hawaii. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew West/Released)
War on the Rocks has a post suggesting that the Coast Guard, with Navy support, should establish a patrol squadron to support United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), even if it means closing down the existing PATFORSWA.
The Coast Guard’s role as lead agency in multiple Indo-Pacific maritime security institutions, particularly the Southeast Asia Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative, provides opportunities to demonstrate America’s role as a key component of the Indo-Pacific security architecture. A larger, operational Coast Guard role in the region would reinforce this message, and contribute to regional security and sovereignty, in sharp contrast to the Chinese Communist Party’s degradation of both. With appropriate funding and manning, an operational U.S. Coast Guard unit in the Indo-Pacific would add credibility to U.S. institutional commitments at a time when American security guarantees are being challenged across the region.
He suggests that this new command needs to be larger than PATFORSWA.
The Coast Guard recently committed to basing three of these cutters in Guam within two to three years, indicating that U.S. Coast Guard leadership is already looking for ways to maintain forces forward in the near term. However, when considering the size and scope of the Indo-Pacific theater, and the fact that current requirements in the Arabian Gulf call for six boats, three cutters is only a good first step, not a complete solution. A robust force consisting of a mix of six fast response cutters, the Coast Guard’s new Heritage-class offshore patrol cutters, and perhaps a rotationally deployed national security cutter would be appropriately sized and ideally positioned to assume responsibility for security cooperation with Indo-Pacific coast guards and navies seeking increased “white hull” interaction with the United States.
He also sees a role for a Coast Guard Intelligence detachment.
In addition to supporting the proposed Patrol Forces Indo-Pacific, a Coast Guard intelligence unit could fulfill the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act requirement for a U.S. intelligence fusion center in the Indo-Pacific without creating an unnecessary parallel structure alongside those already in existence.
COLONIA, Yap (July 4, 2019) The U.S. Coast Guard Island-class patrol boat USCGC Kiska and Mark VI patrol boats assigned to Coastal Riverine Squadron (CRS) 2, Coastal Riverine Group 1, Detachment Guam, moored in the Micronesia port of Yap. CRG 1, Det. Guam’s visit to Yap, and engagement with the People of Federated States of Micronesia underscores the U.S. Navy’s commitment to partners in the region. The Mark VI patrol boat is an integral part of the expeditionary forces support to 7th Fleet, capability of supporting myriad of missions throughout the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jasen Moreno-Garcia/Released)
The Surface Navy Association (SNA) Symposium is scheduled for January 14-16, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency, Crystal City.
There is, of course, a National Cuttermen Chapter of the SNA so this may be of interest. There will be a Cuttermen’s call. No charge for Active Duty, Reservist in Uniform, and Gov’t Civilians.
BairdMaritime reports that the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center in cooperation with US defense research company Navatek has printed a 5000 pound boat.
The Ingersoll MasterPrint, is reportedly the world’s largest polymer 3D printer. It can produce objects up to 100 feet long.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 