You Canberra another post about LCS

This one is about the USS Canberra (LCS-30) so excuse my play on words with that title.  In my new position with the Navy I'm focused on Submarine and Anti-Submarine Warfare, vice Mine Countermeasures (MCM).  Therefore, I no longer deal with the oft-criticized Littoral Combat Ship which will carry our MCM systems.  However, this is not another post to pile on to the woes of that class of ship, but to share about a historical first made by the latest LCS. 

If you hadn't heard already, for the first time in history the Navy has put a new ship into commission in a foreign port.  While Canberra Australia is landlocked, Sydney Harbour filled in nicely, with the event held last weekend at Naval Base Sydney, also known as HMAS Kuttabul.  This was somewhat even more appropriate in that the base was built by the U.S during WWII. 

Why a ship named after the capitol of Australia?  It's in honor of another Canberra.  

The ship’s namesake, HMAS Canberra (D33), sunk while fighting alongside U.S. forces during the Battle of Savo Island in World War II. As a result of Canberra’s actions during the battle, Marines of the 1st Marine Division were able to continue the fight on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. In recognition of HMAS Canberra’s sacrifice to protect U.S. Forces, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the under-construction cruiser USS Pittsburgh to be renamed USS Canberra (CA-41).                                                                              Source

I found the commissioning ceremony interesting for a few reasons. 

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First off, Sydney is probably my most favorite port outside the US, having first visited on the USS Independence (CV-62) in 1997 (pictured above*).  It is a beautiful city, everyone was always so friendly, there was lots to do, and you didn't feel like you had to either be concerned for your safety or your pocketbook as one might in a third world port.  Both the Indy, and the USS Pelelieu on my second visit to the country, docked at the same pier at which the USS Canberra was commissioned.    

There's also the LCS bit which I've already alluded to which is of interest due to my last job, and Canberra has some uniqueness which I like.  A little backstory: Back in 1988 I spent 30 days training aboard the USS Texas CGN-39. We sailed from San Diego to Hawaii, and then to the various warning areas around the islands testing new and old weapons after the ship had been retrofitted in the yards.  The Texas was memorable because of something unique about that ship. There were mementos throughout the ship, either donated by it's namesake, or things that tied it to the state. Even the ball caps were a little different than the rest of the Navy, in that it had a red state of Texas shape and a silver star in the middle of the ships name. 

And on the back of the cap was a set of longhorns. There are now plenty of other ships that have little unique differences, for instance the USS Arkansas hat has a razorback.  USS Kidd (DDG-100) is allowed to fly the skull and crossbones when coming into port, and that emblem is also painted on the back side of their 5-inch gun. The former Spruance Class Destroyer USS O'Brien's ball cap was green with a shamrock. The USS Green Bay has Green Bay packer stuff all over it, in addition to a green and yellow crest as opposed to the traditional blue and gold. So when I saw something a little special about the Canberra that peaked my interest, the inspiration for this post was born. 

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I'm sure you've seen Royal Australian Navy ships and aircraft. They all feature the red kangaroo as shown in the rondel above.  The Canberra, while not an Australian ship, will always have a version of that red kangaroo on it.  But this Kangaroo is emblazoned with the Stars and stripes.

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 Another cool feature is that the Secretary of the Navy and the CNO vowed that as long as the ship is in commission it will always have at least one Aussie aboard.

Wherever Canberra operates it will carry a little bit of Australia wherever it goes. During the ceremony, Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, chief of the Royal Australian Navy, said that he had given permission for Canberra to sail with a modified version of the Red Kangaroo which adorns all Australian warships as a funnel emblem. He also confirmed that, for as long as Canberra is in service, at least one Australian officer or sailor will be aboard due to a permanent exchange program.        Source

 

Now I'm not sure being an Australian with orders to board an LCS for 2-3 years is all that good of a deal, but what do I know?  They will get to be in San Diego though!

At ship commissionings, there are typically souvenirs or mementos given out, such as a ships coin, the ball cap, or something else to mark the occasion.  The RAN metalworkers that created the Kangaroos for the ships superstructure took the cuttings to make a bunch of smaller red kangaroos. 

If you'd like to watch the whole ceremony, you can view it here

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On another note, did you see this headline?

Pentagon confirms myocarditis cases in troops spiked after COVID vax rollout

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It's about time some of this truth is starting to come out.  With hundreds of clips of people collapsing- on stage, on the court, at a TV news desk, and stories about many others, most we never hear about unless you follow various right-centric news sites or "Died Suddenly" social media channels, they can't keep hiding the truth.  I'll say here what the media won't admit-  That vax is deadly (for some).  Young people don't go into cardiac arrest.  It happened this week with Lebron James' son.  A singer my kids like, Tori Kelly, collapsed with blood clots in her legs.  And so many others- just search for "Died Suddenly" which is rampant with young healthy people listed.

Watch here.

“When reported, the cases have especially been in adolescents and young adult males within several days after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna),” the CDC’s website states.

Earlier this year, whistleblowers who spoke with the Daily Caller said the Department of Defense ignored numerous reports of adverse health effects related to the COVID-19 vaccines.  Source

We're just not hearing much because no one wants to admit we were wrong, that our Govt lied to us, that the vax probably (definitely?) does no good whatsoever, and that it wasn't tested the way it should have been.  Long term effects?  I'm not sure, but I wish I never took the shot, which I did as a requirement for my continued employment.  Weakened immune systems?  Maybe.  Clots?  Apparently for some.  Lets hope those skip us, if not disappear altogether.

 

*That photo must have been in March of 1994 just before I arrived in Japan as you can see A-6 Intruders from VA-115 which left CVW-5 late that year.

Cool

Got off work a tad early on Tuesday, which gave me the chance to see USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) returning to NASNI¹, which was a neat thing to see. In the photo above, if you look real hard, you can see USS Carl Vinson just above and to the right of the aircraft carrier currently berthed at NASNI, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

I pretty much just sat next to my window while watching and snapping pictures. It was a neat thing to see. To give you an idea of where this all took place, I give you (TA-DA) a map.

Ruh-roh!

Plenty of room for both ships.

Home again.

Pretty cool to watch her come in.

Now it's rack time.

¹ Naval Air Station North Island

Finally...

What's a museum visit without a Corsair?

So I spend all week going up and down ladder wells, then spend hours sitting in front of a console in CIC¹, so what do I do on my day off? Climb around this venerable ship -

There are more pictures than this, many of which feature my finger occluding part of the lens, but I will cover that later, when I head back East. (And have more sleep accumulated!)

I've been to Sandy Eggo many times, this was my first time on the USS Midway (CV 41). Won't be the last.

A whale of a tale. (I'll leave that to Cap'n Andy.)

Paddles seems somewhat two-dimensional...

Tuna was right, she's in rough shape. (The Mighty War Hoover.)

But this old girl is in fine fettle.
(Looks like Murphy might have popped the canopy open. No, I didn't tell him how.)

An odd vantage point!

Loves me some Spad!

One of LUSH's old rides.

An excellent memorial to the men of Taffy 3.
Heroes all...

More to come, but I need to score some rack time...

¹ Combat Information Center, not what it's called on this class, but many still call it that.