From: "K0HB" on Sun, Dec 4 2005 1:31 am


wrote

"Old Ironsides" is a museum piece. A fully operational museum piece that
actually sails every few years, but a museum piece nonetheless. Her main
functions are educational and historic, not military.

Her "main function" is to serve as the Flagship of the Navy. That's a military
function, not a "museum" function. Certainly she also serves as a "history
lesson incarnate", but that is not her "main" function. If it were, she'd be
property of the National Park Service, not the Department of Defense.

Don't be too hard on Jimmie, Hans, he learned all his "military
expertise" from books. [sometimes I think they were coloring books]

And to answer the comment of Clown Prince of Spamalot (aka KB9RGZ), many US Navy
ships are not intended to "sail into battle" (a quaint phrase, but it reveals
your ignorance of military matters). YTB's tugs don't "sail into battle",
DSRV's don't "sail into battle", AD's don't "sail into battle", AOE's don't
"sail into battle", AS's don't "sail into battle", ATB's don't "sail into
battle", ARS's don't "sail into battle", in fact CVA's don't "sail into battle",
and no, the USS Constitution will not "sail into battle", but she's still a
fully commissioned ship of the line in the US Navy.

Most civilians don't understand that every servicemember does NOT
"go into battle." Somehow they think that "battle" is like a
street gang fight between small groups. Problem is, "battle" can
catch up to everyone in the military service when no one is
expecting it. The USS Indianapolis' crew found that out late in
WW2 when it was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. The
Army found that out during the Battle of the Bulge...where every
soldier, regardless of MOS, were suddenly IN "battle." Ever
since the U.S. Army has made it a point to continue basic battle
training long after soldiers have finished basic training.

Jimmie Noserve and Der Klunk both thought of Japan as "rear area"
in the 1950s...a place where all are "safe." However, the USSR
did have a combat reach into Japan and did have the special
weapon. The USA, USAF, and USN all knew that and tried to prepare
for it. Now, they might or might not have been Soviet "Bear"
bombers when I was in Japan...the exact type is irrelevant...but
they did have aircraft that could reach the Kanto Plain area of
Honshu (where Tokyo is located). Jimmie wanted to make a Big
Thing about USSR aircraft so that he could make message points
and show everyone how "good" and "expert" he is. Jimmie was
never in danger of anything but diaper rash in the 1950s.

Jimmie might have been in a moderate danger zone in the 1960s
when, first, IRBMs were being targeted on east coast positions
from Cuba, then later, from ICBMs that were targeted all over
the USA. Right now he is acting like an acting secretary
of the navy with his navel history. [no Oscars for him...]

The USCG Barque Eagle, homeported at the Coast Guard Academy
in Connecticutt, is a working training ship, used in training future
seagoing officers.

Does she go out on search and rescue?

Probably not, but I'm sure she teachs some of the elements of SAR. Navigation
is a big part of her training mission, and you can bet that includes things like
plotting an expanding-squares search pattern, calculating set and drift, and
other topics useful in real world SAR operations. Regardless of that, not all
USCG ships "go out on search and rescue". Some go out an tend bouys. Some go
out and break ice. Some go out on training missions. Etc., etc., etc.

Well, if Jimmie Noserve said it, it must be............something.

Or is her purpose mostly historic and educational?

Very little "historic" about the Eagle. Her purpose is a training ship for
Coast Guard Midshipmen. That's just as much a "purpose" as SAR.

Follows the USN academy pattern in that, yes? I thought Annapolis
had their own "tall ship" for midshipman sailing training? Lots of
other nations' naval academies have those...most were present at
the "Parade of the Tall Ships" on TV here in 1976 during the U.S.
Bicentennial celebrations.

And the main point remains: Sailboats make up far
less than 1% of the US military fleet.

Nobody is trying to argue that point, are they? By the same token, CVA's make
up a tiny percent of the US military fleet also, as do ARS's, AOE's, DSRV's,
LPH's, and a host of other types. Doesn't make their mission any less
important, or relegate them to "nothing more than museum pieces".

Tsk, the ideas that some civilians have. :-)

[you've lost this land person on some of those acronyms... :-) ]

Ding ding, ding ding, ding ding, ding ding. Eight bells and all's well.


Not quite...Army lost to Navy in football Saturday...saw only last
half in widescreen TV. [thank you for that other "notice"...not]


Rancors away!