The Jerseyman |
Captain Kirk Takes Command
of Hot New Ship - Really! USS Zumwalt Sails
Reprint from
Article in Breaking Defense, October 31, 2013 by Colin Clark
Washington -
To boldly go in a revolutionary
ship where no one has commanded before. Why
the clumsy Star Trek reference? Because the Navy's newest,
stealthy, most radical ship, the USS Zumwalt, will be commanded
by the fabulously named Capt. James A. Kirk.
The Navy couldn't make something like this up,
could they?
The Zumwalt, launched on Monday,
contains a plethora of new weapons, a radical
power plant and a controversial new hull design designed to reduce
its radar signature. And it really is commanded by Capt. James A.
Kirk. As aficionados of the original Star Trek
series know, the full name of the USS
Enterprise's commander was James Tiberius Kirk,
so there should be no
mistaking the two men.
How important is the first of the three Zumwalt-class ships to the U.S.
Navy? One of America's preeminent naval experts, Norm Polmar, put
it simply: "The Zumwalt introduces new hull
form and machinery concepts that could be the
harbinger of the next generation of surface warships. In some respects
the advancements are comparable to the Monitor of Civil War fame
that revolutionized naval ship design."
One of the country's top defense lawmakers, Rep. Randy Forbes, tells us
the Zumwalt and her sister ships "are poised
to define surface ship design for years to
come. It is game-changing technologies like those found on the
Zumwalt-class that will enable the Navy's future dominance in the
decades ahead."
What makes the ship so powerful a tool? Polmar says "the ship is the
perfect platform for deployment of rail guns
and laser weapons because of her
electric-oriented power plant." That advanced power plant provides much
more power - up to 78 megawatts of power,
enough to power about 47,000 American homes -
that can be used by weapons, than existing non-nuclear ships. While
it was originally designed to provide land attack support (think
a high-tech battleship), that role has been
supplemented. Missile defense now features
more prominently. Polmar's assessment needs to be taken seriously. He
has advised three Navy Secretaries, two Chiefs
of Naval Operations and has 50 books - mostly
on the Navy - to his credit.
Scott Truver, a respected consultant on naval issues, pointed to the
Zumwalt's much smaller crew size as another fundamental shift for
the Navy:
When upwards of 70% of the total ownership cost (TOC) of a ship class
is directly related to people, anything that
can reduce manning - without diminishing
warfighting-first and readiness capabilities, of course - will
be major contributors to keeping TOCs in check. The DDG-1000 (Zumwalt)
class is the first U.S. Navy warship to fully
embrace the precepts of human systems
integration in the design and engineering phase - when some 60
percent of a warships' TOC (Total Operating Costs) are already
locked in. In short, lessons learned from
Zumwalt have the potential to ripple
throughout the service, generating a real revolution at sea!
He also notes the exotic weapons the Zumwalt can use: "The
power-generation and switching and
all-electric propulsion systems will enable truly exotic
weapons - lasers and electromagnetic rail guns and who knows what
else - to be fielded."
One of the longer term, and most interesting aspects, of the Zumwalt
class is the fact that growth has been
engineered into the system. "The
fifteen-thousand-ton ship has a 10 percent growth margin, equating to
some 1,500 tons of potential increase that
would enable the ship to host new sensors and
weapons as technologies evolve. Inserting such systems into DDG
1000 throughout the next decades and then improving on them,
based on their operational effectiveness and
ability to deal with emerging threats, will
define what the Navy will look like - and how it can fight - in the
future," Truver and co-author George V.
Galdorisi wrote in an article for the Naval
War College Review three years ago.
The Zumwalt has run into rough seas during its development. Several
years ago a prominent naval architect claimed
its striking tumblehome hull could lead to the
ship rolling over in heavy seas. That assessment appears to have
been put to rest by detailed tests of a one-quarter model. And
the class shrank from a projected 32 ships at
inception to just three. In part because of
the shrinking size of the class, the cost per ship ballooned.
The first ship in the Zumwalt class was dealt a final indignity during
the shutdown of the federal government. Its
Oct. 19 christening was postponed.
"It is incredibly unfortunate that we are being forced to cancel the
christening ceremony for this great warship," Navy Secretary Ray
Mabus said in a statement, "but the ongoing
government shutdown prevents us from being
able to honor Admiral Zumwalt's memory with a ceremony befitting his and
his family's legacy of service to our Nation
and our Navy."
But now, at last, the Zumwalt - and Captain Kirk - are on their way.
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USS Zumwalt looking stealthy and
mean
with it's distinctive
tumblehome hull.
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Shot of the ship in dry dock
revealing the
hulls shape below the waterline. |
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The first of three ships to be
built, she is the future of
the Navy, ready to "Boldly Go" anywhere she pleases. |
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Veterans Day Ceremony on the Battleship
Rich Thrash, Brass Team Volunteer
A Veterans Day ceremony was held on the forecastle of the Battleship honor
all
veterans. The ceremony featured comments from retired Colonel Edwin W. Simpson, former deputy chief
of staff to General Fred Franks during Desert Storm. The ceremony concluded with the casting of a memorial wreath into the Delaware River.
All
veterans that visited the ship
received a complimentary self-guided tour of
the Battleship.
Below is a selection of photos from that celebration.
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Honor Guard preparing for the
ceremony. |
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Here they are
front and center presenting colors. |
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Captain Walter M. Urban, Jr. USNR (Ret.)
addressing those assembled for the ceremony. |
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Phil Rowan, Executive Director & CEO, of the
Battleship
New Jersey
addressing those assembled for the ceremony. |
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Visitors
assembled on the forecastle for the ceremony. |
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A group of veterans onboard for the
ceremony. |
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Marine Guard
firing salute volleys prior to the casting
of the memorial wreath into the Delaware River. |
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Colonel Simpson and Captain Urban
preparing to cast the memorial wreath. |
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Retiring the
colors ending the ceremony. |
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2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Meal for Homeless Veterans and
Active Military Personnel
Rich Thrash, Brass Team Volunteer
The Battleship New
Jersey, in partnership with the Camden County
Veterans Affairs and the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders,
hosted 250 military personnel from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and
Dover Air Force Base, and homeless veterans from the area for a special
Thanksgiving Dinner. These special guests were greeted by over 400
residents, including veteran motorcycle clubs, Miss New Jersey, Miss
Pennsylvania, The Original Trilby String Band, the South Jersey Chorus,
Senators Sweeney and Norcross, and former
Philadelphia Eagles Mike Mamula and Gary Cobb.
The event was started last year to
provide homeless veterans a full-course Thanksgiving dinner, and a place
to enjoy it. “Last year, it was a dinner just for homeless veterans, but
afterward we found out from some of the bases around that there are
people still stationed out there on Thanksgiving,” said Jack Willard,
spokesman for the battleship. “We really enjoyed hosting this, and being
able to give back to our veterans in the area.”
The full-course turkey dinner, which
was donated by local businesses, including Andreotti’s Catering, Food
Circus Super Markets and Wawa, was served up with the help of volunteers
using the ship’s chowline. All 4 local TV stations and a couple of
newspapers sent crews to the ship to report on the event. It was a great
day, thanks to everyone who made it so special.
Below are links to media clips
covering this event.
Channel 3 - CBS
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/11/28/turkey-dinner-aboard-battleship-new-jersey-gives-thanks-to-those-that-serve/
Channel 6 - ABC
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=9343155
Channel 10 - NBC
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video/#!/news/local/Giving-Thanksgiving-Dinner-to-Those-Who-Deserve-It-Most/233779881
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The scene
greeting those arriving for Thanksgiving Dinner. |
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Military personnel
from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
arriving at the Battleship (photo 1 of 4). |
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Military personnel
from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
arriving at the Battleship (photo 2 of 4). |
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Military personnel
from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
arriving at the Battleship (photo 3 of 4). |
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Military personnel
from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
arriving at the Battleship (photo 4 of 4). |
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Many local residents and volunteers
came out to say thanks. |
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Assembled on
the fantail before going below for dinner. |
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Looks like a
pretty full house, and
I heard the dinner was great. |
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Hope you guys
enjoyed your
Thanksgiving Dinner on the Battleship! |
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What would
Thanksgiving Dinner be without
dessert? Pumpkin Pie for me please. |
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