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Aircraft Carrier Stennis Has Biggest Ordnance Onload Since 2010
Nearly two weeks ago, we were surprised to read on the Navy's website that one of America's prize aircraft carriers, CVN-74, John C. Stennis (whose crew is perhaps best known for the following awkward incident), as part of an operational training period in preparation for future deployments, just underwent not only its first ordnance onload since 2010, but, according to Senior Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Jason Engleman, G-5 division's leading chief petty officer, "the biggest ordnance onload we've seen."
From the Stennis' blog:
USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) visited Naval Magazine (NAVMAG) Indian Island, the Navy’s primary ordnance storage and handling station on the West Coast, to onload six million pounds of ammunition, Jan. 13-15. “This is the biggest ordnance onload we’ve seen,” said Senior Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Jason Engleman, G-5 division’s leading chief petty officer. “We haven’t had an onload since December 2010, and we are ready to show what this warship can do.”
The ship plans to take on two-thirds of its weight capacity during the three day evolution. Bombs, missiles and rounds will be onloaded by 1,400 crane lifts.
“The importance of the Indian Island visit is to provide ammunition for the ship’s defense, and assist with training during this underway,” said Lt. Cmdr. Steve Kashuba, Stennis’ ordnance handler officer.
...
The ordnance onload was an all-hands evolution and included Sailors from AIMD, air, navigation, safety, security, supply and medical departments. Sailors served as watchstanders, safety observers or ordnance handlers to ensure the evolution ran smoothly.
Why engage in such a major weapon loading process now? We don't know, and we certainly won't until the next deployment of the carrier, currently located in San Diego to receive aircraft and another 2000 sailors, is announced but it does seem coincidental that the same aircraft carrier which the Iranian General Ataollah Salehi warned back in Janiary 2012 "not to return to the Persian Gulf" was being loaded to the gills with weapons ahead of the following three major macro events: i) the sudden and unexpected fall of the US-supported Yemen government; ii) the biggest re-escalation in the Ukraine civil war since the spring of 2014, and iii) the death of the King Abdullah. And who knows what other "unexpected" geopolitical events are about to surprise the world?
While we wait the answer, here are some photos of how the Stennis is loading up with six million pounds of ammo:
Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Joshua Haynes, from Nashville, Tenn., and Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Joseph Dina, from Naperville, Ill., move BLU-111 500-pound bombs during an ammunition on-load aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).
Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Donald Theriot, from New Orleans, verifies ordnance placement during an ammunition on-load aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).
Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Matthew Warren takes inventory of BLU-111 500-pound bombs.
Aviation Ordnanceman Mariko Armstrong, from Denver, takes inventory of BLU-111 500-pound bombs.
Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class David Mele, from San Diego, directs movement of BLU-117 2000-pound bombs.
Sailors prepare to move BLU-117 2000-pound bombs
CBU-99 cluster bombs are staged during an ammunition on-load aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)
BLU-111 500-pound bombs are staged during an ammunition on-load aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).
Aviation Ordnanceman David Black, from Helena, Ala., Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Dillon Simmons, from Lewistown, Mont., and Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Martin Pena, from Bronx, N.Y., prepare to move AGM-88 missiles
Aviation Orndnaceman 3rd Class Garrison Gardner, from Chandler, Ariz., and Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Steven Paxton from Brian, Ohio, prepare to lower a mine kit
Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Dillon Simmons, from Lewistown, Mont., and Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Martin Pena, from Bronx, N.Y., guide AGM-88 missiles as they are lowered
Source: CVN-74
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floating target.
In the old days, they'd hang you for suspicion of spying on troop movements or sharing military secrets.
Nowadays it's Tweetable.
WTF is up with the 1980's woodland camo BDUs? I feel like I'm in a time warp since I wore that for four years.
If things were serious like an actual war situation, they would not release this news......that would be treason. Therefore, this news release is just for scare tactics.
They want to make the monkeys behave, so they are just chopping a chicken's head off in front of them.
Wasn't it in Yemen that a motorboat pulled up alongside a US ship and blew a big chunk out of it? Low tech, just like IEDs, get the job done and are cheap, easily reproducible and deployable with minimum training.
The USS Cole.
Rest easy folks!
Loading up CVN-74 Stennis with vast quantities of bombs & missiles can only be a training exercise. We'll probably see the whole lot unloaded next week. After all, CiC Obola was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize a while back and we therefore know that he's dedicated to peace, not war. Anybody who thinks otherwise must be way off the mark.
.
On the other hand, the WH may have been the victim of a coup d'état by a bunch of neo-con madmen and who knows WTF is going on. In this case, be afraid, very afraid.
Take your pick :-)
I pick door #2. That pretty much sums up the deep state\shadow government since Bush I was prez . . . . .
"I pick door #2"
Me too....
War's just economics ultimately.
Why is the world awash in AK47s? Because they're cheap and effective. Why did the US drop the thompson submachine gun in favour of the grease gun? Cheaper and effective.
Aircraft carrier. $5 billion? More these days? Ballistic missile to take out Aircraft carrier $5 million. Drop 100 of the things per carrier just to make sure and you're still ahead 10 times.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/27/china-deploying-carrier-...
Or, put another way. The carrier is to the castle, what the missile is to the cannon.
Do they load virgins as well?
The next "remember the Maine" incident
A day that will live in infamy (because we knew they were coming and let those ships and men be destroyed so we could intervene in Europe, which the American public did not want to do till we left our shit like sitting ducks and ordered a standdown and ingored intelligence that proved the attack was coming)
History doesn't necessarily repeat, but it definitely rhymes!
Never let a crisis go to waste.
America, spending trillions of dollars and thousands of lives to get more space for their overlords, Israelis.
Presented brainwashed ruskie without a comments:
http://coub.com/view/4rr2a
Ukrainian kids being tought to hate
Neo-Nazism in Ukraine (Nazi Salute on the 0:50)
Talk about brainwashing...
And now try to imagine their parents
Part of a global farce supporting western oligarchs and their political minons.
Bombing, yeah, that's the ticket. Our military and patriotic armchair warriors all seem to think that dropping bombs causes the dropees to immediately quake, shiver, and surrender...Vietnam proved that concept to be rather outdated. The US military provides the biggest fireworks shows on the planet but that's about as useful as they get - a SHOW...unnecessarily killing civilians in a war-crimes orgy of destruction. God, the US is evil, evil, EVIL!!!!
actually, WWII proved that this concept doesn't work. But how else would you justify so much money for the navy and the air force ?
"..America's prize aircraft carrier.."
Translation - "a big, rusty floating iron". I doubt it can survive a single SU-24.
So, it picked up th largest amount of ordnance ever from an Indian Ocean island and delivered it back to San Diego, CA? I think that's what we call a false flag.
This is like the stuporbowl pre-game show that never ends.
Come on goddamnit. Let's get this motherfucker kicked off. My popcorn's getting stale for fuck's sake!
We ordnanced some folks....
there is a story in business insider about a russian central banker shot two people before killing himself, opinions?
The Russians did it!!!
Semi-interesting pics of one of the US's only exports.
Semi-interesting pics of one of the US's only exports.
6 million pounds? That's like, a billion tons man
One has to ask....'why is this being disclosed?'
This 'revelation' smells of stratigies and tactics.
Interesting that this article is published at same time that NPR is talking about how Russia is aggressively starting a new cold war and still has all those old cold war armaments, blah blah, be afraid, be very afraid . . .
Nah, they're just going back to Perth and if that madame closes the doors on the brothel again they're going blow them open.
not only is Jason Engleman the ordnance man telling the Iranians secrect information about the weapons loadout of our carrier, he has the traitorous Arrogance to post it on the Navy WEBSITE! And with pictures of anti radar missles and bombs! The Navy should be pissed that he was able to hack the website and get this TOTALLY UNAUTHORIZED secret info where any potential enemy can guess our warlike intensions. Madness! Jason Engleman should be locked away at Gitmo! Madness!
Homer:
No need to lock up Jason Engleman.
Go down to your local publik liberry and visit the reference section and look at Janes Fighting Ships, Janes Aircraft, and Janes Defense Systems.
You'll find pages and pages of pictures and specs of ships, aircraft, bombs, rockets, missiles, radars, etc. etc. etc.
And, by the way, the Russkies and Chicoms also have copies of Janes publications in THEIR liberries.