The Secretary of the Navy today announced the names of the next three Virginia-class submarines:
Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced today the names of three Virginia class submarines -- the Missouri, California and Mississippi. The selection of Missouri honors the continuous support of the military by the people of the “Show Me State,” and its leaders. Designated SSN 780, Missouri is the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state. The last Missouri (BB 63), a U.S. Navy battleship, saw action in World War II, Korean War, and the 1991 Gulf War. Missouri was also the site where Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and many other U.S. and Allied officers, accepted the unconditional surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II on Sept. 2, 1945. The selection of California, designated SSN 781, honors the thousands of men and women from California who serve in today’s Armed Forces, and the millions of Californian veterans and their families. As home to major Naval and Marine Corps installations, the selection of California also reflects the tremendous support provided to the Navy and Marine Corps by countless communities across the Golden State. This will be the seventh ship to bear the name California. The selection of Mississippi, designated SSN 782, is dedicated to the state’s long standing tradition of shipbuilding in support of our nation’s defense. It also honors the indomitable spirit of the people of Mississippi who have made great strides in recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. This fighting spirit will be an inspiration to all sailors who embark aboard Mississippi. There have been four previous ships named Mississippi. The first Mississippi, a side wheeler, served as Commodore Matthew Perry’s flagship for his historic voyage to Japan and fought with Admiral Farragut’s forces on the Mississippi River during the Civil War.
I'm sure submarine bloggers of the future will be looking forward to a picture of the new USS Missouri rendering honors to the old one.
UPDATE:Good News: As of 16:46:39 Eric is back at home and doing well, according to his lovely wife.
As many TSR readers know by now, the editor of The Sub Report placed his site on automatic news feed for the rest of this week during a medical leave starting tomorrow (Tuesday the 22nd) for outpatient hernia repair. Check out the TSR's submarine news feed often for breaking stories.
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ through the wall that normally contains it. An inguinal hernia occurs in the groin area, when an organ, usually an intestine, protrudes through the abdominal wall. For those who do not know, the overall incidence rate for inguinal hernia is about 1 in 544 or 0.18% in the USA.
Hernias can be both serious and very painful. Between 1995 and 2005, 16,742 Americans died from hernias.[1] Unless common hernias happen in your family, most Americans are little informed about these painful, tissue protrusions.
Have you ever heard of a deadly brain hernia (not one of the 5 more common visceral hernias), for instance? The good news is that if common hernias occur in your family, you can be extra cautious about what you lift and how you perfom proper lifting. All of us need to be cautious to avoid serious back injury, and hernia, as well.
So this posting would not become too morbid, I asked a fellow submariner (who wished to remain anonymous) to review a 3-part inguinal hernia video. Here is what Bubblehead X sent back:
MOVIE REVIEW (Rating 4 of 10): Though very short, "My Right Inguinal Hernia Surgery" was probably as good a medical documentory as I will ever see. All in all, I'd say it's the 3rd best movie I've seen so far this month --- camerawork was steadier than it was in "Cloverfield."
After three, graphic incisions of incredible depth (spoiler), some highly interesting miniaturized devices are inserted directly into the patient's belly. The medical procedure gut shots are captured with the help of a remotely controlled miniature TV camera, which required a rather large incision, itself.
The soundtrack is clear and the actors (all male, including an ex-submarine corpsman Y) appear very professional in their medical skills and happy (you can almost make out gleeful smiles under their surgical masks). Background music is truly the best thing about this video. Special effects are too realistic for young or squeemish audiences, although no gratuitous flesh scenes are shown, thanks to well-placed surgical towels. Action scenes become monotonous for the audience, because the victim (patient) is always the same, faceless body in the same setting.
Part 1 of 3 ended fairly abruptly, although it was fairly clear to me why that had to be (lunchtime). I lost my lunch while starting to write my impressions of Part 1. I did not, therefore, feel compelled to watch Parts 2 and 3. For me, I give it 4 Uncomfortably Vivid Appendectomy Reminders out of ten. Please consider my review incomplete and get someone else to review the other parts, or do it %#@*#& yourself!
If you want to watch the videos one at a time at YouTube:
My Right Inguinal Hernia Surgery - Part 1...
Questions: Who is Bubblehead X? What sub was submariner Y on? Was the surgery set in an outpatient clinic or navy hostpital?
Update 27JAN08: Thanks for all concerned during my absence. I'm still not 100% but some systems are starting to come back online. Special Thanks to Vigilis for posting this and checking on my progress for the last week.
The video shown in his post is different than the repair I had received. My repair was a Open direct type with a 4 inch incision to the groin area. I would have rather had the other one done.
Be careful as you get older fellas. Always get help when lifting heavy objects and adhere to proper safety techniques and you hopefully can stay away from the surgeon.
I will be taking a medical leave of absence starting on Tuesday. I have a hopefully simple outpatient hernia repair. Big Fun huh? Auto generated news feeds will be up on the website for the rest of week. I also encourage you to visit these websites and blogs in my absence to get the latest in Submarine News and Commentary.
did you know any? i know, stupid question. if you served on submarines, you knew, or yourself were, one of the crazys that kept our boats safe in port. here are a few from my 575 days. i'd like to hear some sea stories, dudes. all this politics on the web and surrounding us 24/7 is getting old. and we have 9 more freaking months to look forward to. so lets get some of those old dusty memories out of their corners. it's time for sea stories, dammit.
