The Atomic Bomb and Its Deadly Shadow

The March 8, 2014, episode of American Heroes Radio features a conversation with Dean Warren, Navy Veteran and retired Director of Strategic Planning for the Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles.

Program Date:  March 8, 2014

Program Time: 1500 hours, PACIFIC

Topic: The Atomic Bomb and Its Deadly Shadow

Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lawenforcement/2014/03/08/the-atomic-bomb-and-its-deadly-shadow

About the Guest

Pharmacist Mate Third Class Dean Warren, entered the United States Navy at the end of World War II.  He volunteered to be trained as a radiological technician and sailed to Bikini Atoll for the atomic tests. “As a young veteran of the Bikini Atom bomb tests, Dean Warren attended UCLA, The London School of Economics, and Harvard. While in London, he and two other graduate students drove from there to New Delhi, India. Later, he sold Lockheed aircraft in Southwest Asia and was promoted to Director of Marketing for Lockheed International. The State Department then lured him to run Program Planning for the Agency of International Development. He finished his working career as Director of Strategic Planning for the Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles Group in Orlando, Florida. In that role he helped bring his Group into the forefront of the precision guidance revolution. His experiences and writing skills have led him in retirement to publish illustrated memoirs of his nuclear and car trip adventures, as well as seven science fiction, speculative novels.”  Dean Warren is the author of The Bomb And Its Deadly Shadow: A Memoir; Imaginings: Selected Stories; the three volume work The Pacification of Earth which includes American Revolt, The Crescent Strikes and Imperial Power; From London to New Delhi by Car in 1951; Growing Young; The Last Underclass; and, Man over Mind.

About the Watering Hole

The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life.  Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

           

About the Host

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years.  He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant.  He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University.  He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership.  Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One.  He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

Listen from the Archive: http://www.hitechcj.com/americanheroesradio/atomic_bomb_deadly_shadow.html

Program Contact Information

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA

editor@police-writers.com

909.599.7530

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/637387309674184

Gettysburg Embarked Helicopter Detachment Completes 1000th Flight Hour

By Ensign Kiley Provenzano, USS Gettysburg (CG 64) Public Affairs

ARABIAN GULF (NNS) -- Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74, Det. 2, embarked aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), successfully conducted its 1,000th flight hour of the current deployment, Jan. 17.

"One-thousand flight hours is an incredible feat, and it would not be possible without the dedication of the aircrew and the skill of our maintainers," said Lt. Cmdr. Jack Clark, the detachment's officer in charge. "Without their attention to detail, precision and many long nights, we would not have been able to reach this point."

Behind the flight hours are two sides of operation, the maintainers and the operators. The air maintenance crew completes approximately ten hours of maintenance for every hour of flight.

"Our birds fly nightly, so maintaining their systems is an absolute priority," said Aviation Electrician's Mate 1st Class William Winistorfer.

Boatswain's mates, damage controlmen, hospital corpsmen, ship's servicemen and the pilots and officers controlling the landing all come together to make flight operations a priority for the ship.

Part of that support continues within the aircraft. Flying every hour with the pilots are aviation warfare systems operators, controlling all of the mission equipment. Naval Aircrewman (Tactical) 2nd Class Britt Turner V has flown 275 hours this deployment.

"It has been a busy deployment," said Turner. "Being able to operate daily has been an incredible experience and opportunity."

Inside the ship the combat information center plays a large role and logs just as many hours as the pilots. Operations specialists serve as the anti-subsurface tactical controllers (ASTAC) and have worked alongside the pilots for the duration of the deployment.

"Being in an operational environment is one of the most rewarding parts of my job," said Operations Specialist 1st Class Ronald Wierzbic, one of the ASTAC controllers. "I love tasking the helicopter pilots to identify contacts. I love controlling aircraft."

In addition to reaching the 1,000th flight hour, this deployment has seen several milestones reached for the detachment: they completed six maintenance inspections and functional check flights, achieved more than 2,000 deck hits in 2013, three pilots earned qualifications as helicopter aircraft commanders (HAC) and two more pilots are on a path to qualify before the end of deployment.

"This HAC qualification is complex and it often takes pilots several months to feel confident before they begin the final boarding process," said pilot, Lt. j.g. Joe Granata. "It is about feeling comfortable enough with the regulations, procedures and equipment to operate the helicopter safely. In the end that is a HAC's priority."

HSM 74 Det. 2 will remain aboard Gettysburg until the ship returns to homeport.

Gettysburg is currently deployed with Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

USS Gettysburg Marks 15,000th Aircraft Check-in of Deployment

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lorenzo J. Burleson., Public Affairs, USS Gettysburg (CG 64)

GULF OF OMAN (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) reached 15,000 aircraft in-flight check-ins, Feb. 11.

The milestone signifies the number of aircraft that have checked in with the cruiser since the beginning of its 2013-2014 deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR).

"15,000 check-ins is another indicator of the amount of hard work our Sailors have put forth this entire deployment," said Lt. Jimmy Drennan, operations officer, USS Gettysburg. "This is a proud moment that I'm thankful to be a part of, and a huge achievement for the entire crew."

An in-flight check in is conducted through communications with U.S. and allied aircraft providing information in support of their mission, said Operations Specialist 1st Class (SW) Antwain McGee.

McGee communicated with the 15,000th check-in, who was the pilot of a C-17A supporting missions in Afghanistan, while standing watch as an air intercept controller (AIC) in the combat information center aboard Gettysburg.

"We provide pilots with information including airspace, altitude, bearing and emergency support," said McGee. "Whether they are U.S., British, Air Force or Marine pilots, our job is to communicate the information necessary to help them complete their mission."

McGee said Gettysburg's combat information center began recording the number of in-flight check-ins in August 2013. Many man-hours were put forth to reach the mark.

"The amount of check-ins vary, but on any given day we can support more than one-hundred aircraft," said McGee. "We have reached this point with zero safety advisories which indicates a vigilant watch. We have to remain vigilant on watch throughout the remainder of deployment and provide support where it is needed."

McGee is proud to be a part of the Gettysburg crew during this achievement.

"It's a great feeling to be an AIC, deployed in the 5th fleet AOR and supporting aircraft, because this is what we train for," said McGee. "Having 15,000 check-ins shows how Gettysburg sets the standard of excellence."

Gettysburg is deployed as part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Hazardous Materials Removed from Daiki Maru 7

By Lt. Matt Knight, Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs

APRA HARBOR, Guam (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy, in partnership with other federal and local agencies, removed heavy oil, diesel fuel, and batteries from the grounded Japanese commercial fishing vessel Daiki Maru 7 in outer Apra Harbor Feb. 16.

Approximately 100 gallons of lubrication oil, 50 gallons of diesel fuel, 20 gallons of hydraulic oil and multiple marine batteries were safely removed significantly lowering the amount of major hazardous materials on board the grounded vessel. Divers also assessed the condition of the fiberglass diesel fuel tanks and determined that about forty percent of the total capacity of diesel fuel potentially remains on board. Environmental assessment teams on the shore determined that no sheen or residue has been found on the beaches near the vessel.

Throughout the day, teams on shore loaded piles of debris into backpacks and hiked the materials off the beach via the Spanish Steps trail.

"The on-site team reached an important milestone today by safely removing the majority of the heavy oils and other hazardous materials off the vessel" said Dennis Siler, Naval Base Guam Operations Manager. "Given the close proximity to a very environmentally sensitive area, today's operations ensure the materials that could do significant damage are out of the picture and allow us to focus on the less hazardous diesel fuel and the salvage of the vessel."

The Navy and all partners in the unified command are taking all the necessary steps to address the situation and ensure the protection of the environment. The unified command maintains a top priority of assessing, planning for, and removing hazardous materials from the vessel to mitigate damage to the environment.

The unified command consists of representatives from Naval Base Guam, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam, Guam Environmental Protection Agency, and the responsible party. Other agencies that have been involved in all aspects of planning from the standup include Joint Region Marianas Operations, Naval Facilities Command Environmental personnel, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Guam Fish and Wildlife Service, Cabras Marine and Osroco.