Astronomy As Art

I hope you liked the Astronomy Picture of the Day link from several posts ago. I have always liked astronomy. The universe is a big place, so there is a lot of room for God to show his artistic talents on a grand scale, arranging gas and dust and lighting it up with stars across a canvas light years across. I dont think that it is ALL for our benefit, but it is nice that he made the universe beautiful as well as functional. It is a good lesson that anything worth doing can still be made better with a little effort in presentation. A building or a bridge that is only functional is usually ugly and soon forgotten. Really good engineers and architects and chefs are artists as well. Anyway, here is another link to enjoy. The Hubble Heritage is the best of the Hubble Telescope pictures. A new one is released every month.

Once More Into The Breach

Or outside the wire. I went outside the camp for the second, and possibly last, time today. The biggest project that I have been responsible for started officially with a ground breaking. It is a new school for gifted students. It will eventually teach up to 250 students from Basra, Maysan, Dhi Qar and Muthanna provinces each year. They will compete for admission.

 

The mission didn't get off to a good start, but we recovered, and the ground breaking went well. We got lost at first, because the grid we had for the site was off by about a mile. We ended up standing around in the Jameat for about 30 minutes until we reached the contractor, who met us and led us to the actual site. One thing that every says about being outside is to watch the children. If they are around and being pests, then there isn't going to be any trouble. If there are no children then something bad is going to happen.

 

We had about two dozen boys and girls all around us. Some were trying to practice their english. Some were just begging for some kind of gift. But they were all smiling. Children are cute no matter where in the world they live.

 

Although Jameat is next door to Hyyaniyah, it isn't an open sewer like Hyyaniyah. It is what passes for middle class in Basra. It is still fairly dirty, by US standards, but it looked remarkably clean compared to other parts of Iraq. There is a lot of new construction too.

 

I would have liked to see more of Basra. In a couple of months, a school will be openning in a much nicer part of town and there is a hospital by the river that I could have seen too, but maybe I will be sent back here again. Corps has been sending people home early for lack of work, so maybe I can talk someone into letting me come back.

The Silent Service

I will probably never serve on a submarine again. I may never ride one again. The only way that I may even see the inside of one again is to pay a visit to a museum ship. I am still a submariner and look back on the three and a half years that I spent at sea fondly. That may be in part because of the natural tendency of memories to fade with time. Good memories last longer. Bad memories tend to fade faster. When you join an organisation, its history becomes your own. Today, I learned a little bit more about some of that history.

 

On the 3rd of October, the Navy confirmed that the wreck of the USS Grunion (SS-216) had been found about one mile down near the Aleutian island Kiska. Grunion had been on her first war patrol, attacking Japanese shipping around Kiska. Kiska and another island, Attu, where the only US territory ever occupied by Japanese forces. They were seized in an attempt to draw US Naval forces away from the planned attack on Midway Island. USS Grunion was harrassing and interdicting the Japanese supply ships when she last reported in and was ordered to return to port. She never arrived. She was declared lost with all hands (70 officers and crew) in mid August.

 

The sons of her commanding officer, financed the search for the wreck, and after a big break in the form of information on the internet that had been posted by the son of a Japanese Maru sailor, that told of an attack on a submarine near Kiska that had not been previously known. It is likely that Grunion was sunk by an armed merchant shortly after reporting in for the last time.

 

USS Grunion is one of 52 subamrines lost during World War II and 63 lost from all causes. Nearly all went down with all hands. The submarine service had the highest mortality rate of all branches of the military in World War II. 3505 submariners never returned from patrol, nearly 1 in 5. In the Pacific Theater, they acounted for more than half of all Japanese shipping sunk. Aa an aside, the Japanese Navy, after the war provided material claiming nearly 500 US submarines sunk.

 

In addition to those submariners lost during World War II, 371 others died due to accidents and other perils of the sea, both before and after the war. The last two, and the only nuclear submarines to be lost, were 129 on USS Thresher and 99 on USS Scorpion.

 

The sea has always been a dangerous place. All sailors have a respect for each other that goes beyond nationality. War, at least in the past, wasn't personal. Ships fought, not men. When the fighting was done, men collected the survivors. There was a degree of kindness in that, because the winners knew that they could be on the losing side just as well and in need of a helping hand out of the water. Among submariners, with time putting some distance between events, there is even respect for the Japanese and German submariners who were lost at even higher rates than ours. Germany, for example, lost between 700 and 800 uboats each with 60 to 80 men. Subamriners dont really consider them lost at sea. They are still at their stations. Still on patrol.

 

I wouldn't trade that history for anything.

 

Submarines Lost Through Enemy Action
                  Date of Loss Casualties
Sealion   (SS-195)  10 Dec 41    5 killed
Shark     (SS-174)  11 Feb 42   58 killed
Perch     (SS-176)   3 Mar 42   59 POWs, 6 later died
Grunion   (SS-216)  31 Jul 42   70 killed
Argonaut  (APS-1)   10 Jan 43  105 killed
Amberjack (SS-219)  14 Feb 43   74 killed
Grampus   (SS-207)   5 Mar 43   71 killed
Triton    (SS-201)  15 Mar 43   74 killed
Pickerel  (SS-177)   3 Apr 43   74 killed
Grenadier (SS-210)  22 Apr 43   76 POWs, 4 later died
Runner    (SS-275)  28 May 43   78 killed
Pompano   (SS-181)  29 Aug 43   76 killed
Grayling  (SS-209)   9 Sep 43   76 killed
Cisco     (SS-290)  28 Sep 43   76 killed
S 44      (SS-155)   7 Oct 43   55 killed
Wahoo     (SS-238)  11 Oct 43   80 killed
Dorado    (SS-248)  12 Oct 43   76 killed
Corvina   (SS-226)  16 Nov 43   82 killed
Sculpin   (SS-191)  19 Nov 43   12 killed, 51 POWs
Capelin   (SS-289)  23 Nov 43   78 killed
Scorpion  (SS-278)   5 Jan 44   76 killed
Grayback  (SS-208)  27 Feb 44   80 killed
Trout     (SS-202)  29 Feb 44   81 killed
Herring   (SS-233)   1 Jun 44   84 killed
Gudgeon   (SS-211)   7 Jun 44   78 killed
Golet     (SS-361)  14 Jun 44   82 killed
Robalo    (SS-273)  26 Jul 44   74 killed, 4 POWs
Flier     (SS-250)  13 Aug 44   78 killed
Harder    (SS-257)  24 Aug 44   79 killed
Escolar   (SS-294)  17 Oct 44   82 killed
Shark     (SS-314)  24 Oct 44   87 killed
Albacore  (SS-218)   7 Nov 44   86 killed
Growler   (SS-215)   8 Nov 44   85 killed
Scamp     (SS-277)  11 Nov 44   83 killed
Swordfish (SS-193)  12 Jan 45   89 killed
Barbel    (SS-316)   4 Feb 45   81 killed
Kete      (SS-369)  20 Mar 45   87 killed
Trigger   (SS-237)  28 Mar 45   89 killed
Snook     (SS-279)   9 Apr 45   84 killed
Lagarto   (SS-371)   3 May 45   85 killed
Bonefish  (SS-223)  18 Jun 45   85 killed
Bullhead  (SS-332)   6 Aug 45   84 killed

 

Submarines Lost Through Accidents and Perils of the Sea
                  Date of Loss Casualties
F 4       (SS-23)   25 Mar 15   21 died
F 1       (SS-20)   16 Dec 17   19 died
G 2       (SS-27)   30 Jul 19    3 died
H 1       (SS-28)   12 Mar 20    4 died
O 5       (SS-66)   20 Oct 23    3 died
S 51      (SS-162)  25 Sep 25   33 died
Squalus   (SS-192)  23 May 39   26 died
O-9       (SS-70)   20 Jun 41   33 died
S 36      (SS-141)  20 Jan 42    0 died
S-26      (SS-131)  24 Jan 42   46 died
S 27      (SS-132)  19 Jun 42    0 died
S 39      (SS-144)  16 Aug 42    0 died
R-12      (SS-89)   12 Jun 43   42 died
Tullibee  (SS-284)  26 Mar 44   79 died
S-28      (SS-133)   4 Jun 44   50 died
Seawolf   (SS-197)   3 Oct 44   99 died
Darter    (SS-227)  24 Oct 44    0 died
Tang      (SS-306)  24 Oct 44   78 died, 9 POWs
Cochino   (SS-345)  26 Aug 49    1 died
Thresher (SSN-593)  10 Apr 63  129 died
Scorpion (SSN-589)  27 May 68   99 died

General Conference

I couldn't watch General Conference this time. None of the networks available to me allow streaming video. I miss it. I can still download the audio and listen to it, but it isn't quite the same as when I know that I am watching along with a few million others at the same time. I wouldn't even have minded staying up until one am. The time difference between here and Utah is nine hours. I did catch the news that there will be a temple in Rome soon. That is exciting news. I wonder how much of the world is left that is more than say six hours away from a temple. That isn't necessarily an indicator of usage. I live maybe fifteen minutes away from the Provo Temple, and I dont attend nearly as often as I should. The closer a temple is, the easier it is to take it for granted. I hope that is one bad habit that I shake off when I get back.

Moving Again

I have said that I am somewhat conflicted about being here in Basrah. On one hand, I have work to do that can make a difference to the people of Iraq. On the other hand, the living is rougher. On the whole, I think that I would prefer to stay, but I have received word that my replacement will be arriving soon, maybe as early as tomorrow, but maybe not. I have complained about air transport before. I hope to have a week to turn over my projects and and make introductions, before heading back to Baghdad, and whatever assignment awaits me there. I hope I get to travel a bit. I did not get to see much of Basrah, and I have seen even less of Baghdad. Time will tell.

The Pyramid of Honor

I read a story in Stars and Stripes recently about one of our honored dead who had received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in combat that led to his death. Apparantly, while tragic for his family, it was judged by those tasked with reviewing recommendations for valor awards to be very high on the scale of heroism as such things are measured. The DSC is no small award, as it is only exceeded in honor by the Medal of Honor itself. I can hardly read such stories without having to fight back tears. However, one part of the story got me a little peeved.

 

It seems that his mother found it disappointing that he was not approved for the Medal of Honor and had taken it upon herself to ask the Army to review the award decision and upgrade the award to the Medal of Honor and was making the case publicly to try to put pressure on the Army to do so. As with any endevour that is made by human beings, the review process for valor medals can be flawed. There are known cases of awards being upgraded later when reviews found that a higher award was justified and that bias, prejudice, or inaccurate information had been the cause of the downgrade or denial of the award. These cases are rare though. The process of review, especially for the highest of awards is as thorough and rigorous as any process can be. It often takes up to two years for a Medal of Honor recommendation to be vetted and approved. For valor medals, unlike my previous post on medal inflation for administrative medals, the military takes its responsibility very seriously.

 

For a history of the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross and other valor medals, including the honor roll of those who have receieved them with citations, please visit the Medal of Honor site and the Home of Heroes site. In brief, the history of these medals follows. These sites have more details. From the founding of the country, the military had disaproved of medals as being too European and aristocratic. Until the Civil War, there were no medals that were authorized to recognize valor and heroism. During the Civil War, the Medal of Honor was created, first for the Navy and then for the Army, and was restricted to the enlisted ranks only. Officer were expected at all times to behave valorously in combat and to provide extra recognition was thought unnecessary. Officers were eventually made eligible to receive it though.

 

In 1917, a review of the Medals of Honor showed that with only one medal available, there was no way to distinguish between various degrees of valor and the Medal of Honor was being devalued by awarding it for actions that, while heroic, did not meet the standard of above and beyond the call of duty and of conspicuous gallantry. To correct this error, Congress created a series of medals that permitted actions to be recognized without diminishing the honor of any award. The pyramid of honor was capped by the Medal of Honor, along with another short lived award called the Marine Corps Brevet Medal which was discontinued in favor of the Medal of Honor. At the next level was the Service Crosses, the Distinguished Service Cross for the Army, the Navy Cross, and later the Air Force Cross. Finally came the Distinguished Service Medals for each service and the Silver Star.

 

Each of these awards must be justified by actions of great and conspicuous valor, in combat against an enemy, which places one's life at risk. The standards are set by statute by Congress and are very specific in describing the degree of valor and heroism required. So high are the standards, that close to 8 out of every 10 Medals of Honor are awarded posthumously, and the larger fraction of those awarded to surviving heroes were awarded in the distant past. Almost no one, who merits the Medal of Honor, survives the action that earns it. A large fraction of the Service Crosses were also awarded posthumously, but death alone does not automatically equate to conspicuous gallantry or beyond the call of duty. Tragically, duty often requires death which disallows the very highest of military honors. In all of World War II, in which there were more than 400,000 dead, only 138 Medals of Honor were awarded, 27 were for actions during the battle for Iwo Jima. It is for this that it was said that "among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor, was a common virtue." Twenty-seven awards from a single battle stood out.

 

Not even everyone in military service understands this, and this is readily apparant in the medal inflation of administrative awards. It would be a great tragedy and a disservice to all of our heroes, living and dead, to degrade the value and honor of any of our valor awards. The services take this responsibility seriously, and review each recommendation for its merits carefully. I think that when there is any doubt, the preferrence is to err on the side of a lower degree of honor in order to protect the distinction of the higher. An award can be upgraded if such is warranted, but how do you downgrade an award if that is also warranted? You cant, and therein lies the danger that the process guards against. If the honor of an award is at all diminished by giving honor where it is not due, the damage cannot be undone, and all awards, past and future, are diminshed by it.

 

If this soldier truly meritted the Medal of Honor, that honor will come to him, but his mother does his memory no service by trying to force that honor to come outside of the system set up to render that honor to him. It is no insult or shame to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. One of the greatest American soldiers of all, General George S Patton, Jr said of his Distinguished Service Cross, "I would rather be a Lieutenant with it, than a General without it." He held it in higher esteem than even the four stars of his rank which in war denoted the highest degree of trust in his judgement and leadership that the nation could bestow. I wish that she could understand that. Less than 14000 of the many millions of men who have served our nation in war have received this honor. No one who has ever worn the uniform would think poorly of him for not being one of the fewer then 3500 who have received the Medal of Honor. I never will.

Weapons Of The New War

Once upon a time, wars were fought by nations who raised masses of men, gave them weapons and then repeated smashed them into each other until one of them gave up or ceased to exist. This worked because weapons were expensive and dificult to use. Only nations could afford the cost of procuring the weapons and training soldiers in their use. Ordinary people, if they dared resort to arms at all, usually made do with farm impliments. That meant that commoners had little say over who their princes and kings were. A war, if they survived it, just meant that someone else might be taxing them to death.

 

Weapons are much less expensive now, and that makes war much more complicated. Where armies once only took note of commoners as a source of cannon fodder or forage, now they have to worry about what side they are on. Now, when anyone in the war zone suffers a loss, they have the capacity to wage their own little war against whomever they see as their enemy. Now, armies cant just fight wherever and leave the survivors to pick up the pieces.

 

Our enemies understand this better than we do sometimes. That is one reason that we had so many problems in Iraq at first. We took away something bad, but we didn't replace it with anything better. The common people had come to terms with what was and had learned to survive. Then we gave them some hope for something better, but didn't follow through quickly enough. It was expected that those that were tied to the old regime would be upset enough to fight, but we also thought that the rest would be happy enough with the old regime gone. Instead, when we didn't deliver, a lot of them through in with the insurgency, in many cases because the "political" wing of the insurgency ran schools and clinics and provided jobs.

 

Too few commanders understood that the best weapon against an insurgency is money. It doesn't do any real good to directly bribe the lilttle powers - clan chiefs, sheiks, etc. At best that only buys a little time, and they use the money to arm themselves and get ready to extort more money down the road. Where money becomes an effective weapon is in building the infrastructure that makes peace better than war. People who have something to lose, have something to fight for. When what they would lose came from our enemies, they fought for our enemies. When we gave them something that our enemies could take away, they fought for us.

 

This is a difficult weapon to use, because there are no clear targets and no clear way to immediately tell if you hit the target. Sighting in the weapon so you deliver the right amount of money to the right place at the right time takes time and patience, and a lot of money because sometimes you miss and missing is just as expensive as getting it right. Too much money makes people dependent and disappointed when it doesn't continue. Too little is disappointing and makes people think your dont care enough to try. Any kind of miss can turn people against you. Fortunately, in Iraq we mostly learned the lesson in time to make a difference.

 

For a good lesson in the wrong way to handle things, please read Michael Yon's report from Afghanistan - "Death in the Corn". He makes his living living with the troops on the front line, first in Iraq and now in Afghanistan. In this post, he tells about the efforts of British troops to deal with a sniper that used to be a farmer, until he lost some trees and wasn't paid for his loss. He wasn't paid because the rate of compensation was set by accountants back in Britain so low, that he preferred revenge to what he considered theft. Sooner or later he will be killed, when he should have been and could have been a friend.

 

This is what I do in Basra. I have paid someone for a car that was totalled by an armored vehicle. I am building schools and hospitals so the Iraqis have something to lose by chosing war instead of peace. I am trying to be fair to a contractor so he will finish a job instead of turning to terrorism. There aren't enough troops here to suppress insurgency by force now. The fact that there has only been one attack in two months, means that the people here, for now at least, prefer peace. Hopefully that will last.