dogdidit
Posts: 315
Joined: Mar. 2008
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| Quote (jeffox @ Oct. 29 2008,21:40) | | Quote | John McCain was aboard the USS Forrestal when some of its on-deck ordnance caught fire, started to squib off, and tried to sink the boat. In fact it was his jet's fuel tank that the errant Zuni rocket went through to start the conflagaration. The fire was no fault of John's, but you would think he'd have a personal appreciation of the risks involved in handling pyrotechnics. Apparently not.
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When I was in boot camp, we were required to view the on-ship videos of this event for our "this is what happens if things really fuck up" training. 'Twas something one never forgets. Especially since it showed at least 2 500 pound bombs going off, killing both the first and second teams of firefighters topside. Ick, ick, ick. |
My understanding of those events comes from personal recollections related to me by former aviators. The main cause of the Forrestal tragedy was the failure to only use -- per the rules -- insensitive munitions, i.e. bombs that would withstand a fire long enough to permit the firefighters to douse the flames. Bad shit happens when you don't follow the rules, especially when those rules were written in blood.
It is also a dictum among fighter pilots that if you got shot down, it's because you did something stoopid. Sounds like Right Stuff machismo to me (I'm not a fighter pilot) and I don't actually know why McCain got shot down, but he does have a life-long history of making rash, ill-considered decisions, the most recent example being the selection of Bible Spice to be his running mate and America's next Commander-in-Chief-in-waiting.
| Quote (jeffox @ Oct. 29 2008,21:40) | | Carriers were not the kind of ship I wanted to serve on, anyway. [..] Plus they're mighty big TARGETS. |
Spoken like a true bubble-head -- not that you're wrong! But the Navy always buys the boats they think won the last war. Two centuries of tradition unblemished by progress.
Sorry to stray off-topic. Uh, lemme see... something about Arden's wife, Louis's mother, and pickles? LOLcats to follow.
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"Humans carry plants and animals all over the globe, thus introducing them to places they could never have reached on their own. That certainly increases biodiversity." - D'OL
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