Archive for the ‘military’ Category
Friday, May 4th, 2012
Just like it was on eBay.
But back in the day, this ship was all that.
See?
The auction ends on Friday May 4, 2012. The buyer will be required to cut up this stealth ship for scrap. Current bid is $300k.
Oh well.
This boat was built here in the Bay Area and now it’s about to die here.
All the deets, below.
Remember back when Bay Areans could espy the straight-outta-Redwood-City $200-million Sea Shadow stealth ship bobbing about in San Francisco Bay? Check this video from down Fun Diego way over at Telstar Logistics to see this baby in action.
Say it aloud: Super-Secret Sea Shadow Stealth Ship, Super-Secret Sea Shadow Stealth Ship, Super-Secret Sea Shadow Stealth Ship! This project was so secret that it didn’t make the Bay Area newspapers up until 1999, when this boat was identified as an airplane three times by the San Francisco Examiner.*
But lately, the ex Sea Shadow just sits around in the mothballed Ghost Fleet of the East Bay over in Benicia. Check out these great photos from Amy Heiden. Pretty boss, huh?
Now the first time the Navy tried to get rid of this historic boat, in 2006, they had all sorts of rules. Then they tried again in 2009 with more flexible rules. But the problem is that you can’t just take the Shadow, you also have to take the Hughes Mining Barge (HMB-1), a floating drydock boat that was developed as part of Project Jennifer. (That was the semi-successful, top-secret effort mounted by the Central Intelligence Agency to salvage the remains of the Soviet submarine K-129 from the ocean floor.)
Here’s a shot of them together, ignore the two conventional warships in the background:
But wait, there’s more. Here’s how the Sea Shadow is laid out on the inside:
The bridge of Grant Imahara’s future evil lair. (Boy, talk about a glass cockpit, huh?)
And here’s how she looks from the outside:
You want. However, nobody set up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and take these things off of the Navy’s hands. So now an important piece of Bay Area military history (and film history what with it inspiring the bad guys’ floating lair in Tomorrow Never Dies) is a gonna get scrapped.
Here’s what came next, after the Shadow got mothballed – it’s the all-aluminum Sea Fighter, as seen back in 2006:
via Telstar Logistics
The point being is that the aging Sea Shadow is the ur-ship, the JetFire of the stealth boat world. Why didn’t anybody save her?
Check out the owner’s manuals - pretty soon, that will be all that’s left…
Ever more deets, after the jump.
*From 1999: “The combined Navy-Marine exercise included overflights of the Bay Area by the Sea Shadow, the Navy equivalent of the stealth bomber.” No, this thing can’t fly, it just floats. Veteran SF Chronicle writer Henry K. Lee got that right but others did not. Nevertheless, SFGate.com, San Francisco’s online newspaper, remains an invaluable resource.
(more…)
Tags: (HMB-1, 007, 2012, adopt, Amy Heiden, auction, Bay, bay area, Central Intelligence Agency, chronicle, Contra Costa, county, donate, east bay, ex, ex sea shadow, Examiner, fighter, fleet, fsf-1, g row, general services administration, ghost, Golden Gate Bridge, gsa, Henry K. Lee, Hughes Mining Barge, ix-529, james bond, Lockheed, marines, may 4, mothball, National Defense Reserve Fleet, navy, newspaper, Project Jennifer, radar, redwood city, San Francisco, san francisoc's online newspaper, san francsico, scrap, Sea Fighter, sea shadow, secret, ship, stealth, suisun, susuin, Tomorrow Never Dies, u.s. navy, United States
Posted in military | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Four signs, foor doors, four different futures for you.
As seen from the sidewalk.
Click to expand
I don’t know what happened to the Air Force sign…
Tags: 2012, air force, army, bay area, california, center, davis, door, doors, hallway, marines, military, navy, recruit, Recruiting, San Francisco, street, u. s., U.S. Military Recruiting Center, United States, Window
Posted in military | No Comments »
Thursday, March 15th, 2012
‘Cause, if so, I’m going to get one for my giant Toyota.
Wouldn’t something like this be badass?
Click to expand
If a certain course case goes a certain way, that is.
Yeah, that’s the ticket, me and SCORP9, we were SEALS, yeah sure, why not?
(Hey remember when McGarrett was trying to figure out who was killing a SEAL team one by one on Hawaii 5-0? I’ll bet he wouldn’t approve of Navy SEAL license plates…)
Tags: 2012, bay area, california, car, dmv, license, plate, plates, San Francisco, scorp 9, scorp9, seal, seals, udt
Posted in cars, military | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Well, this is news to me.
Check it, the biggest military shoulder patch in the world is worn by members of the Novato-based “Pacific Strike Team,” which is part of the National Strike Force, which is part of the Deployable Operations Group, which is part of the United States Coast Guard.
See? Here they are, training for disaster response up in Marin County last year.
“Petty Officer 2nd Class Sharina Lamonica and Petty Officer 3rd Class Grace Peterson setup a weather station during an exercise with National Strike Force’s Pacific Strike Team, Feb. 16, 2011. The Pacific Strike Team conducted the exercise as part of its annual Readiness for Operations inspection”
Click to expand and check it, the rake icon says “we’re here to clean up,” but the trident says something like “don’t mess with Texas.” Delightful. Via Chief Petty Officer Paul Roszkowski
And you thought Novato was just a cow town:
I moved your star about 100 clicks north of where you have it, Dawg. Novato’s in the North Bay, not the South, just saying.
All the deets:
“The Deployable Operations Group (DOG) is a United States Coast Guard command that provides properly equipped, trained and organized Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF) to Coast Guard, DHS, DoD and inter-agency operational and tactical commanders. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, it was established on 20 July 2007, and is commanded by a Rear Admiral lower half.”
“Each Strike Team is a highly trained cadre of Coast Guard professionals who maintain and rapidly deploy with specialized equipment and incident management skills wherever needed. The strike teams are recognized worldwide as expert authorities in the preparation for and response to the effects resulting from oil discharges, hazardous substance releases, weapons of mass destruction events, and other emergencies on behalf of the American public. There are three strike teams within the NSF. The Atlantic Strike Team (AST) is based at Fort Dix, New Jersey, the Gulf Strike Team (GST) is based in Mobile, Alabama, and the Pacific Strike Team is based in Novato, California.”
Thanks in advance, Pacific Strike Team.
Tags: 2011, 2012, 2nd, 3rd, bay area, bucolic, california, class, Coast Guard, county, Deployable Operations Group, disaster, dog, federal, Grace Peterson, inspection, logo, marin, military, National Strike Force, Novato, oil, oil spill, Pacific Strike Team, Petty Officer, rake, Readiness for Operations, response, San Francisco, Sharina Lamonica, shoulder patch, trident, U.S., United States, united states coast guard
Posted in military | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
I’ll tell you, if you like to see people walking around 415 dans l’uniforme, then late 2001 would have been the time for you. Military-types were all over town.
But these days, you don’t see that anymore, for some reason. These days, you need to go down the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in the sleepy North of Financial District area to see men and women in uniform.
See the door on the left? They’re* hiring!
Click to expand
“Navy Recruiting Station San Francisco
670 Davis Street
San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 434-0195″
*The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, all of them, and maybe even the Coast Guard
Tags: 2011, 670 Davis, air force, army, bay area, broadway, CA 94111, california, Coast Guard, davis, marines, military, navy, Navy Recruiting Station San Francisco, NoFD, North of Financial District, pacific, recruit, Recruiting, San Francisco, Station, street, uniform
Posted in employment, military | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Apparently.
Some people think it’d be a great idea to move this WWII monster from Alameda to San Francisco, in order to get more visitors the thinking goes.
But where would we put it?
The USS Hornet what didn’t get sunk by the Japanese Navy – click to expand
Seems like a long-shot, but who knows?
In the meantime, don’t forget about Living Ship Day, September 17th, 2011 in Alameda.
All the deets:
“USS Hornet Museum Receives $100,000 Matching Grant From Texas Foundation
KINGSLAND, Texas, Sept. 12, 2011 – The Wreyford Family Foundation has awarded a $100,000 matching grant to the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, CA. The grant will assist in the museum’s relocation effort to move the USS Hornet to San Francisco.
“Our organization is proud to be a partner with the USS Hornet Museum on its relocation plans and believes that this effort will ultimately be as successful as the USS Intrepid and USS Midway are in their own communities,” said Deborah A. Wreyford, President, Wreyford Family Foundation.
For more information, contact www.WreyfordFamilyFoundation.org
The Wreyford Family Foundation is a privately funded non-profit organization founded in 2009 by prominent businessman Donald M. Wreyford and his wife Annette. With keen interest in aerospace science, the organization supports The W Foundation and co-sponsors the “Navy in Space” exhibit on display during San Francisco Fleet Week.
SOURCE Wreyford Family Foundation
CONTACT: Deborah Wreyford, President, The Wreyford Family Foundation”
Tags: 2011, aircraft carier, Alameda, bay area, berthed, california, City, county, cv-12, cv-8, cv12, cv8, Deborah A. Wreyford, Deborah Wreyford, Donald M. Wreyford, Donald Wreyford, island, Japanese, matching grant, move, museum, Navy in Space, relocation, San Francisco, San Francisco Fleet Week, texas, USS Hornet, USS Hornet Museum, W Foundation, Wreyford Family Foundation, wwii
Posted in History, military | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
How many hills do you know of what come with their own Yelp entry?
You ought to get on up there sometime to check it out:
“Hill 88 is a wild ghost town in the sky, hidden way up high in the Marin Headlands. It’s on Wolf Ridge, between Fort Cronkhite/Rodeo Beach and Tennessee Valley. You can barely see it from below, and it’s nothing like most of the old little rusty lifeless bunker sites. This is a crazy Cold War mega-complex teeming with tons of crows dancing in the whipping wind above huge expanses of the bay and SF. It’s part of the old Nike Missile program, officially SF-88C. Was apparently the radar and control center (aka the IFC, or Integrated Fire Control area) of the Nike Missile launch site that’s further down the hill to the east.”
So, those are some of the remnants of Project Nike on top of now-flattened Hill 88 in the foreground along with the three peaks of Mount Tam (with the West Peak also flattened by the Air Force) in the background.
As seen from San Francisco:
Click to expand
Now, you Know Better Your Marin County.
Tags: 2010, 2011, 88, air force, ajax, area, army, atomic, base, bay area, beach, bombers, bombs, california, Cold War, county, Fort Cronkhite, ghost town, headlands, hercules, hiking, hill, Hill 88, Integrated Fire Control, marin, Marin Headlands, military, missile, mount, mount tam, nike, nike b, nuclear, photo, pics, presidio, rodeo, rodeo beach, San Francisco, sf-88, sf-88c, sf-89, sutro, tam, tamalpais, tennessee valley, Wild Ghost Town in the Sky, Wolf Ridge, wolfback ridge
Posted in military | No Comments »
Friday, June 24th, 2011
Tags: 2011, 3508, bay area, california, chinese, Chinese Submarines, destroyer, japan, Japanese, jds, JDS Kashima, Kashima, navy, pier, San Francisco, ship, Submarines, training, TV-3508
Posted in military | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
Joshua Clements is all over this sitch down in Union Square:
“Homeland Security, A-Team van, SWAT team, mobile command post, Army Hummer, SFPD Bomb Squad, all in front of the Hilton.”
This urban assault vehicle used to be a GMC, or a Chevy or a Ford or a Hummer a Jeep or maybe a Dodge – I’ve narrowed it down that far:
An excellent shot from The Tender, Your Daily Cut of the Loin
Get more shots of this paramilitary fooferall at The Tens.
Tags: 2011, A-Team, A-Team van, army, Army Hummer, bay area, bomb, california, chevy, command post, convention, dept., dodge, ellis, federal, ford, geary, gm, gmc, Hilton, homeland security, hotel, hummer, jeep, mobile, mobile command post, o'farrell, police, San Francisco, SFPD, SFPD Bomb Squad, squad, street, suc, swat, SWAT team, taylor, team, tenderloin, van
Posted in military, paranormal, police | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
The United States Navy has given up on the idea of giving away to a good home the formerly spr sekrt stealth ship Sea Shadow. That means that this expensive piece of Bay Area military memorabilia will soon be cut up for scrap.
Oh well.
Good bye, IX-529.
But we’ll always have memories, like right here – check it out, from back in the day last year.
All the deets:
Remember back in the day, back when Bay Areans could espy the straight-outta-Redwood-City $200-million Sea Shadow stealth ship bobbing about in San Francisco Bay? Check this video from down Fun Diego way over at Telstar Logistics to see this baby in action.
Say it aloud: Super-Secret Sea Shadow Stealth Ship, Super-Secret Sea Shadow Stealth Ship, Super-Secret Sea Shadow Stealth Ship! This project was so secret that it didn’t make the Bay Area newspapers, excepting for 1999 when this boat was identified as an airplane three times by the San Francisco Examiner.*
This is what she looked like, coming out in the daytime when she was no longer so very supr sekrt:
Guess what, the U.S. Navy wants to give her away for free! The problem is that there are no takers as of yet, so the ex Sea Shadow just sits around in the mothballed Ghost Fleet of the East Bay. Check out these recent photos from Amy Heiden. Pretty boss, huh?
Now the first time the Navy tried to give away this historic boat, in 2006, they had all sorts of rules. Then they tried again in 2009 with more flexible rules. But the problem is that you can’t just take the Shadow, you also have to take the Hughes Mining Barge (HMB-1), a floating drydock boat that was developed as part of Project Jennifer. (That was the semi-successful, top-secret effort mounted by the Central Intelligence Agency to salvage the remains of the Soviet submarine K-129 from the ocean floor.)
Here’s a shot of them together, ignore the two conventional warships in the background:
But wait, there’s more. Here’s how the Sea Shadow is laid out on the inside:
The bridge of Grant Imahara’s future evil lair. (Boy, talk about a glass cockpit, huh?)
And here’s how she looks from the outside:
You want. Why don’t you start up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and take these things off of the Navy’s hands? Otherwise an important piece of Bay Area military history (and film history what with it inspiring the bad guys’ floating lair in Tomorrow Never Dies) is a gonna get scrapped.
Here’s what came next, after the Shadow got mothballed – it’s the all-aluminum Sea Fighter, as seen back in 2006:
via Telstar Logistics
The point being is that the aging Sea Shadow is the ur-ship, the JetFire of the stealth boat world. Won’t you save her?
O.K., first things first. Check out the owner’s manuals and start writing your business plan. (And, oh yes, while you’re at it, scrape up some cash. Lots and lots and lots o’ cash.)
Happy sailing!
The Navy’s announcement, after the jump.
*From 1999: “The combined Navy-Marine exercise included overflights of the Bay Area by the Sea Shadow, the Navy equivalent of the stealth bomber.” No, this thing can’t fly, it just floats. Veteran SF Chronicle writer Henry K. Lee got that right but others did not. Nevertheless, SFGate.com, San Francisco’s online newspaper, remains an invaluable resource.
(more…)
Tags: (HMB-1, 007, adopt, Amy Heiden, Bay, bay area, Central Intelligence Agency, chronicle, Contra Costa, county, donate, east bay, ex, ex sea shadow, Examiner, fighter, fleet, fsf-1, g row, ghost, Golden Gate Bridge, Henry K. Lee, Hughes Mining Barge, ix-529, james bond, Lockheed, marines, mothball, National Defense Reserve Fleet, navy, newspaper, Project Jennifer, radar, redwood city, San Francisco, san francisoc's online newspaper, san francsico, Sea Fighter, sea shadow, secret, ship, stealth, suisun, susuin, Tomorrow Never Dies, u.s. navy, United States
Posted in military, vessels | No Comments »
