The Military Thread

[hbionic]

I guess it's not that hard to fathom.

[Sgt PSN]

The boat lost it's anchor.

fargs to you, I can see that much.  Generally it would be good if you could aspire to brevity but in this particular instance, I'm looking for some farging exposition of the situation.

Haha.  SD will obviously have a better answer than me, but I'm taking a stab at it given my limited working knowledge of naval vessels. 

What's happening?

They're dropping anchor deeper than the length of chain they have. 

Do these sailors realize from the beginning that there is a problem?

I don't think they initially realized there was a problem.  If there was a problem, the chief (dude in the khakis and hard hat) would have probably been going apeshtein.  Once he got involved in helping the 2 sailors turn that wheel (no idea what the naval term is), that's when iceholes really start to pucker.  You can see him get in there shortly before the cloud gets too thick.   

Is the dust/smoke billowing from the stern when the anchor first drops normal?

I believe the dust is actually rust. 

Is it normal inside the ship to have same?

Yes.

Why are the two sailors cranking that wheel/what are they doing by cranking it?  Letting the anchor go, trying to bring it up, trying to slow it?

The sailors cranking the wheel are controlling the release of the anchor.  Turn counter-clockwise, the anchor and chain drop.  Turn clockwise and the anchor and chain stop.  Prior to the 4:24 mark in the video, you can see them turning it counter-clockwise.  At 4:24 they start frantically turning clockwise.  I'm guessing that the chain got stuck somehow and the sailors kept "opening the valve" so to speak.  Once the chain finally started moving, they had opened up so far that they couldn't get it closed before the chain was completely through. 

WTF is going on?

They're making a "How Not To Lower An Anchor" safety video.

I presume the white paint is what marks the fathoms?

Not sure if it's to mark the fathoms or the shots.  I know that in naval terms, a fathom is 6 feet.  So when the video shows 90 fathoms, I assume that means 540' of chain has already been let out.   

[Diomedes]

Okay, I take back the mean things I said to you.

What does the term "shot" mean?

[Sgt PSN]

I've never heard "shot" used as a naval term like that. 

60 fathoms/4th shot
75 fathoms/5th shot
90 fathoms/6th shot

Seems that 1 shot = 15 fathoms (90')

That's the best I can come up with.  A quick google search gave me nothing. 

[SD]

You know shtein got real when that Chief decided to start cranking.  I assume that the newer boats are more of a push button operation rather than manual.

That was the 1st division officer otherwise known as the Ship's Boatswain. The hispanic guy in coveralls who's barking orders at the end is the Chief [cool guy].

[Sgt PSN]

Hmm.  Never seen a Boatswain in khaki before.  When I was on the New Orleans, he always wore the blue cammies.  Then again, your video is over 10 years old.....could have been the norm back then you old salt dog.  Or maybe my Boatswain just didn't give a shtein and opted for comfort. 

So even more to the point, you know shtein just got real when the Boatswain gets involved.   

How'd I do with everything else?   

[SD]

I've never heard "shot" used as a naval term like that. 

60 fathoms/4th shot
75 fathoms/5th shot
90 fathoms/6th shot

Seems that 1 shot = 15 fathoms (90')

That's the best I can come up with.  A quick google search gave me nothing.

This is correct and the rest of your seamanship is also correct. I spent my first 3 years in deck although it was on a DDG [Destroyer] and this is an LHA which is a much larger ship. Sea and anchor details are essentially the same though this was indoors. You mark the depth by the white marks which mark a fathom, when you've reached the next to last shot they're painted yellow...the last one is red but if you're around to see red you're in deep shtein. And as you can see there's so much dust and rust that gets brought up that you can't see shtein.

What usually happens is the anchor chain runs and the person who's leading sea and anchor detail will stand on the side of the chain as it runs with their hand up. Every fathom that they see they hold up a finger. The two guys on the brake take orders from the POIC. You have to crank that sucker for a while to let some chain go and to stop it. The brake is actually an arm inside the chain pipe that is supposed to stop the chain. Once the chain gets too much momentum it runs. A lot of people gave the boatswain on the Tarawa shtein for this but sometimes shtein happens.

Here's a layman's diagram:

[Tomahawk]

Open Letter to Bush/Cheney from Veteran

He thinks they're both dickheads and I agree.