This book is an excellent comparison of the four Admirals, their backgrounds, foibles, interactions, and leadership ‘styles’…
The four were VERY different in their career paths, with one notable exception, they were ALL Naval Academy graduates. They are also the only four Admirals to ever hold the five star rank in the Navy; and they were all significantly different in the way they led…
It’s well worth the read, and brings in some of the ‘other’ folks like Marshall, MacArthur, FDR, Truman, Churchill, Spruance, McCain, Mischner, and Vandegrift among others.
This is NOT a PR book, but a (to me at least) fair recitation without all the hype and hoopla that surrounded these folks. Leahy is far and away the least known, but in reality he was the most powerful of the four not only as FDR’s right hand man, but also as the first Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff; he was a died in the wool battleship type, but finally acknowledged that carriers were important too. King, egotistical blunt and very self-serving; becoming a ‘pilot’ (but never flew without a co-pilot after flight training), just to further his own career; but did a good job as the CNO during the war. Nimitz, who ran his first ship aground, went on to become a submarine expert and Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Halsey, infamous for running his ships into not one but TWO Typhoons, went through pilot training at age 50. He was a true combat leader, and his crews would and did follow him to hell and back. Raymond Spruance, who should have been the 5th five star, always the ‘quiet’ man, who alternated with Halsey in the 3rd/5th fleet dance…
There are also almost 75 pages of appendices, and lots of rabbit holes to go down if you so desire… 🙂
So now the question is, what happens to the meetings? If they are cancelled, try to move the flight up (knowing everybody and their brothers are doing the same thing), or ride it out (maybe spend an extra day or two here)…
Sigh…
But I DO know somebody who has a bottle or two of Scotch handy…
Andy Jampoler, the author, is a former P-3 pilot and squadron commander. He’d also been there, done that, and paid for the t-shirt. This was released on the 25th anniversary of the crash (26 Oct 1978).
AF586 was on a PARPRO mission off Russia when things went “South” as we say…
I read this yesterday on the flight out, and in irony of ironies, we flew almost directly over the crash location enroute to NRT. Even more ironic, three of the four pilots yesterday were former P-3 pilots… I flew with Hawk and Pinger in the 70s, and Frito in the 80s in different squadrons. I was up when Hawk and Frito came out of the cockpit, and we ended up standing in the galley talking. When Hawk mentioned where we were, I immediately said 586 and we ‘relived’ our incident (prop fail to feather, prop overspeed) in 1975 off Vietnam, but the difference was we completed the fails to feather checklist, which was NOT done on AF586.
Frito had heard the ‘story’ but never read the book, so I handed it off to him. I don’t think the FAs were very comfortable with us talking about plane crashes for some reason… Pinger came out later, and he also came back and mentioned it to me.
Anyway, the book looks at the situation that developed, the subsequent ditching, the problems with the survival suits, the rafts, and the problems with weather that impacted the ad hoc rescue attempts by a variety of folks, ending up with the survivors being picked up by a Soviet fishing trawler. Jampoler went back through the records, the AIC, and interviewed various people on all sides to put together a comprehensive look at the whole picture…
LCDR Grigsy and the FE in the seat never reset the oil tank circuit breakers for unknown reasons, and ironically, they were two of the five that did not survive, so no one actually knows ‘why’ they did what they did. This directly contributed to the engine fires, and led to having to ditch the airplane in the North Pacific 140+ miles short of Shemya.
The rescue and subsequent mis-communications as to whom had done what probably contributed to the loss of the three AWs who died due to exposure (among other things). IF someone had actually gone and found the Soviet fishing trawler earlier, they would have probably survived.
Jampoler also digs into the politics of the Navy and P-3 community at the time, and makes some valid points about who was and was not supportive of various folks.
This was a really bad period in the P-3 community, with multiple crashes over a couple of years, and the highest losses of life during the entire history of the aircraft. This crash was the ONLY one where anyone survived…
In a small way, I had an impact going forward, as I designed a revision to the way the life rafts were secured in the P-3 and after two years got the mod put in every P-3 in the Fleet. When VP-47 ditched in Oman, HERE, they got all the rafts out without a problem.
It’s worth reading if you want to understand what folks go through when their lives are on the line, and get a look into the reality of what goes on when things go South… And it IS a tribute to those who climbed on that airplane, built by the lowest bidder, and went out and did the missions day after day in all kinds of environments…
Yep…
Duck tape in use…
Go read the good folks on my sidebar please…
I was peacefully sleeping when the phone went off at 0430, and after trying to turn the alarm off, I ‘finally’ realized what it was…
So I answer, only to be asked, “Um, did I wake you up?”
Ah yep, since I’m NOT in the office, and you’re calling me on the cell, what do you think???
“Oh well, what I wanted to know is what time we’re meeting at the airport on Friday.”
Ah, say WHUT??? Don’t ya mean SATURDAY???
“Nope, we’re leaving Friday, we moved the flight up, remember?”
Oh s**t… Lemme call you back in a bit…
Now what the hell… sigh…
The problem being, I’m not, er… wasn’t coming back off this trip till Friday afternoon, but it’s kinda hard to make a 1245 flight if I don’t land till 1545.
So online I go, no success, they want $1400 to change the ticket. Next stop the reservations line.
Admit I’m stupid, beg forgiveness, ask for help; say I’m stoopid, PLEASE bail me out…
After about 30 minutes, she’s able to get me on the red eye, now working a full day today, redeye at 2230, land 0530 tomorrow…
And no charge for my stupidity!!! Tank you, tank you!!!
Now lemme see, if I get home by 0630, SSS, change bags, eat; um… I can be back at the airport at 1030ish…
Send email to that effect, and head for the shower, only to find out I’m getting lukewarm water at best. QUICK shower, dress and realize it’s only 0530, so now I’m sitting here drinking a cup of LOUSY hotel room coffee typing this and waiting for breakfast to open, so I can eat, check out, and go sit in more boring meetings…
I hope YOUR day is going better!
But the bright side is that I DO have a job. Y’all have a good day!!!
Firearms friendly towns in Idaho lure gun makers!
About 58 companies that make either guns or ammunition are currently based in Idaho, and government officials throughout the state are targeting more. The Commerce Department calls it ‘Rec-Tech’. The state legislature is gun-friendly, passing a law that shields weapons makers from liability when their products are involved in tragedies. The goal is to poach gun makers from states where the industry is heavily regulated.
Potlatch is just getting started. B.J. Swanson, Latah County’s economic development director, has had inquiries from six weapons makers in the past few weeks. She and other officials envision an industrial park on the site of the old mill. Artist drawings show the manufacturing plants surrounded by stores and restaurants catering to gun enthusiasts.
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h/t JP