During the Happy Days of the Reagan Administration the Navy invested in a new class of Mine Sweepers and built a base for them at Corpus Christi, TX. Later the Navy declared they could do a better job at counter-mine operations from airborne platforms. Shut down the base and got read of the boats.
(Odd datum 1. The procedure to protect these boats from hurricanes was to sink them at their docks.
(Odd datum 2. One actual mission the Corpus based unit had was after Hurricane Katrina. They used the high resolution sonar to map the approaches to the Mississippi River and then the River up to New Orleans looking for hazards to navigation.)
By best recollection of MIW training in 26 years of service is that I got about an hour and a half of training back in the 1980's when some traveling training contingent put on a dog & pony show in Long Beach. There was an open invitation to attend. There weren't many ships inport at the time, but the training/lecture was well attended. Kind of like people were thirsting for knowledge. Well, they were. MIW resides in a desert. I do recall that the training session was a real eye-opener and that the attendees were fairly much agog at the presentation. I counted myself lucky that I was able to attend. I was just an ERO on an FFG and a new OOD as a CWO2 OpTech. Fast-forward to Desert Storm. Deployed on an Aegis Cruiser as CICO. What kind of training did we get in MIW? Am scratching my head and straining to remember and come up with zip, zero, nada. That was a long time ago. Maybe I misremember. Of course, intel said the Iraqi's were deploying mines. We had helo's aloft looking for mines during daylight, extra lookouts stationed and a small EOD Det embarked. We never got much intel or training fodder. Most of the training on my CG was from whatever we found in our ComTac Library. We held lookout training once a week. Most of it was probably redundant but it kept them focused on the importance of their task. Most of the supplemental lookouts were Supply types. They seemed to really lean into their work. It helped in our training sessions that I'd attended that training in Long Beach. We spent most of our time patrolling the Northern part of the Persian Gulf. Never saw a mine, but it wasn't for want of looking. But there was a floating, bloated dead sheep spotted. At a distance, they look like a floating WWII mine. Much excitement. We kept the lookouts pumped up. It didn't take much to keep them alert and enthusiastic. Those sailors got it. God bless them. It was a stressful job.
Quick quiz: How many Navy men have ever met a Mineman (MN)? I never did, though I lived in Naval Housing (8 units) aboard Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach while I did a 4 year tour aboard FFG-9 in Long Beach. Never met an LI, OT or PM either.
I saw that headline and got really excited for a discussion on industrial policy and domestic resource procurement...guess that's where my head goes when you start talking mines.
During the Happy Days of the Reagan Administration the Navy invested in a new class of Mine Sweepers and built a base for them at Corpus Christi, TX. Later the Navy declared they could do a better job at counter-mine operations from airborne platforms. Shut down the base and got read of the boats.
(Odd datum 1. The procedure to protect these boats from hurricanes was to sink them at their docks.
(Odd datum 2. One actual mission the Corpus based unit had was after Hurricane Katrina. They used the high resolution sonar to map the approaches to the Mississippi River and then the River up to New Orleans looking for hazards to navigation.)
By best recollection of MIW training in 26 years of service is that I got about an hour and a half of training back in the 1980's when some traveling training contingent put on a dog & pony show in Long Beach. There was an open invitation to attend. There weren't many ships inport at the time, but the training/lecture was well attended. Kind of like people were thirsting for knowledge. Well, they were. MIW resides in a desert. I do recall that the training session was a real eye-opener and that the attendees were fairly much agog at the presentation. I counted myself lucky that I was able to attend. I was just an ERO on an FFG and a new OOD as a CWO2 OpTech. Fast-forward to Desert Storm. Deployed on an Aegis Cruiser as CICO. What kind of training did we get in MIW? Am scratching my head and straining to remember and come up with zip, zero, nada. That was a long time ago. Maybe I misremember. Of course, intel said the Iraqi's were deploying mines. We had helo's aloft looking for mines during daylight, extra lookouts stationed and a small EOD Det embarked. We never got much intel or training fodder. Most of the training on my CG was from whatever we found in our ComTac Library. We held lookout training once a week. Most of it was probably redundant but it kept them focused on the importance of their task. Most of the supplemental lookouts were Supply types. They seemed to really lean into their work. It helped in our training sessions that I'd attended that training in Long Beach. We spent most of our time patrolling the Northern part of the Persian Gulf. Never saw a mine, but it wasn't for want of looking. But there was a floating, bloated dead sheep spotted. At a distance, they look like a floating WWII mine. Much excitement. We kept the lookouts pumped up. It didn't take much to keep them alert and enthusiastic. Those sailors got it. God bless them. It was a stressful job.
Quick quiz: How many Navy men have ever met a Mineman (MN)? I never did, though I lived in Naval Housing (8 units) aboard Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach while I did a 4 year tour aboard FFG-9 in Long Beach. Never met an LI, OT or PM either.
MIW is just one of those orphans.
Don’t feel bad, land lubber here.
In over 21 years and 5 deployments never saw a Stinger, never mind a Stinger gunner. Only saw Avengers time to time, most of which are in ARNG.
Qualified TOW/JAVELIN, TOW instructor, never saw a Stinger.
Cuz insurgents have no air.
And Generals saw no green 💴
Meanwhile RuAF field, train and integrated to Platoon/Company level, the bottom layer of IADS.
Same with EW, counterdrone.
The only IADS we have is on ships, to what extent I don’t know. That’s not gonna work inland.
I saw that headline and got really excited for a discussion on industrial policy and domestic resource procurement...guess that's where my head goes when you start talking mines.
Now if only we had something more reliable than an LCS to deliver them.
I can have my own Dover barrage now, w000t