US Navy Ships Research Articles

Transnational Security Threats and State Survival: A Role for the Military?

On 20 August 1998, an undisclosed number of US Navy ships and submarines located in the Arabian and Red seas launched more than 79 cruise missiles in a simultaneous attack on alleged terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. Afghanistan-bound missiles targeted the Zhawar Kili Al-Badr Camp, an alleged terrorist training facility located about 160 kilometers southeast of the country's capital, Kabul. The Sudanese target was a manufacturing facility suspected be producing precursor chemicals for the nerve agent VX. The attacks were carried out as part of a US response terrorist attacks against US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. According press and government reports, the missiles hit their targets as planned and the US government subsequently deemed the attacks a success. Because the two operations were essentially attacks by a state against non-state actors, American officials betrayed some uneasiness when confronted with questions about official terrorist involvement by the governments of Sudan and Afghanistan. Moreover, US military officials broke with previous practice by refusing disclose damage assessments out of fear that it would give vital information interested terrorist organizations. In defense of the government's policy of operational secrecy, General Hugh Shelton noted that such an antiterrorist operation required techniques because we are in a different ball game today. [1] Although the US attacks in Afghanistan and Sudan were widely viewed as unequivocal responses global terrorism, they were, in many respects, symbolic of a much larger trend: the emerging tendency of nation-states turn military forces deal with post-Cold War era security threats that are transnational and not state-centered. Increasingly, governments are characterizing problems that were once considered law enforcement or public health problems as security challenges. Some examples of these emerging threats include international organized crime, terrorism, arms trafficking, pandemics, and international illegal migration flows. Unlike traditional state-centered security threats, these transnational threats often emerge slowly and their causes and effects are often not easily ascertained. As transnational security challenges continue grow in severity around the world, military leaders and planners are facing the almost inevitable reality that armed forces will be deployed against them in the decades ahead. This trend is not occurring without controversy, however. Some military leaders strongly oppose the use of military forces in non-warfare operations for a variety of reasons, including fears that such missions detract from military training and readiness. Nevertheless, governments around the world are increasingly discovering that civilian agencies which would normally manage these problems--such as police, health, environment, or immigration ministries--simply cannot cope with the magnitude of the problems they are confronting. This trend implies a major change in how countries will likely deploy their armed forces in the decades ahead. More important, however, it suggests a fundamental new role for military forces in the 21st century. Transnational Security Issues: Defining the Threat Transnational security issues, as the name implies, are nonmilitary threats that cross borders and either threaten the political and social integrity of a nation or the health of that nation's inhabitants. Moreover, such issues might be deemed as threats that tend to degrade the quality of life for the inhabitants of a state. [2] Typically transnational threats or challenges arrive in the host state because of their intrinsic nature (e.g., air pollution that crosses an international border due prevailing winds) or because of porous borders resulting from government policies that reflect either an unwillingness or inability restrict or regulate cross-border flows. …

21st Century Workstations - Active Partners in Accomplishing Task Goals

As the new century starts early design efforts are underway for a new class of US Navy ships with design requirements to significantly reduce operational crew size and associated costs. The trend for crew optimization is made all the more difficult with increased mission demands and breadth of tasks to be accomplished. New weapons and sensors will increase the tactical options available to commanders, but significant changes in current design must be made for fewer personnel to handle the workload. Automated functions can have profound implications for the workstation design, increasing warfighter need for multi-tasking across automated systems. Workstation design trends that may be necessary to support this work environment are: increased visual workspace, features that focus on multi-tasking, and system monitoring of task progress with the ability for system assistance based on dynamic monitoring of task progress and monitoring of human state while at work. The workstation of the future becomes actively involved in assisting the human progress through multiple tasks. This is in stark comparison to the passive partnership between workstation and human today.

The impact of information systems technology on operations management

I discuss the enormous role that information technology (IT) is having on operations. Examples include smart catalogues and databases for simpler customer/vendor coordination, transponder-equipped vehicles that can be re-routed in real time, voice-recognition systems for greater warehouse inventory accuracy, collaborative editing of graphics documents by geographically-remote individuals, and even electronic storage/retrieval of documents to reduce volume (US Navy ships once carried 25 tons of manuals). I then review Japanese approaches to management and discuss how their Western counterparts have adopted these methods. Specifically, the role that IT is having in allowing Western manufacturers to implement JIT, time-based-competition, set-up time reduction, quality control, and vendor relations are discussed.

Norwalk-like virus and bacterial pathogens associated with cases of gastroenteritis onboard a US Navy ship.

Acute gastroenteritis is a potential cause of substantial morbidity in U.S. military personnel during deployment. This study investigated the microbial causes of diarrhea in U.S. troops on exercises in Southeast Asia aboard the U.S.S. Germantown from March through May 1996. A total of 49 (7%) patients with diarrhea reported to sick call during a 3-month deployment involving 721 personnel. Diarrheal samples from 49 patients were subjected to bacterial and parasitologic examination, but sufficient samples from only 47 of 49 were available for analysis of the presence of Norwalk-like virus (NLV). Of the 49 diarrhea cases, 10 (20.4%) appeared to be due to bacterial etiology alone, 10 (20.4%) due to bacteria and the prototype Taunton agent (TNA), 11 (22.4%) due to TNA only, and 4 (8.0%) due to parasites. Norwalk-like virus RNA was present in 21 (45%) of 47 stool samples from the diarrhea cases, 10 with bacterial etiologies and 11 without bacterial or parasitic etiologies. No pathogen was detected in 14 (29%) of the cases. Four of the controls showed the presence of parasitic organisms. Of the 11 cases in which enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli was isolated, 8 were positive for colonization factor antigen (CFA/IV), and 3 were CFA-negative. The bacterial pathogens tested were all susceptible to gentamicin, and furadantin, but were resistant to ceftriaxone and norfloxacin, including 75% of the Campylobacter spp. These data support the view that the major cause of diarrhea for troops deployed in this geographic area is most likely NLVs.

Shipboard systems deploy automated protection

The electric power systems in today's US Navy ships supply energy to sophisticated systems for weapons, communications, navigation and operation. To maintain the availability of energy to the connected loads that keep all systems and equipment operational, the electric systems utilize fuses, circuit breakers and protective relays to interrupt the smallest portion of the system under any abnormal condition. New techniques are being developed that make use of advanced monitoring and control, automated failure location and automated intelligent system reconfiguration and restoration. The goal is to increase survivability, eliminate human mistakes, make intelligent reconfiguration decisions more quickly, reduce the manpower required to perform the functions and provide optimal electric power service through the surviving system. With fewer personnel being available on ships in the future, the presence of such a system will become essential for maintaining optimal electric power service.

Towards A Rational Intact Stability Criteria For Naval Ships

ABSTRACT Defining rational criteria and methodology for assessing ship intact stability poses a difficult problem. The survival of a ship in extreme sea and wind conditions is a dynamic and nonlinear phenomena with many potential capsize scenarios. Naval ship criteria in use today do not attempt to represent actual capsize behavior in waves. Current criteria are based on the static righting arm curve, are largely empirical using WW II data, and do not explicitly consider many variables which can have a significant impact on dynamic intact stability. However, the current criteria are well accepted by the naval architecture community, and within the bounds of conventional hull forms, have proven to be a reliable, generally conservative, ordinal measure of intact stability. The US Navy and other navies continue to rely on these simple criteria until more sophisticated methods are developed and validated. This paper proposes an improved intact stability “weather” criteria which attempts to bridge the gap between the current empirical approach and future analytical methods. In order to maximize commonality with commercial specifications, the proposed criteria is modeled after the current IMO “weather” criteria, with refinements and modifications adapting it for naval ships. It considers the righting arm curve and other ship characteristics influencing roll motion. It also includes the effect of sea state and provides a more rational approach to wind effects including gusts. The proposed criteria is compared to model test results, US Navy criteria and IMO criteria as applied to four US Navy ships.

Water recovery from and volume reduction of gray water using an energy efficient evaporator

Tests were made under a contract with VEDA Inc. of Alexandria, Virginia, for the United States Navy, Environmental Protection Branch, Annapolis, Maryland. The objectives of the tests were to demonstrate the use of vapor compression distillation to greatly reduce the storage volume of wastewater on US Navy ships during extended missions, examine the quality of the produced distilled water for reuse, and determine energy requirements for the process. Three 55 gal drums of gray wastewater, shipped from Annapolis, were used in the tests at The Water Reuse Technology (WRT) test facility, Alamo, California. The tests were made in a 3 gal/h vapor compression distillation unit using the energy efficient wiped film rotating disk (WFRD) evaporator. Data were collected to determine recovery, evaporator performance, and distilled water and blowdown qualities. The tests were run at an average temperature of 122°F in the evaporator. The results show that recoveries as high as 98.6% are possible. Measured energy consumption by the compressor and rotor (for this small unit) varied from 75 to 90 Wh/gal. Samples of the wastewater, distilled water, and blowdown were collected for analysis. The results of the analysis of the distilled water samples indicate that total suspended solids, fecal coliform, and biological oxygen demand were below the detection limits of the instruments used in the analysis. The chemical oxygen demand varied from below 10 mg/L (detection limit) to 30 mg/L.

Risk of viral hepatitis among military personnel assigned to US Navy ships.

A prevalence study of 2072 male US shipboard military personnel scheduled for deployment to South America/West Africa and the Mediterranean was conducted to determine whether serologic evidence of prior hepatitis A, B, or C infection is associated with exposure in foreign countries. There were 210 subjects (10.1%) who had antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV), 76 (3.7%) to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), and 9 (0.4%) to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV). By multivariate analysis, anti-HAV seropositivity was independently associated with age, non-white racial/ethnic groups, birth outside of the United States, and prior Caribbean deployment for less than 1 year. Anti-HBc seropositivity was independently associated with black and Filipino race/ethnicity, foreign birth, a history of a sexually transmitted disease, South Pacific/Indian Ocean deployment (less than 12 months), and South Pacific or Mediterranean duty for (greater than 1 year). No geographic risk factors were associated with anti-HCV positivity. These data indicate that military personnel deployed outside the United States are at increased risk of viral hepatitis infection and should be considered for vaccination.

Statistical estimation of navigation errors

An algorithm for estimating navigation system accuracy without the use of so-called ground truth data is presented. The estimates are expressed in terms of system covariance matrices and relative bias vectors; if one of the systems is a dead-reckoning (DR) or inertial system, the algorithm also estimates drift rate parameters. A summary of tests with US Navy ships backs up the results of Monte Carlo testing. The algorithm should also have applications outside the field of navigation. >

An influenza outbreak due to A/USSR/77-like (H1N1) virus aboard a US Navy ship.

An explosive outbreak of influenza caused by an A/USSR/77-like (H1N1) virus occurred aboard a US Navy ship in December 1977 and January 1978. Two hundred volunteers aboard the ship were studied. Virus was isolated from 36 of 57 patients from whom isolation was attempted. Among virologically confirmed patients, headache (97%), chills (92%), malaise (86%), and cough (75%) were the most frequent symptoms. There were two virologically confirmed cases with complications: one with collapsed lung and the other with pneumonitis. The study subjects were 25 years of age or less, but there was little influenza-like disease in members of the crew greater than 25 years of age. Prior vaccination with bivalent vaccine, containing A/NJ/76 (Hsw1N1) virus, did not offer significant protection against disease caused by A/USSR/77-like virus. Serologic tests, either or both complement fixation and hemagglutination inhibition, were positive in only 14 of 22 virologically confirmed cases, indicating a poor serologic response to primary infection with this strain of virus. These findings prevented calculation of meaningful disease to infection ratios. However, inapparent infection occurred in 3 of 19 (16%) individuals who denied having illness during the outbreak yet had serologic evidence of recent influenza infection.

Influenza A Virus Aboard a US Navy Ship in 1972 and the Antibody Response of the Crew to Influenza Vaccine

Abstract : Following a shipboard influenza outbreak in 1972 in which influenza A viruses antigenically closely related to the A/England/42/72 and A/Queensland/5/72 were isolated, the crew was vaccinated with a vaccine containing 700 CCA units of A/Aichi/68/X-31 virus, to assess its antigenic efficacy in stimulating antibodies against several strains of the virus prevalent from 1957-1972. It was postulated from this study that vaccines containing influenza A strains of the 1968 vintage will not prove to have been very effective against the 1972 influenza A strains, and that it is highly likely that such a vaccine will be less effective against strains which will appear during the 1973-1974 influenza season.

Tuberculin Conversion

The tuberculin response in a crew of nearly 1,000 men on board a US Navy ship was investigated for a one-year period. The incidence of tuberculin conversion was found to be high even though no active tuberculosis was detected. Most of the men manifesting conversion had tuberculin reactions which were weak and highly variable. The reactions were similar to those attributed to atypical mycobacteria in several recently reported studies. Crossreactions from nontuberculous organisms must be considered when evaluating tuberculin test results obtained in the investigation of tuberculosis.