Good Idea Fairy in action
Electric cars… I’m not going to start a discussion on ’em – think we have beaten them to death by now. But an incident this week makes me wonder whether the Navy should start using them. As weapons.
A cargo ship that had been delivering new vehicles to Mexico sank in the North Pacific Ocean, weeks after crew members abandoned ship when they couldn’t extinguish an onboard fire that left the carrier dead in the water.
Fire damage compounded by bad weather and water seepage caused the carrier to sink in waters about 16,404 feet (5,000 meters) deep and about 415 miles (770 kilometers) from land, the statement said.
The ship was loaded with about 3,000 new vehicles intended for a major Pacific port in Mexico. It was not immediately clear if any of the cars were removed before it sank, and Zodiac Maritime did not immediately respond to messages Tuesday.
Deeper than the Titanic sank by almost a mile. Pretty sure those cars can be written off, right? (Or may show up immediately off-post at Honest Al’s Rides.)
The Coast Guard said it received a distress alert June 3 about a fire aboard the Morning Midas, which then was roughly 300 miles (490 kilometers) southwest of Adak Island.
There were 22 crew members onboard the Morning Midas. All evacuated to a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby merchant marine vessel. There were no injuries.
Among the cars were about 70 fully electric and about 680 hybrid vehicles. A large plume of smoke was initially seen at the ship’s stern coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles, the Coast Guard and Zodiac Maritime said at the time.AP
So a fire in the few electric cars aboard SANK THE WHOLE 3000-CAR CARRYING SHIP. Right.
Moving over to a popular target – mess halls. We know the Army seems to be having a problem feeding troops adequately… 220 years of military messes, chow halls, galleys, which pretty much fed our kids and fed them at least decently – and we decided to do away with the tried and true system and substitute shoppettes, vending machines, and contractor-run facilities which sometimes didn’t even stay open. In the midst of these issues, what do we do? Why, double down of course!
The Army is preparing to overhaul its food service system in a move that could strip away government-run dining facilities and hand operations to private, for-profit companies.
So-called “campus-style dining” has been pitched to lawmakers as a way to incentivize private vendors to create Army dining spaces where soldiers want to eat, with longer hours, a better atmosphere, and additional menu variety.
So this does what, expands the lima beans on toast menu? Guess I’m a dinosaur, remembering when a tough mess sergeant made the mess hall work and fed everyone who walked in. Not sure what it was sometimes, but in general anecdotally we had better choices and food then than a lot of the chow halls seem to offer now. So if contractor-run mess halls aren’t working…why expand their system?
But documents reviewed by Military.com show a system light on guardrails, nutrition standards and financial transparency — and heavy on opportunities for contractors to upsell alcohol and high-priced extras to a population that has little choice to opt out.
“[We] will leverage industry expertise and incentivize a contractor to operate a facility where soldiers want to dine, with better ambience, additional healthy food options, extended operating hours, and more,” Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, the acting head of Army Material Command, told lawmakers during an April hearing on the Defense Department’s food operations.
Okay, sounds like heaven – get all that civilian expertise, yep?
The pilot program, currently open for bids, covers dining operations at five of the Army’s largest installations: Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Drum, New York; and Fort Cavazos, Texas.
So far, the Army still hasn’t found a contractor to take up the deal. The deadline for contractors to make a pitch is Tuesday.
There are few restrictions on what vendors can sell, and they are exempt from following Army nutritional standards altogether, though the service itself also frequently skirts its own nutrition rules. The Army has also waived compliance with the Berry Amendment, which requires the military to prioritize U.S.-made products or purchase through the Defense Logistics Agency, which governs oversight and logistics of food products for the Pentagon. There are few restrictions on what vendors can sell, and they are exempt from following Army nutritional standards altogether, though the service itself also frequently skirts its own nutrition rules. The Army has also waived compliance with the Berry Amendment, which requires the military to prioritize U.S.-made products or purchase through the Defense Logistics Agency, which governs oversight and logistics of food products for the Pentagon. Military.com
Sounds like GREAT opportunity to make a profit at our kids’ expense…
Category: Army, EVs, Exploitation
Just another example it the military I was in.
The threat of lithium batteries has been well known and documented since the 80s. I can remember the pre-TRANSCOM days of MAC (Military Airlift Command/Maybe Airplane Come) when practicing/exercising for packing for airlift.
Failing JI (Joint Inspection) for not properly packing and documenting the presence of lithium batteries would bite a unit in the ass.
Lithium batteries can catch fire when exposed to water. EV batteries are supposed to be sealed but….. China.
We don’t have to worry about the chinese nuking us, they will destroy us with their batteries. Turns out that the Fire blankets that a number of Fire Depts use are making the situation worse when they are put over EV cars in that they keep all the products of combustion inside and could ignite and explode. That’s what I read in either Fire Engineering
magazine or online close calls, shit, can’t remember. NYC has a very large problem with the batteries and a few deaths from the batteries being charged indoors and blocking tenants means of egress. I had around 40+ plus incidents on my IPN texts and deleted them by mistake to see how many battery fires were per week/month. 3rd party batteries cause the most incidents. FDNY Hazmat were removing 3rd party batteries from a bike shop over on Queens Blvd. in Queens NYC into their truck when one of the batteries starts to cook off on the sidewalk as they were wheeling them out.
Hell, in 1982~3 the NTC rotational units used to throw away the lithium batteries into the dumpsters. Only around 1984 or so we found out they would combust when wet.
No one can make Army Chow at the price the Army sells it for.
Fires are dangerous. The fire that destroyed the parking garage at JAX airport earlier this year was an ICE BMW. The damages are estimated to be $38M which doesn’t include the dozens of vehicles lost.
However it does seem that EVs are prone to fires at sea for unknown reasons. At some point insurance carriers will charge prohibitive rates to ship them and that will force change. So long as there are no economic incentives to change things it will remain the same.
I’m not involved in this industry at all, but, maybe, what if-
They start shipping them without the batteries?
Ship the batteries separately, and install them upon arrival.
A good idea really, but will the price include installation of said batteries?
And let’s not even talk about the equipment/time needed to load/unload a non running vehicle at a place to make it running.
I imagine any warrenty work done would be a nightmare to get done. Original manufacturer or 3rd party problems. The list is almost endless for the consumer to get screwed.
“ And let’s not even talk about the equipment/time needed to load/unload a non running vehicle at a place to make it running.”
That’s really a great point! I didn’t think about that.
It’s awesome how 2 way communication works!
Wow after the huge success of contractor privatization of on base housing, how can anyone doubt this is going to work out fantastically?
<note the preceding was and is sarcasm, for the sarcasm impaired>
Contracted food services. Kissing my DD214 again!!
“Morning Midas”
I had no idea the ocean was that deep but it seems like a good
place for EV’s.
And EV’s don’t have exhaust systems so I’m thinking
Midas Muffler is somehow involved in this mishap.
The deep and angry ocean crushed those EVs into tiny little burning cubes.
I carried EV cargo in bulk before and slept much less soundly at night knowing that. Regular rounds were made by the Able Seamen on watch — but a lot can go wrong in the time between these rounds.
They’re really awful.
The Midas Muffler stock are kept in the Davy Jones lockers
On the absence of Wretched I will throw trivia in… the Mariana Trench in the Pacific is close to seven miles deep.
The fish will appreciate the warm spot for a few days – maybe weeks. Until the poisons being released kill them.
My question is, if we privatize Army chow halls, will we do away with Army cooks? And if we do, who feeds the troops in the field? Who feeds the troops on deployment until Brown and Root show up? Privatizing some chow halls makes sense, like a schoolhouse situation that has no organic food service support. Deployable units need deployable food.
On the LPH 3 chowline, the Master at arms says move it up asshole to belly button. Do they say the same thing now that females are onboard????????
When I went through Air Force Basic (Jan 86 – Feb 86) it was toes to heels.
Our TI would remind us, we should be close enough to whisper sweet nothings in the ear of the person in front of us.
Mike
USAF Retired
Breakfast on Sundays were eggs to order so I say to the mess cook, any way you want to give the eggs to me, so he has 2 eggs in his hands and breaks them over my tray and the mess line couldn’t stop laughing.
Did the cooks ask the next time … want them made the same way as last time?
Nuts to butts.
Like that one
So many great phrases killed by political correctness.
My first PSG loved to criticize fucktard privates by simply shaking his head and saying, “wrong as two boys fucking….”
As a particularly belligerent young joe, I heard that expression more than most.
By the time I had a few rockers of my own, it was almost like muscle memory – some joes playing grab-ass and I’d parrot, “wrong as two boys fucking…” in the same tired tone.
Then Barry made grab-ass legal but my conditioning didn’t get the memo. That’s not the best way to meet the new CG.
In navy boot camp in 1975 was “nut to butt”
Sourcing ingredients, preparing food, keeping the troops fed… if a soldier’s not at war, he should be preparing for war. Is there a better training opportunity for military cooks than the chow hall?
Sure, sometimes (like when their supported element goes to the field), they’d have to adjust from the brick-and-mortar to the MKT or even more austere options, but that’s exactly their job.
The same with on-base construction. Cancel all contracts and task the requisite engineer units to… well, engineer.
Plus… Civilian has epiphany veteran could’ve told him years ago:
Yeah…no…I doubt if any of the vehicles were saved and even if they were/will be, I doubt if that will “…buff right out…” Ain’t crush depth somewhere around 900 feet? Or is that just for subs?
Again…put Kongress Klown Kritters on the same diet/per diem as the troops and the problem will be magically fixed. I know that things have changed drastically in the last number of years, but every Mess Sergeant I ever ran into (and that was a whole lot of them) took pride in their facilities and made damn sure that everybody had plenty to eat, no matter the time of day or night….and cuss the whole time he was doing it.
Since the most of the cars are not airtight the water will seep in and equalize pressure. The exceptions are the sealed parts such as batteries and headlights which will implode.
Private run dining should work. Companies like Yum! Brands owns 60,000 plus restaurants, but 98% are franchisees. I think the centralized corporate culture of these contactors does not allow any flexibility. I mean all these bases mentioned have fast food places, right. 32nd St in San Diego, and Norfolk NB have a plethora of fast food choices that I’m sure run well enough. Poor dining choices are a morale KILLER. In the field you’d expect MRE’s, but back on post there should be NO ISSUES at the dining hall.
Another example of how wonderful EVs can be was right after flooding from a hurricane in Florida when a local Fire Chief warned everyone to NOT leave any EV that had been submerged anywhere near buildings or combustible material, period.
Aside from catching fire from an electrical fault in the battery system, my primary concern about them is the cost of replacing the battery if it fails. One car, a BMW all electric, has a battery pack that costs more to replace than the purchase price of the car when new.
I do recall a fellow in Arizona who purchased a brand new Fisker electric. He parked it in his garage alongside his $350K Ferrari. The Fisker caught fire and burned up along with his Ferrari and half his house. He sued Fisker for its defective product, but I don’t know if he ever recovered his losses.
Good news from Morning Midas.
The fire is out.
Ok, I too am a dinosaur!!! Old school all the way,, but just a couple of thoughts:
Soldiers, don’t give a Rats Ass about the ambiance! Paint it all white! Just feed them.
While I’m picky, spaghetti is really hard to F up and feeds a lot of people .
This isn’t that hard!!
I kinda thought that an EV would be ok, economical and save some $ for use around the house (groceries, dr appointments, etc), till “they” started trying to tell me that I HAD to have one.
The other thing is that we have a farm. I haven’t seen an EV that will work in a hay field, hauling 12-15 5×6 rolls of hay, or 100 square bales, or a trailer with 4 horses, or a trailer with 6-8 cows.
They are going to have to work harder on getting me to buy in now!!!
My neighbors, young couple, are all in on the electric stuff. Mower, weed eater, both cars, yada yada. Young mom was pregnant and traded EV for ICE car, over fears of fire. His EV sits outside now, and he charges at work. His car not allowed in garage, and she is leary about it parked in driveway since their driveway isn’t very long and it sits close to the house. He told me an ICE vehicle is in his future as well. I think he really wants back in the garage so that he doesn’t get outside on him.
Sounds like they deserve one- another!
Honestly not many vehicles out there that are going to haul a trailer with eight cows.
I’m a MOPAR Guy
No problems with my gas or diesel burners!!!
Hauled 7 cows to the sale barn last week, in one trailer. They were 900- 1000 lbs each.
The goat pulled hills like we were on flat ground.
BTW- it was a 3500, with a Cummins!
So, there’s that.
The entire debacle with the Military mess halls being turned over was top reduce the manpower used to work as unskilled labor in the mess halls. At any given time ( at least in the USMC) there was a quota for every unit to provide about 1 messman for every 50 Marines in the unit.
Whatever we were doing for DFAC at Fort Stewart in the mid eighties, go back to it.
Decent chow. Decent variety. Decent wait. Decent quality. And each DFAC had a different menu schedule. Thus, one could walk and get something else if the closest offering was unappealing.
Seemed to work. Lots griped, not like Mom’s, but in reality it was better than the shovel-a-tray chains, other than seconds on the main dish. -Much- better than the cafeteria at college, and we paid boocoo bucks for -that- slop.
The problem is the chain of command tolerates shit. Thus shit happens.