This morning dawned a little raw-boned for Baja Georgia. Temperature in the low 40's with a stiff Nor-Easter kicking the wind chill down about ten degrees. But the day dawned bright and clear and it seemed like a good morning to take a drive out to the beach. It's always beautiful at Ft. George Inlet with the waves white-capping and the water the clear blue of the deep Atlantic driven to shore by the wind.
I was cruising, thanking God for the beauty when I crossed the Intra-coastal and saw this. A chill ran through me.
At first I didn't know what I was seeing, but quickly recognized it as one of the Navy's new stealth, rapid-response pod-rods. It's big, and mean, and menacing.
Although it was back-lighted by the sun, it's still very difficult to see. It confuses the eye. Right out of Star Wars.
War is ugly.
Fortunately, the glory of the day and the Grateful Dead quickly had my head back where it belonged and I was soon in a more peaceful and beautiful place.
I'll take trees and whitecaps over heavy armament any day. Good photo op, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Doug. War sucks.
ReplyDeleteLiving in So. Central Pennsylvania for much of my life, I was in the vicinity of a number of military depots, and Ft. Indiantown Gap. Even though convoys and jets doing training flights were common sights, it was always jarring to see them in the midst of the otherwise scenic surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI'm already against the next war.
ReplyDeleteThat ain't your father's Oldsmobile. As a sailor in the navy it's still bigger than the ship I was on but to be honest I can appreciate some of it's specs especially the 60 knot (90 Mph) capability and 11,000 mile range. Other than that it still is basically a support not an attack vessel and it's self defense capabilities are minimal if you compare it to a modern cruiser.
ReplyDeleteNo great love for war but I can appreciate the design and see beauty in its stark deck and profile.
It's mission is rapid deployment and interdiction. Depending on it's mission, different pods are available to be dropped into the deck. A troops pod, anti-submarine pod, etc. Like you WM, I do appreciate the technology, but it leaves me cold in-so-far as beauty.
ReplyDeleteNice contrast with the final landscape.
ReplyDelete