{"id":444,"date":"2015-10-11T19:19:26","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T23:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/?p=444"},"modified":"2019-09-18T13:15:20","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T17:15:20","slug":"uss-patriot-mcm-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/2015\/10\/11\/uss-patriot-mcm-7\/","title":{"rendered":"USS Patriot Mine Countermeasures (MCM-7)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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USS Patriot, MCM-7 (from wikimedia.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Built by the Marinette Marine Corporation and christened on May 15, 1990, the USS Patriot (MCM-7) is an Avenger class mine countermeasures ship that was commissioned by the Navy on December 13, 1991 to augment its mine detection capabilities.<\/p>\n

Concept<\/h3>\n

Whether it be tactics or technological advancements, naval warfare is ever changing.\u00a0 One such change was the creation of the submerged mine.\u00a0 The mine is an economically efficient weapon that serves both as a physical and psychological weapon.\u00a0 Naval vessels themselves are damaged or sunk by mines, but those sailors that hear of such mine damage are psychologically affected as well, to the point of fearing to move for the risk of being damaged if not sunk by a mine.\u00a0 The fact that mines are usually not seen is another factor contributing to fear.\u00a0 For these reasons the navy decided to upgrade its mine countermeasures capabilities by replacing the 1950s era technology\u00a0that it had been using when the Avenger class ships were commissioned.<\/p>\n

The USS Patriot is a 224 foot long vessel that is rated for a speed of 14 knots\u00a0(approximately 16 miles per hour).\u00a0 The reason that this ship goes at such a low speed is that there is not really a need for a fast vessel that searches for mines.\u00a0 Usually the slower and more cautiously one moves, the less likely that a ship is to trigger a mine.\u00a0 This also explains why the ship has a depth of only 16ft amidships\u00a0from the main deck.\u00a0 Shallower ships are able to go in shallow water, and a smaller submerged portion means if the ship somehow fails to detect\u00a0a mine, it will be less likely to trigger it.\u00a0 In addition, the ship utilizes a laminated wooden structure so as to avoid triggering magnetic mines that would be triggered by a metal hull.\u00a0 The USS Patriot also has a composite glass fiber exterior sheathing so as to minimize structural damage should the ship trigger a mine.\u00a0 When the USS Patriot has 76 enlisted and 8 officers aboard it is said to be operating at maximum efficiency.<\/p>\n

People might ask why an entire class of ship is necessary to combat a single type of weapon, namely a mine.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is that for years, the American Military has held the belief that we should develop newer and better technologies to deal with situations as they arise.\u00a0 This is done in opposition of the idea of strength in numbers.\u00a0 To clarify, strength in numbers to a degree such that the numbers are able to overwhelm the opponent, while at the same time disregarding the cost of \u201cthrowing\u201d those numbers at an opponent.<\/p>\n

One example of this, of America\u2019s high regard for the cost of human life, is exemplified by the end of WWII.\u00a0 Towards the end of the war, while America was island hopping in the Pacific, there were certain islands in which the number of American lives lost was appalling.\u00a0 In particular, the conflict at\u00a0Iwo Jima resulted in thousands upon thousands of American casualties.\u00a0 These losses primed President Truman to look toward technology for an alternative to losing so many American lives again, should the U.S. launch an invasion of Japan.\u00a0 The opportunity arose in the development of the atomic bombs, which Truman decided to use upon the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki.\u00a0 And this idea of paying the cost of technology rather than the cost of human lives continues today.\u00a0 This is seen in continued research and development by the armed forces and their contractors, such as in the continued development of drone technology: America is trying to distance people from conflict and is using technology to do it.<\/p>\n

This was the intent in development of the USS Patriot: to create a form a technology that we could utilize to further safeguard American and others\u2019 lives.\u00a0 And this newer and improved technology could not come soon enough. \u00a0Playing a large part in the creation of the Avenger-class ships was the Yom Kippur war which caused the United States oil crises of 1973 in which the price per barrel of oil tripled, halting economic growth. \u00a0Thus oil was an even more coveted resource, and therefore the tankers that transported this oil needed to be protected. \u00a0Additionally events occurring around the time of the USS Patriot\u2019s christening only exemplified the need for this technology.\u00a0 During the Iran-Iraq war and during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, United States\u2019 ships and assets, as well as foreign ships that were critical for the well-being of America (again, the importance of oil tankers) were being damaged, if not sunk by mines.\u00a0 Even warships such as the USS Samuel B. Roberts, a frigate, was damaged after having conducted an escort mission for a Kuwaiti tanker.<\/p>\n

Imagine though if it had been the tanker than had been damaged, if not sunk, by this mine.\u00a0 There would have been an oil loss, but the world would have gone on.\u00a0 Imagine though that the United States continued on and didn\u2019t develop mine countermeasures ships.\u00a0 First it is one tanker.\u00a0 Then another.\u00a0 And then another tanker yet.\u00a0 The Strait of Hormuz sees the transport of approximately twenty percent of the world\u2019s oil.\u00a0 If tankers were damaged enough by mines that they couldn\u2019t transport oil, the price would go up, possibly causing the United States to limit its naval activity due to rising costs.\u00a0 If we aren\u2019t as active as a Navy, then more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz as they are repaired could be susceptible to attack, or tankers elsewhere could likewise be vulnerable in a continuing domino effect that continuously weakens the United States and continuously makes it more vulnerable to enemies.\u00a0 Clearly by spending money now on the Avenger-class ships, not only does the United States save money in the long run, but the United States remains as a strong power and advocate for the value of human life.<\/p>\n

Reality<\/h3>\n

When it was commissioned by the Navy on December 13, 1991, the USS Patriot became a great asset to the United States.\u00a0 Contracted through Marinette Marine, the USS Patriot cost the Navy approximately $51.8 million (Maritime Reporter).\u00a0 In addition to the value gained by having this ship, by contracting this ship and the others of the same class through Marinette Marine, the Navy stimulated the local economy, enough so that in addition to the jobs gained by winning this contract, Marinette Marine built a ship-erection facility to accommodate for the building of these ships.\u00a0 \u00a0With this new facility, Marinette is poised to continue building other ships for the Navy, improving the ability of the United States\u2019 industry to produce ships in time of need.\u00a0 And with this increased ability, the United States can put forward the assets it needs so that it, its citizens, and also its allies are protected at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

Upon being commissioned, the USS Patriot was based in\u00a0Charleston, South Carolina at Charleston naval base.\u00a0 However in August of 1993, all mine countermeasures ships were consolidated together at Ingleside, Texas to create a “Mine Warfare Center of Excellence.” The\u00a0Patriot was based here until 1994.\u00a0 In 1994, the Patriot and another Avenger-class marine countermeasures ship, USS Guardian, were conducting fleet operations in the Pacific when they were ordered to continue west to Sasebo, Japan.\u00a0 \u00a0It was thought that these ships would be based here temporarily, so they had a rotating crew.\u00a0 But in February of 1996, Sasebo, Japan, became the permanent home port of USS Patriot and USS Guardian.\u00a0 And in this becoming their new home port, each ship changed from a rotating crew to a permanent crew. \u00a0Sasebo remains USS Patriot\u2019s homeport to this day.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the USS Patriot, as well as USS Guardian, has divided its time between several activities.\u00a0 These include time in port for crew rest, time in dry dock for repairs, time actively spent performing mine countermeasures operations, as well as time in fleet and joint fleet training operations.\u00a0 To conduct these operations, the USS Patriot utilizes various detection systems to locate and safely detonate mines.\u00a0 Included are a magnetic\/acoustic sweep system as well as a mechanical one, various mine hunting sonar systems, and mine neutralization equipment. One of the fleets that the USS Patriot trains with, as well as supports, is the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.\u00a0 As recently as this year, debate was going on about whether the Japanese Self-Defense Forces would go mine sweeping in the Strait of Hormuz (Pollmann, Mina). \u00a0 So here, too,\u00a0Japan is looking to the future: Japan is trying to prevent situations in which damage to tankers would raise the cost of oil and thereby limit its ability to provide for the defense of its citizens.<\/p>\n

It is not just a matter of having the technology and throwing it where it needs to go.\u00a0 This is exemplified when back in 2005 the USS Patriot ran aground and damaged its hull as well as its underwater sonar in what was a preventable incident (United States\u00a0Navy).\u00a0 So preventable in fact that Lieutenant Commander Mike Little, who had commanded the USS Patriot when it ran aground, was relieved of duty due to a “loss of confidence in his ability to command.”\u00a0 Due to the damage to the ship, it had to enter dry dock for repairs, but was able to return to active duty after repairs were performed over the course of several weeks.\u00a0 This just shows that even with technology that helps people, people have to be intelligent enough to operate that technology.<\/p>\n

It is perhaps this reason that the USS Patriot conducts as many training exercises, both with the United States fleet, as well as others such as Japan\u2019s fleet, as it does.\u00a0 One such exercise, conducted in 2012 and named Foal Eagle, was designed to be defense oriented and to increase preparedness for the defense of the Republic of Korea (Dow,\u00a0Devon).\u00a0 And despite earlier mishaps such as in 2005 when the USS Patriot ran aground, it has since acquired several years of consecutive awards for battle effectiveness as a member of the United States\u2019 forward deployed forces.\u00a0 It is this increased training that enables the USS Patriot, as well as other ships, crews, and anyone involved with the exercises to be at the top of their game so that they are prepared to defend the United States, her assets both at home and abroad, as well as those of her allies.<\/p>\n

official Patch of the USS Patriot MCM 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a member of these forward deployed forces, the USS Patriot has adopted for its crew the patch as shown to the right.\u00a0 This patch bears the Latin phrase \u201caudentes fortuna juvat\u201d. (fortune favors the bold).\u00a0 If we look at bold, we know it to mean the ability to take risks; confident and courageous.\u00a0 Mike Little, the Lieutenant Commander who ran the USS Patriot aground in 2005 was not being bold when he moved to shallow water.\u00a0 However, every time the USS Patriot is actively searching for submerged mines, she and her crew are being bold.\u00a0 They have technology that is greatly increasing their ability to locate and neutralize mines so that they, their country, and the assets of their country can perform their operations without fear of dying from some sort of unseen threat.\u00a0 It is assets such as the USS Patriot that help prevent recurrences of the\u00a0USS Samuel B. Roberts being damaged, if not sunk, by a submerged mine\u00a0when technology can be used instead and keep United States sailors and civilians\u00a0relatively safer (Thompson, Mark).\u00a0 It is for this reason that it is good that the United States Military continues to invest in new technologies in all branches.\u00a0 By doing this, the United States is keeping its Military safer.\u00a0 And by keeping these citizens safer, the United States is in turn taking steps to make the rest of the United States, both in terms of its physical land and of its inhabitants, safer as well.<\/p>\n\n

Primary Sources:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Maritime Reporter. (1986) “Marinette Marine…<\/a>,” Maritime Reporter. 14 October.<\/li>\n
  2. Thompson, Mark. (1988) “U.S. Warship Reportedly Hits…<\/a>,”\u00a0Inquirer Washington Bureau.<\/li>\n
  3. Dow,\u00a0Devon. (2012) “USS Patriot participates in Exercise Foal Eagle<\/a>,” Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet.<\/li>\n
  4. United States\u00a0Navy\u00a0(2015) “USS Patriot MCM 7<\/a>,” United States Navy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Secondary Sources:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Federation of American Scientists. \u201cThe Future of Mine Countermeasures<\/a>,\u201d Federation of American Scientists. February 2015.<\/li>\n
    2. Pollmann, Mina (2015). \u201cCould Japan Go Minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz?<\/a>\u201d Tokyo Report. <\/em>Tokyo.<\/li>\n
    3. Truver, Scoot C. (2011). \u201cTaking Mines Seriously<\/a>,\u201d Naval War College Review <\/em> 65, No. 2. pp. 30-41.<\/li>\n
    4. Long, Allen. (1953) \u201cNavy Foils Magnetic Mine<\/a>,\u201d The Science News-Letter<\/em>. Vol. 64, No. 8. pp.\u00a0123-124.<\/li>\n
    5. Knoles, George H. (1960). A review of \u201cMost Dangerous Sea: A History of Mine Warfare, and an Account of U. S. Navy Mine Warefare Operations in World War II and Korea<\/a>,\u201d by Arnold S. Lott. Pacific Historical Review<\/em>. Vol. 29. No. 3. pp. 318.<\/li>\n
    6. \u00a0Naval Sea Systems Command. (2014) “Mine Countermeasures Ships – MCM<\/a>“.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For further reading:<\/h3>\n