set condition one mike: The USS Implicit MSO 455

Sunday, July 18, 2010

The USS Implicit MSO 455

This photo shows the USS Pledge MSO 492 outboard of the USS Implicit MSO 455 tied up with the Pluck and another sweep, not in the picture. I took this photo sometime in 1983-84, I believe near the Admiral Kidd club at Shelter island, San Diego Ca.

If you fancy looking at LARGE clear photographs of minesweepers, Chuck Lees has what I believe is the BEST personal MSO website in the web. He sure took a ton of photos during his service, something I regret not doing. Click on the patch below for a visit to his site.

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Condition One Mike

"Condition One Mike" (Cond1 M) is a special type of General quarters aboard Ocean Going Minesweepers. The ship is at full alert and all battle stations are manned. The crew is deployed about the weather decks, the only persons left inside the skin of the ship being the helmsman and lee helmsmen. Bed mattresses are placed on the overhead of the pilot house for the benefit of those two crewmen in the event of a mine detonation too close to the ship. The deck crew is stationed on the fantail and tasked with deploying and recovering the sweep gear. This is hazardous duty, a mixture of some of the same hazards found on flight decks, with wires under high tension and sailors working in very close proximity to such wires, explosive cutter cartridges which have to be armed one at a time as they are set out and disarmed before being brought back on board , often by a Boatswain's mate or Gunner's mate hanging over the very ass end by a safety harness. They are armed and disarmed with a small cotter pin similar to a hand grenade. The whole scene is very similar to the modern TV show "Deadliest catch", but the crab pods are mine sweeping devices, and the "catch" are big round and cylindrical BOMBS capable of sinking an aircraft carrier.