April 2017 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 21. U. S. N N Continued from Page 9


ways,” said Erickson. “This is part of a much larger Chinese counter-intervention eff ort that is advancing signifi cantly regardless of precise ASBM capabilities or limitations. While China’s missiles pose potential chal- lenges to U.S. forces, ensuring that they can be targeted eff ectively is expensive and creates growing space-based electromag- netic spectrum vulnerabilities that can be exploited.” The hearing was co-chaired by Carolyn


Bartholomew and Sen. James Talent of Mis- souri.


Erickson went on to say select regions are particularly active for the Chinese mili- tary right now. “In what it (China) considers the near


seas (the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and the South China Sea), Beijing enjoys pow- erful synergies and advantages vis-a-vis the disputed sovereignty claims it pursues there,” Erickson testified, “increasingly in defi ance of regional stability and inter- national laws and norms, and supported by precision-targeted systems designed to challenge American sea control and make American intervention risky.” The panel was titled “China’s Hyper-


sonic and Maneuverable Re-Entry Vehicle Programs” and also included James Acton, co-director of Nuclear Policy Program and senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Mark Stokes, ex- ecutive director, Project 2049 Institute. In closing, Erickson gave USCC some


direction on where U.S. policy might go next.


“U.S. policy makers should enhance


eff orts at developing tailored countermea- sures, particularly concerning electronic warfare,” Erickson said. “[The U.S. should also] attempt to ensure that China doesn’t develop Scarborough Shoal into a key targeting node in the South China Sea, and increase U.S. Navy ship numbers to avoid presenting China with an over-concentrated target set.” Video of the event is available at http://


www.uscc.gov/Hearings/hearing-chi- na%E2%80%99s-advanced-weapons-vid- eo.


The USCC was created by the United


States Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor, investigate, and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and to provide recom- mendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative action.


103-Year-Old Seabee Refl ects on Seabee Service


By Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Public Aff airs


DURHAM, N.C. (NNS) -- As Seabees worldwide celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the fi ghting Seabees, March 5, the oldest living Seabee in North Carolina, at 103 years of age, recounted service to his country during World War II. While Seabees worldwide will com-


memorate the 75th anniversary this year which established a force of more than 325,000 builders who could fi ght during World War II, Jerry Smith was one of the Sailors who entered the U.S. Navy at the age of 29, March 15, 1942. At the time of his enlistment he didn’t


know about a new rating called the Seabees; he simply signed up to serve his country like so many men his age would. Based on his experience helping to run a hardware store


for the past decade, he was selected for this new community. “I was assigned to the 1st Naval Con-


struction Battalion,” recalled Smith. “After serving in the unit for six months overseas we found out that we were Seabees.” Smith was also chosen to serve in the


Seabees based on his familiarity with con- struction equipment and ability to build. Smith jokingly added when he joined


the Navy it was at the behest of his employ- er, Liston L. Mallard, who owned the local hardware store. Mallard had served in World War I and wanted to again do his part for his country. “I’m joining the Navy; would you like to come too?” Smith recalled what Mallard had asked him 75 years ago. Smith ultimately ended up serving


with Mallard while deployed overseas on Efete Island in the southwestern Pacifi c. The island, just fi ve miles long from the east to west and 18 miles wide, served as a signifi cant defensive advantage for the U.S. and its Allied forces. After the war ended Smith returned to


his same hometown, to his same job, and worked again with his same employer. Men like Smith and Mallard signed up simply because it was needed at the time. Smith served as a storekeeper during


his enlistment -- one of 17 on island -- and when he joined the Navy there was no delay in shipping qualifi ed builders worldwide to help turn the tide in the U.S. and Allied favor. “We were taken out of our civilian lives,


placed in a 1,000-man unit and shipped overseas,” said Smith, who recalled arriving on Efete Island, the dominant island in the New Hebrides archipelago. Elements of the 1st Naval Construction


Battalion starting arriving on island, May 1942, and were quickly put to work. The U.S. Navy was responsible for con-


structing the base on the island, the port, a 600-bed hospital, but also construct the cru- cial 6,000-foot runway and airfi eld, which was needed for the Guadalcanal campaign, August 1942 through February 1943. While forces were actively building up


Efete Island, Japanese forces were fervently establishing bases on Guadalcanal which threatened access to sea routes between the U.S. and Australia. The construction of the airfi eld at that time was crucial because the U.S. needed to get planes in the air to pre- vent Japanese forces from attacking Allied supply lines across the Pacifi c. “First thing we built was a bomber strip


so we can start bombing Guadalcanal,” re- called Smith. With seven bulldozers, 10 trucks, and


one crane, Seabees stationed on Efete Island used the older equipment and got to work fortifying and building up the base to create the fi rst stronghold in the Pacifi c to fi ght against the Japanese. Smith played a pivotal role on island,


overseeing timber to be used in all of the base construction. “I was the only one on the island except


the man I worked for who could count lum- ber,” recalled Smith. “I was automatically in charge of lumber -- more than 600,000 feet of the prettiest west coast fi r you ever saw.” During his nearly two-year deploy-


ment, he spent time building docks, bridges, and roads in addition to his storekeeping duties.


The Guadalcanal campaign was seen as


a signifi cant strategic combined Allied vic- tory in the Pacifi c theater because it marked the fi rst major off ensive by Allied forces against Japan. Coupled with the victory of the Battle


of Midway, June 1942, both historical events helped to turn the tide in the Pacifi c against


Petty Offi cer 2nd Class Jerry Miller Smith, standing, a World War II veteran and one of the original members of the fi rst construction battalion of the Navy, celebrated his 100th birthday Aug. 27, 2013, at the North Carolina Executive Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh, N.C. Smith is one of the pioneers of the famed “Seabees” that became part of the militarized Naval Con- struction Force responsible for building advance bases, hospitals, highways, and airports in combat zones throughout the South Pacifi c Islands in the 1940s. Here he is shaking hand of a World War II Marine veteran, T.C. Lawson, who recovered in one of the medical facilities Smith helped build. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Sgt. Leticia Samuels, North Carolina National Guard Public Aff airs/Released)


the Japanese in favor of the U.S. and Allied forces.


Smith ultimately served his entire time


in service on Efete Island, March 1942 through September 1945. In today’s Navy where families can stay connected with their loved ones instantaneously while deployed, Smith didn’t have the opportunity to speak with his family for 19 months. For the Seabees serving during World


War II, having the right amount of initiative and toughness both helped to save lives and equally served to pass the time. Smith recalled stories of using his “Seabee inge- nuity” put to good use to both raise morale and help to pass the time. When Smith got on island there was no


radio, no form of entertainment or books to read, save for his Bible. He and his fellow Sailors saw their fi rst movie on island rough- ly three months after their arrival. Smith also found himself helping his fellow Sailors in any way he could. “You just did what you had to do, with


what you had to do it with is what we found out,” said Smith. Smith wasn’t your average storekeeper.


He found ways to help with everything from building the 6,000-foot runway, rolling up his sleeves to assist the medical staff when wounded service members starting arriving on island, to fl ying combat missions. “When 67 wounded men arrived at the


hospital,” recalled Smith, “we had no nurses and we were short of corpsmen. I would help with anything.” Smith also took care of the men he


served with; whether by making coconut pies or fresh homemade biscuits, he did his part to help his fellow shipmate. “I had one of the welders make me a


stove, 24 inches wide, four feet high, that I used to make homemade biscuits,” recalled Smith, who also had a pig roast a time or two.


Smith, who today resides in Durham,


North Carolina, truly looks more like a 90-year-old than an active centurion. Smith enjoyed refl ecting on his time in service and off ered advice to the generations of Sailors and Seabees serving today. “Do your best all the time,” said Smith,


who truly did his best while serving his country as a Seabee.


Navy Conducts Missile Test Firing From NAVSEA Offi ce of Corporate Com- munications


WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy conducted a successful structural test fi ring of the Surface to Surface Missile Module (SSMM) from Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Detroit (LCS 7) Feb. 28 off the coast of Norfolk. The test marked the fi rst launch of a


missile from the SSMM from an LCS as well as the fi rst vertical missile launched from an LCS, as part of the developmental test program for the Surface Warfare (SUW) Mission Package (MP). “The testing aboard USS Detroit was


an important milestone in advancing LCS capability, not only for the LCS community but for the entire fl eet. As small boat threats proliferate, the SSMM will give our ships added lethality,” said Cmdr. Michael Des- mond, Detroit’s commanding offi cer. SSMM utilizes the Army Longbow


Hellfi re Missile in a vertical launch capabil- ity to counter small boat threats. SSMM is the next delivery of capability for the LCS SUW MP, which achieved initial operational capability (IOC) in November 2014 with delivery of the Gun Mission Module (two 30mm guns) and the Maritime Security Module (11m Rigid Hull Infl atable Boat for Visit Boarding Search and Seizure). “This was another positive step forward


in fi elding of the next increment for the SUW MP,” said Capt. Ted Zobel, Mission Modules program manager. “The SSMM is a critical piece of the SUW MP and this event will allow us to move safely into de- velopmental testing and soon to fi elding this capability aboard LCS.” When new or different ordnance


systems are fi rst installed on board Navy warships, a Structural Test Fire (STF) is required to determine if shipboard struc- tures, equipment, and systems can operate satisfactorily after weapon fi ring and if any personnel hazards, such as toxic gas intru- sion or damaging noise levels, exist during weapon firing operations. Specifically, STF verifi es that the ship’s structure and equipment as well as the interfaces between ordnance and the ship are capable of with- standing the vibration, shock, noise, gases and other blast derivatives from ordnance fi ring. STF results will be used to evaluate and document safety requirements. The Surface Warfare Mission Package


will begin developmental testing aboard USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) later this year and will culminate in operational testing and IOC in 2018.


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