A Maritime Strategy for Ukraine

 Russian President Vladimir Putin did the unthinkable: There’s a shooting war in Europe. Fear of isolation from the “international community”, whatever that means to liberal democracies, the Geneva Convention, lessons from the Nuremburg Trials, and economic sanctions, failed to stop total war in Ukraine. NATO and the US was afraid of “poking the bear”, but Putin escalated his war nevertheless.

The news has covered the stories of Ukrainian-American expatriates and mercenaries fighting in the ground war; and I have had peers ask “how do I join the fight?”. To those with maritime experience, I advise staying at sea, with a focus on delivering food and supplies. Odessa, accessed through Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait and through the Black Sea, offers the most daring route. Russian harassment and occasional attacks on vessels today harken back to World War Two’s Murmansk Run. A successful convoy of merchant ships can deliver more goods than airplanes and trucks, the current vehicles of logistics. The merchant marine is a business, however, and in wartime conditions, governments must provide assurance to vessels flying their flag. In the United States, various tools can be activated by the Maritime Administration, under the DOT. These include activation of Second Seaman’s War Risk Insurance, to guarantee life insurance benefits for mariners, and vessel insurance for shipowners. Declaring a Sealift Emergency would allow retired and former mariners to crew ships, with the ability to return to their shore-based jobs after completing a voyage (similar to the USERRA benefit provided to military reservists and draftees).          

Dependency on Oil and Gas is the Achille’s heel of the West. During the first week of Putin’s war in Ukraine, which began on February 22^nd, countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom had no plans to curtail fuel purchases from Russia’s war machine. Given that fuel prices at the gas pump had already increased, I was afraid that the politicians in Washington, DC would be afraid of acting decisively. Initially, I felt that some form of rationing or subsidy (such as government-issued fuel cards to consumers) would be required to ease off Russian fuel imports. This would go hand-in-hand with fuel conservation posters asking motorists “if this trip is necessary”. Citizens would be asked to turn down the thermostat in cold-weather environments, and raise it in warm-weather environments, to save fuel.

The transition was easier than expected. Existing domestic production, the price/demand curve for fuel consumption, and cooperation from other OPEC nations allowed the US to adapt to the cut in Russian fuel imports. Idle offshore oil rigs were already being restored to service, as the price of oil had increased over the key threshold of $80 per barrel. In oil rig layup, the drilling rig roughnecks and brown-water mariners bear the brunt of fluctuations: working on a drillship or supply vessel is high-paying work when it is available.  

In World War Two, construction of the Big Inch Pipeline from Texas to New Jersey was prioritized in order to free oil tankers from the dangerous duty of navigating the Atlantic Coast, infested with Nazi U-Boats. Energy security today demands construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, while respecting the rights of the Lakota People. This pipeline alone is reported to have the carrying capacity equivalent to fuel imports from Russia. While the conflict in Ukraine will hopefully be resolved before completion of the pipeline, its existence should change Russia’s geopolitical calculations in the longer term. On the greener side, conservatives and war hawks will find clean energy investments, such as solar and wind farms, to be part of a national security strategy.

President Eisenhower correctly assessed the importance of logistics in wartime. This is evident in reports of frontline Russian soldiers begging for MREs, or pre-packaged meals.  Food, Supplies, and Fuel- both how we use them at home, and how we deliver them to Ukraine, are essential parts for victory.

Merry Christmas

In a cheap hotel in Marion, Kansas, future news anchor Jim Lehrer's mother gave her sons a few words on Christmas Day, 1946: "I know this is awfully rough on you boys. None of our Christmases have ever been like this. Remember the others and try to forget this one. We're going to be alright. At least we're all together. That's more than a lot of families have". 

In the aftermath of World War Two, Europe and Asia laid in ruins, and millions of Americans were dislocated from their hometowns on account of military service and war work. Gifts and feasts were simpler- sugar was still rationed, and toy makers on a wartime footing.

But out of this war period came great Christmas music, including Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", and Judy Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas". In lieu of many toys, savings bonds were given as presents: this new tradition continued until bonds went electronic in the last decade. 

In this present year, things have been stripped to basics for the Christmas season: few parties, less travel. I must say this is a good thing, as many stores, including groceries, have chosen to close for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.   Certainly a Merry Christmas for many workers, in spite of the year's challenge. I say this as someone who has worked in 24/7 environment at sea.

References:

We Were Dreamers, book by James Lehrer

Christmas in World War II - The Home Front (sarahsundin.com)

The Mathews Men Today

 

East of Gloucester, Virginia, I followed the road less traveled into Mathews County. It is a rural area along the lower Chesapeake Bay, and whose settlement by the English dates to the early 1600s. The Methodists still employ a travelling minister, preaching at small, white-walled clapboard churches at the crossroads. The Baptists also have a presence in this area. Post offices are located at each hamlet, measuring no more than 200 square feet apiece. The average home is an early 20^th century sturdy-sized residence on a small farming plot. Manors are titled in the English style, with names like “House of Payne” and “Moon Pi”.  Washingtonians vacation here, drawn by the quaintness of a timeless county. I bought a cantaloupe (“Local ‘Lopes”) sold on honor from the back of a pickup truck parked in Mathew’s town square.

What drew me here was a phenomenal story of the Mathews Men, or local watermen who served their country as merchant mariners in World War Two. Over the course of history, necessity drove man to sea. As agriculture was commoditized in the early 20^th century, and with a rural depression beginning in 1920, seafaring was a path to economic security for men who were adept at sailing boats on the Chesapeake Bay; and whose wives had the strength and fortitude to lead the family and manage the farm during their husbands’ long absence at sea.

World War Two heralded the end of an era in the maritime culture in Coastal Virginia, and the beginning of the new. During the War, inland shipping, already on a decline during the Great Depression, was supplanted by improved highways and construction of the Big Inch oil pipeline from Texas oil fields to New Jersey refineries. While some fishing boats continue to ply from the peninsula, fortunate proximity provided another lucrative line of work. In 1952, the Coleman Bridge opened, connecting the backwater of Mathews County to job opportunities at the shipyards in Newport News, the Fort Eustis Army Base, and the Langley Air Force Base. Mobility was further enhanced with the opening of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in 1957, allowing highway access to commercial heart of Norfolk, Virginia. Electricity and indoor plumbing had arrived shortly before this fortuitous decade.

Even with these improvements, the disjointed, unsigned roads would have intimidated outsiders until the arrival of GPS navigation. It was on one detour that I came across the cemetery in Onemo, where the extended Hudgins family is buried. The hamlet bearing this family’s name is several miles north. On several tombstones of master mariners were etchings of the fishing boats they had owned and operated. Buried here were souls “known only to God”, presumably lost mariners recovered from the Chesapeake Bay. Confederate flags marked the tombs of Civil War veterans- the war had taken an awful toll on young men, leaving a number of women of the generation unmarried. Even so, the Hudgins were known for their racial tolerance: seafaring was a multicultural pursuit even in those days.  

The hands-on seafaring experience that honed the Mathews Men has been superseded by increased technical sophistication and academic rigor. While the sons and daughters of Mathews continue to sail as deckhands and oilers onboard oceangoing ships, the town no longer raises ship’s captains in the way that New England towns still do. In the 1960’s, building on the work of existing deep-sea maritime academies, the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and the maritime program at Texas A&M in Galveston opened to serve the focused educational needs of inland and near-coastal mariners. Although the “Mid Atlantic Maritime Academy”, a trade school in Norfolk, Virginia, serves Navy and Coast Guard sailors transitioning into the civilian maritime sector, there is no collegiate- accredited maritime program in Virginia, or any Atlantic state south of New York. Mathews, Gloucester, and the surrounding region possess a maritime heritage predating the American Revolution. This is something worth preserving.

 Read: The Mathews Men, William Geroux, 2016. 

Dedicated to Trenton Lloyd-Rees, Maine Maritime Academy, Class of 2019.

Coronavirus: Americans’ Independent Streak Began in WWII

One New York Times commentator suggested that anti-mask advocates would’ve spent World War Two shining their headlight beams into the sky to liberate America from civil defense blackouts. They practically did. Through the middle of 1942, bright beachfront lights illuminated silhouettes of American coastal Merchant ships. The leisure economy was back, fueled by war exports to Europe and Nationalist China, and resort owners were loath to give it up. Americans were offended by the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, but were not yet in the mood for national sacrifice.

 Sheer losses of merchant ships along the East Coast changed the tune. Attacks by Nazi U-Boats began in 1941 before the US entered the War, and peaked in early 1942. Referencing the sinking of dozens of unarmed coastwise tankers, a poster proclaimed to motorists: “Think- Sailors have died to give you this ride”.

Despite the grim loss of life, rationing of coffee, alarm clocks, and sliced bread was lifted quickly upon popular demand. As pointed out by Kelly Cantrell in a dissertation, magazines during the War listed recipes with unrationed substitutes, such as corn syrup for sugar; but also featured lavish recipes- which were practically illegal on the basis of strict ration points. To produce a traditional Christmas feast, it was necessary to pool with another family, stockpile canned goods (against government policy), or purchase on the black market.

In contrast to Britons’ stiff upper lips in the face of Blitzkrieg bombings, Americans have a long tradition of flouting the rules, and it was certainly not limited to members of one political ideology.   

Then and Now: World War Two and Coronavirus

Make Do Without

A month ago, it was easy to be a consumer. Today, with restrictions on in-person shopping, and necessary slowdowns in e-commerce warehouses, one reconsiders their purchase before hitting “click to buy”. Is this essential? Do I put someone at risk? Is there someone who need this more than I do?”

In the first week of social distancing orders, canned goods disappeared from shelves; even the potted meat and Vienna Sausages. Later supply disruptions were seen in milk, egg, and meat shelves; these are more labor-intensive to produce. Many grocery stores rationed their in-demand goods: one carton of eggs, two pounds of meat, at the military commissary. No coupon books or point tokens required, but cashiers were counting. Spoiled with a plethora of authentic restaurants, some New Yorkers are struggling to adapt to a new reality of cooking at home. “What if I can’t find (x) ingredient?” Just make do without.  

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

COVID-19 forced a reassessment of what talents and treasures are important. With stay-at-home orders, a health crisis has become a nascent economic crisis. As governments work out stimulus plans, members of the community are emerging with a spirit of volunteerism. These range from dispersing essential information on neighborhood forums, assisting with grocery shopping, and donating facemasks and sanitary supplies.   

Take Care of Yourself

The Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad was founded 83 years ago in 1937, but is celebrating its 80^th Anniversary this year. They humbly refuse to take credit for the wartime years, when the squad was disbanded on account of manpower shortages. Community health leaders provided training and information on self-care for minor health issues. For the first time on a nationwide basis, industrial and personal safety were emphasized. “Tojo like careless worker”, read a poster showing an ambulance in front of a nighttime factory.  With so many doctors deployed overseas, an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure. Recently, Baltimore’s mayor, and a Philadelphia surgeon, expressed concern than victims of violent trauma were taking critical care beds away from COVID-19 patients. In normal times, the medical community advised citizens to “call 911 if in doubt”; today, the prevailing advice is to first speak with a doctor over the phone before coming to the hospital.  

Adapt, Improvise, Overcome

Many Americans of the silent generation (born in the 1930s and early ‘40’s) fondly remember their wartime childhoods. While relatives were occasionally killed in action, Americans made sure that children were not left behind. For the first time, quality daycares were established for working mothers. Overseas, childhood was more traumatic in the midst of air raids, interrupted schooling, rural relocation, and genocide. Today, with schools closed, it appears that our situation is more similar to wartime London. Parents, teachers and childhood professionals are adapting with various efforts. A set of “best practices” may emerge soon.

Remember those on the front lines

This current battle is being fought with ventilators, hand sanitizer. But like any war, morale and public civility must be maintained. Moments of appreciation count. Medical professionals are giving their all. Delivery drivers and grocery clerks are busier than ever. New York Police Department and transit workers are falling ill in the line of duty. Medical colleges are graduating early.

Vacation at Home

During WWII, it was assumed that tourism took gasoline, train seats, electricity, and manpower away from the war effort. Florida, even then a vacation destination, had to be careful in advertising tourism in light of the wartime sacrifice. Instead, the Office of Defense Transportation put out a poster reading: “Me travel? Not this summer.” Today, excessive travel is seen as insensitive to the times, and a proven vector for virus transmission. A spring break airplane from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico was singled out as an example. (When did college kids begin chartering airplanes?) In hard-hit touristic counties of the Northeast and Mountain West, local sheriffs are pulling over and questioning motorists with out-of-state license plates.

Food is a Weapon

The farming and food packaging industries were coordinated to either provide a growing percentage of foodstuffs to cafeterias and restaurants in industrial packaging (Sysco and US Foods), and a slightly shrinking percentage as consumer groceries to wholesalers and supermarkets. In the face of COVID-19, inefficiencies in the marketplace led to empty grocery shelves, and the industrial consumers refusing to purchase farmers’ crops, milk, and livestock. Understandably, it is difficult for food producers like Kraft, Nestle and Nabisco to retool towards consumer packaging on a dime; regrettably, restaurant providers like Sysco and US Foods have not asked groceries, governments, and families to consider purchasing industrial-sized packages, and avoid food waste. I have long wondered why major grocery chains have not attempted to break into the foodservice business, or why Sysco and US Foods have not attempted to open wholesale clubs.    

Fresh milk is being dumped into lagoons, crops being plowed over. As much as farmers dislike this waste, they cannot subsidize the transportation costs of unsold goods. The food situation is akin to the Great Depression, when there was no central coordination to bring food from farms to the urban poor. The US Department of Agriculture rectified this waste in the 1940’s; with the abundance of industrial farming, these efforts slipped in the 1950’s; but were restored with the Food Surplus Program in the 1960’s.

Queen Elizabeth II Speaks

During WWII, a young Princess Elizabeth II worked as a military truck driver and mechanic. The Queen of England, now 93, made a rare public address on Britain’s resolve to overcome the coronavirus.