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Captain Sparchy Interview

<S>Howdy Captain Sparchy, sir if you want to, could you please do an interview for the next anchor newsletter regarding the Betasom Match.

Sir I understand you are the most knowledgeable regarding what happened and what it means to your fleet and Seawolves.

What is your general consensus of the encounter?

It was a good match. I believe it helped in the fact that for a first encounter of this type for us to flush out our strengths and the areas of tactics and training we need to work on to be ready for the next match. There were some tense moments but it sure made it exciting all the way around.

What would you like to see different next time?

Battle communications was probably the thing I would like to see done a bit differently. We had some rough spots there where more then one tried to talk at once even though all were reporting what they were seeing.

What was your most intense moment in the match.. I heard you almost lost your breath when officer ClearRide died?

I wished that I could say there was only one tense moment. At first we lost CDR Pit-bull when his boat grounded. Then once ADM ClearRide was out, that left our west and north flanks open. It was at this time that LT Spectre noted and akula coming into our battle space. It got a bit hairy there for a bit but we were close enough that the possibility of shutting the door on it was available.

Why did you decide to send the TLAMS, what were the considerations for that command decision?

The first sortie that LT Spectre sent was based on a visual observation of the opposing forces command post. However we found that it was not an accurate fix. Once We had a good fix on it and based on the fact that our left flank was wide open to attack we needed to make the kill and close off operations as quickly as possible.

What was going on with you when you sent officer Kapitan on his death defying run to their base. Were you worried, how did you feel, how did you stay calm and in control?

I figured the law of probability was on our side when they had two players drop. Kapitan was half way aroundthe island and was going fast enough that we had a shot. I also knew that he could handle the other FFG in the area. But it was at this point we needed a fix on their command center and we needed it as quick as we could get it. I had faith in his ability and had to trust in that. He was the only one in position to make that fix. As far as stay calm and in control I had faith in our officers ability and that's what kept me calm. The control only came from the opportunities that presented themselves.

Sir thank you very much and BZ on a very fine team lead under very trying conditions.

<S>Howdy Commander Kapitan., :-) you a real killer sir. BZ on driving your FORD thru harms way in the Match. And sir thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on the war mission.

Looking back, what were two of the most exciting points in the mission for you?

Well the first has to be the unknown, not knowing the capabilities of the opponent their skill, or tactics made it more exciting as you couldn’t second guess any one of them because this was completely a step into the unknown.

The second most exciting but also probably the most intense and suicidal point of the game had to have been the 40 minuet dash I made north towards the end of the game, sailing blind with no helicopters, in a known submarine patrol area at flank it has to be said it was the most exciting part, being just meters away from being sunk literally as we saw in the replay I ran over the top of an enemy submarine running in the opposite direction so it was pure luck he didn’t spot me, I learnt a lot of things today and a lot about the way I handle the FFG.


Would you share some of your tips in running a FFG without its helos and very little knowledge of what is in front of you, like were you on visual or active ping, etc?

One thing I didn’t for see is just such this event I made the FOAC to teach all who take it what the FFG can do, I admit I neglected the part where you may one day sail blind as I did today, today I got lucky but reviewing the situation had the opponents been much more aware of the surroundings and situations I would have been sunk defiantly.

The tips I can provide is simple if your running blind with no helos burst the radar, and launch sonar buoys especially in known submarine patrol areas (passive buoys) using your ships active sonar will draw attention to yourself and give the enemy a better idea where you are. And at all costs try not to loose the helo’s.


What would you change or do different if you could run the mission again?

Most defiantly preserve the helo’s and use them more effectively as they are supposed to be used I did neglect them today which is why I lost them in the end.


What one thing would you tell any Seawolf officer or Seawolf cadet about war diving?

Well you should never underestimate your opponent or yourself, every single cadet, ENS, CDR, ADM and so on are fully capable killers and also fully capable of being killed.


Thanks for your time and do you have any final thoughts for us?

I would implore everyone to get in on this war action it is important it is fun and it can give you valuable experience


OUTCOME: clearride, pitbull dead. sparchy, spectre, kapitan alive. kills were, 1 akula: spectre; 2 helos, 1 navy base, 1 neutral, 1 command center: kapitan.