Chapomatic

Via Interfax:

–Sub’s been pulled up to the surface. The Russian rescue ship Alages was where the sailors of the stricken sub embarked first.

–All seven guys are okay. Except that they’re meeting the Defense Minister and top admiral on the ship…

–Russian retired admiral Baltin (former Black Sea–East Coast–commander) filled the required role of all retired flag officers by providing someone to complain about the way the guys on active duty got the job done.

MOSCOW. Aug 6 (Interfax) – A former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet said it was a mistake to ask NATO countries for help in rescuing the crew of the Russian mini-submarine stranded on the Pacific floor since Thursday because “this region is stuffed with [Russian military] secrets.”

The region hosts “the main base for the strategic nuclear submarines of the Pacific Fleet, which NATO itself has nicknamed a wasps’ nest. A secret cable runs through the area and a foreign submarine detection system is located here too,” Hero of the Soviet Union Adm. Eduard Baltin told Interfax.

He expressed surprise that the Pacific Fleet command had said openly that the sub had got caught on an underwater antenna instead of “an underwater object.” “This antenna is one of the main components of an active system for the long-range detection of submarines,” he said.

I especially like the complaint about OPSEC and then talking about something that might have violated his own OPSEC…