What's going on with the incidents in the South China sea? We now have 10 missing sailors after a second collision, this one involving the John McCainwith a tanker.
What's going on with the incidents in the South China sea? We now have 10 missing sailors after a second collision, this one involving the John McCainwith a tanker.
A lot of leadership being replaced...prayers for the families.
IMO, too many watch standers sleeping on watch. Lack of leadership on the part of senior enlisted. Prayers for the innocent who lost their lives due to the failure of their mates to do their jobs while they slept.
I've never been out to sea on a surface ship, but when we were surfaced and transiting we knew every contact and distance/speed/direction, etc... Even after we submerged we knew what was going on and it was busy in the control room. It'd be interesting to see what the root cause of these are. I just can't understand how a merchant vessel can even get that close to a US warship without being warned, let alone run into it.
1995 Allison XB-2003 225 Super Mag. It's slow and I'm ok with that.
That would be because your watch standers (radar/sonar/visual) were doing their job. Like you, I'm baffled that TWO fast, highly maneuverable war ships with some of the most powerful electronics on the planet can get T-boned by large, slow moving merchant vessels in a month's time. Relying on a warning over the radio would be useless, IMO. The folks on the merchant may or may not even speak English or even be listening. IF the USN ship was aware of the situation they should/could get the friggin' ship moving. Have a good one, mate.Originally Posted by silverbullet02
Well, so far an Admiral has been relieved, and I expect the major chain of command of the McCain will soon follow also. I read a post somewhere, and I kinda believe it, most of the senior officers aboard take the day and early evening watches, leaving the Ensigns and LT-jg's the graveyard shift.. no experience on watch. Also, for some of us who served probably know, late watches were the guys/gals that screwed up during the day and put on late watch for punishment (bad juju in my book). Just my two cents.
If I was a parent of one of those Sailors I would be losing my mind at the how senseless all of this is......I can't even imagine.
4 collisions and 17 deaths in the last 6 months.....Makes no sense..
The Navy will figure this out. Meanwhile ALL the branches of the military are experiencing the aftermath of the "brain drain."
We haven't officially been at war since Aug 2010. IMO Our military has been deployed too many times and is tired. The asshats in DC can say we haven't been at war since 2010 all they want. I see the troops almost everyday of the week. I hear them telling me why they are leaving. The most common reason is they are tired of being gone, OR they are getting medically separated.
I spent four years in the Navy,all over seas.Been on several vessels,Aircraft Carriers were manned by very capable officers 24/7.And yes the graveyard shift was used as punishment,on the smaller craft junior officers were usually assigned to gain experience! I was amazed at how quickly some small incident can turn the entire bridge into a freakin' Chinese fire drill. Also there are reports of new sonic software and other devices being tested in that area,that has had physical effects and (probably) software malfunctions. I know one thing for sure, that in my four years of service,while at sea All ships locations were known,especially cargo and civilian vessels.I believe there is more than we are being told. We are involved in some of the worlds most advanced technology, that is constantly changing. Also these may be intentional distractions by our friends in certain unnamed countriesIt used to be "loose lips sink ships" Not so any more! a lot of the latest technical equipment can come with inherent flaws,especially concerning the Knowledge to understand how these programs operate And why!! It is the ships Navigator's responsibility to make sure that each Sailor operating said equipment is fully capable of performing their duties.On board a Carrier the ships Navigator is always available,in fact, his quarters where on the bridge itself.Being assigned watch duty as punishment for slackers and other offenses usually didn't involve operating sophisticated equipment,mostly one just stood by learning how to sleep with your eyes Open! Some things may have changed in that capacity, due to crew sizes. And only having specific trained personnel,and no extra hands on board.? Just my thoughts on the subject.
I got out in 1972 so I don't know how they sail now. Back then we actually had folks that stood lookout with big binoculars. Probably deemed unnecessary for today's fleet, but they would probably have been able to detect an approaching tanker or cargo ship before their ship got drilled broadside. As far as mid watches being punishment, I know this was not the case in the radio shack on my ship. If we had folks that didn't do their job, our chief made sure their attitude got adjusted. If that is common now, is there not a petty officer (presumably a non-screwup) in each watch section? IMO, it took a lot of "sailors" in several ratings being derelict in their duty to allow this to happen. That it could happen twice is inconceivable to me.
I just can't see why that ship was unaware of the tanker !! Should have been SEEN by the wing watch, and the RADAR room should have know about it LONG before it became an issue !! Heads will roll on this one !
Ranger Boats / Mercury Motors
G Loomis Rods / Shimano Reels
Raymarine / MinnKota Ultrex
Garmin / Live Scope Plus
Pepper Jigs / Robo Worms
Troll Bridge / V-T2 Vents
Heads should roll! This type of mistakes, will be a career ender .I have seen officers, that would never qualify for advancement, from their current rank. However this is probably going to lead to a discharge, and possibly prison time? It's inconceivable that No one on watch missed this?
My friend's son was a Commander over 4 destroyers that were dogged by the Iranian Navy constantly. After a long deployment, he came back to Norfolk where he was promoted to Captain and placed in command of 6 destroyers in a carrier battle group.
With all that is going on in the world, I would hate to have so much responsibility.
My other close friend's son was cut loose last month from the Marines after 4 years in the Marine Reserve/ROTC and 13 years active service (Japan) as a Captain. They used up his formative years and fed him to the dogs. If we went to war, he would be called back into the Corps.
Another friend's daughter and son in law were Marine sergeants and not allowed!to eenlist after 13 years and many deployments to the Mideast. What has been going on throughout our Armed Forces is so sad as they are just not ready for war anytime soon. We don't have enough ships and half our planes and helicopters won't fly. And politicians are talking of war.
This happened after Vietnam, and during the Clinton administration. Also if you pay attention to the Special Forces, most are not youngsters! The average military personnel are the most vulnerable to being cut loose and placed on call up status, which I think amounts to paying less benefits. Combat readiness, is taught from experienced personnel in all ratings, not getting rid of them!
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