Posted on 11/04/2021 2:24:24 PM PDT by DFG
The US Navy has fired a nuclear submarine's Commanding Officer, Executive Officer and Chief of the Boat for 'loss of confidence' after their vessel collided with an 'uncharted seamount' in the South China Sea.
The $3.1 billion USS Connecticut's CO Cmdr Cameron Aljilani, XO Lt Cmdr Patrick Cashin and COB Cory Rodgers were relieved of their positions on Wednesday.
A seamount is a mountain which rises from the ocean floor.
A statement from the Navy said that the October 2 crash, which injured 11 crew members, could have been prevented with 'sound judgement, prudent decision-making and adherence to required procedures in navigation planning'.
Three interim officers were ordered to fill in and the Seawolf-class submarine is reportedly in Guam 'undergoing damage assessment' overseen by the Naval Sea Systems Command.
On the day the USS Connecticut struck the underwater mountain there were soaring tensions with China after 39 warplanes breached Taiwanese airspace and a record 56 aircraft flew into the zone two days later in a 24-hour period.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Bubblehead is a nickname for submariners, particularly USN ones.
One would like to think so.
One of the things that came up after the USS San Francisco ran into an underground mountain in 2005 was that while the US Navy may have mapped the sea floor, it didn't mean that a) the mapping is very accurate (the location of the mountain was two miles off in the 2005 incident), or b) that the information was in the hands of those navigating the boat.
At first glance, this incident seems to have a lot in common with the 2005 incident involving the USS San Francisco, more information on which can be found here:
“There is no unmapped areas of the ocean floor. That statement is a lie. It’s likely just cover for gross incompetance navigation failure.”
That’s what I was thinking also.
Sorry but I don’t have a Linked account that allows me to access your link
(I had to look up that name myself because I was responding to another poster's comment. While I recalled that the ship was traveling at a high rate of speed, I didn't realize until now that it was apparently going all out.)
(One of those on board described the aftermath of a collision as a "slaughterhouse", as there was apparently blood everywhere; it seems as if they are fortunate that they only lost one life.)
With over 20 years of Navy experience I can say with complete confidence, you are wrong.
We (humans) have better and more accurate maps of the surface of the Moon and Mars than we do of the Earth’s ocean floors. I have been in areas were only a small part of the area had ever been surveyed and that was over 200 years ago. The rest was a big fat unknown.
There is a very limited hydrographic survey capacity in the world and even less high quality capacity (like 5 Eyes/NATO/Japan/South Korea/Singapore). The world’s oceans are vast and even an area like the South China Sea isn’t completely charted, and even things that were previously charted can be wrong, misplaced by miles, or changed.
“The entire ocean floor is mapped. This can only be gross incompetence piloting the sub or as other players have suggested, china created a new mound on the ocean floor there.”
Now that I give this some thought, it IS possible that the floor of the ocean could change, especially around the “ring of fire”. Nature may have created a new mound. Underground volcanoes have to start somewhere.
You must see a lot of vaccidents.
That picture is wrong on so many levels.
Interesting.
You see those same types in business.
Some people can do stuff.
And others are more about doing career.
Technically speaking, we now know that there is a seamount somewhere in an area couple of miles wide. It’s exact position, depth, and area coverage would still be unknown.
Someone (preferably either a 5 Eyes nation or Japan/South Korea/Singapore) needs to send hydrographic survey ships to do a formal survey of the area. Easier said than done as there isn’t a huge survey capacity at start with and they are some of the busiest ships in any Navy and quality commercial survey ships have years of back orders just supporting oil exploration.
This is somewhat confusing. It sounds as if you are saying they need to be making noise to know where they or something else is in the water.
I thought we were a little more capable than that.
The South China Sea has been an area of considerable interest for a long time. I’m surprised that there could still be an uncharted seamount.
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That’s right. WWII and the Vietnam War afforded opportunities to “get to know” the area. The area is pretty well charted.
The sub had to have hit something other than a seamount.
The Spratley’s artificial islands are in the South China Sea. Just saying.
I'm former Army, but in my experience, the entire chain of command is relieved only when there's a major eff up.
I was an Air Defense Artillery officer, in a composite Chaparral/Vulcan battalion in Germany...short range AD. A few miles off base was a Nike-Hercules battery, that had "special" weapons. I got to know the officers there quite well, as one of my "extra duties" was to lead a 40 man reserve force should they be attacked by terrorists or other bad guys.
At least every six months, they had a Nuclear Surety Inspection. Their outbriefings were attended by the ENTIRE chain of command of 32nd AADCOM, to include the Deputy CG flying in from Darmstadt. I was there, too, with my Battery Commander, due to my reserve force's participation...and yes, we were evaluated too.
There was one battery that flunked their NSI...the entire chain of command, up to and including the Group Commander (full bird colonel), were relieved on the spot. So yeah, pucker factor was high in the moments before the outbriefing.
One of my most memorable days of my undistinguished military career came during one of those NSIs. I was in high spirits when we arrived with my reserve force 30 minutes prior to mission time. However, the chief evaluator, a prickly LT Colonel started give me a ration of fecal matter: "you're only five miles away, how come it took you 3 1/2 hours to get here?"
Simple answer: we had to assemble 40 men, get the right equipment, and train them for the mission before we left our motor pool. My guys were air defenders and mechanics, who hadn't seen small unit infantry tactics since Basic Training.
I told the LTC, "I was giving my soldiers the extra training they needed to accomplish whatever mission they were given." He didn't like my answer, but I wasn't backing down.
As we fast forward to the outbriefing, that was the only negative comment he could come up with. Needless to say, I was one pissed off LT, and the officers in the other battery were chuckling, the pressure was off them.
After the evaluation team left, our DCG, a one star, goes up to the podium for congratulatory remarks. First thing he does is points his finger at me and says, "LT NHN, I will take that hit for you. Anytime you want to give your soldiers extra training, you have my express permission." That, in my opinion, was VERY cool...lol.
A SEAWOLF class attack sub in the South China Sea - a scary thought for Chinese Navy.
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Not while Biden is in office.
LOL, I'd say that picture is wrong on EVERY level imaginable.
Remember, WWII submarines were ineffective until a new breed of rash, almost dangerous, commanders took them over.
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Very competent and aggressive CO’s and crews during the Cold War. Their exploits are legendary.
Maybe the Chinese have portable underwater mountain tech or more likely the sub ran into a submerged drill rig. Either way retarded clown car.
I worked 30 years for a military defense contractor which designs and builds the passive and active sonar systems in those subs and the entire sea floor map is in some of those systems. I’m not saying the sea floor isn’t changing over time or that sudden and even dramatic changes haven’t occurred, they have. But what’s been released about this incident isn’t the whole story of what happened.
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