I don’t think they could spare one single E-6 or above, and I would not expect an E-4 Radioman to know how to rig the emergency communications. Until they stop taking on water, check every remaining compartment for undetected damage, and rescue anyone who might still be alive, calling for help from 80 miles away is not a priority.
You have a Radio/Crypto Chief Petty Officer who can (a) lead another damage control team, or (b) set up a radio. Which do you assign him to?
Well, I don’t know. with a compliment of 300+, I would think there would be some personnel available where someone could spare a Cryptologist’s Mate without putting too much of a dent in it.
I think they are going go get nailed for lack of communication when all is said and done. What if they couldn’t stabilize her, and they were fighting a losing battle. That hour might make the difference if time becomes an issue.
But I will concede the point. I can see where the argument could get made, and it is likely their defense will make that point. Boards of Inquiry are notoriously tough on things, and I definitely see them being hard-asses on that. If they do, sad thing is it won’t make a difference if it was the right call or not, especially since this lack of communication is giving the Navy a black eye, which as we know, they hate (seemingly even more than the other branches)
We aren’t the only ones asking how this lack of communication could happen on a warship designed around fixing damage if it happens, and state-of-the-art electronics and sensors.
And we definitely aren’t the only ones wondering if all our tax dollars, spent on this rather large class of vessels, has delivered a ship with electronics no more reliable or redundant than the computer in their office.
I get the impression some folks on here think I have a poor estimation of our military and feel they are incompetent dopes, and nothing could be further from the truth. Quite the contrary.
This kind of accident happened 50 years ago, and will probably happen 50 years from now.
I believe it is a combination of the contempt I have for the human ability to be 99.999% perfect in a situation, and the knowledge that .00001 is going to come back in the worst possible way and the worst possible time (Murphy’s Law) to cause damage and loss of life out of proportion to that .00001%
I believe in people, but I also and unequivocally accept without reservation that we are flawed by our nature. We not only cannot make mistakes, it is simply inevitable that we will, and we must design around that as best we can.
And that isn’t just the Navy, or the military, or Medicine, or Industry. We are all prone to failure, even the best of us.