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Full title: "US Navy Loss Of The USS Guardian, 2 Patrol Boats, USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain. Why Does The List Keeps Going?" Four ships in four years – not to mention USS Antietam grounding and the USS Fitzgerald collision – apparently due to breakdowns in seamanship, something is wrong. Having served for a combined 36 years in the Navy and the civilian Military Sealift Command, I have had the opportunity to compare both systems of grooming deck watch standers. In my opinion the surface Navy expects too much too soon from its surface junior officers. Initial sea tours on...

MANILA – As weather condition seems to be fine near Tubbataha Reef, salvaging operation for the ill-fated USS Guardian that ran aground last month along the portion of the UNESCO World Heritage continues as the team already starting to prepare for level 2 section lifting. Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Palawan district commander and chief of Task Force Tubbataha said that the operations currently on going for the clearing of equipments below weather deck as well as the removal of sonar winch at the bow while the team is already done with lifting of the funnel section....

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy minesweeper that got stuck on a reef off the coast of the Philippines will have to be dismantled and removed in sections, a process that is expected to take over a month, Navy officials said Wednesday. The salvage plan is still under review by the Philippine Coast Guard, but it likely means the end for the 23-year-old USS Guardian. “Our naval architecture and salvage experts have reviewed all possible alternatives, and our only supportable option is to dismantle the damaged ship and remove it in sections,” Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Anthony Falvo wrote...

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy minesweeper USS Guardian — stuck on a protected reef off the coast of the Philippines for a week — will most likely stay there up to two more weeks, Navy officials said Thursday. Rear Adm. Tom Carney, Joint Group Unit Guardian commander, said two contracted heavy-lift ships from Singapore are scheduled to arrive next Wednesday or Thursday at the site near Palawan Island to begin removing the stranded ship. The work ultimately depends on conditions at sea and efforts to stabilize the vessel and lighten its load. During a news conference with Philippine...

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