I have “heard” that ships are being sent out without full compliments of crews because of downsizing of the military. It makes me wonder if this was a contributing factor in the collisions.
I’ll bet its “inclusive” standards rearing their ugly head.
One would think that would go double for Arleigh Burke class destroyers, which carry the super-powerful, super valuable Aegis Combat System.
I wonder if another factor is in play here.
“USS John McCain”
This is the first time I;ve heard of a ship named after an traitor idiot other than Giffords. I would suffice they would rather kill themselves than have that name on the ship.
fundamental failures in the crew’s ability to operate their ships effectively,
How does this happen in today’s Navy? Tolerance, Diversity, Do Standards even exist anywhere anymore?
That article is almost impossible to believe. At the time of the collision the McCain bridge was in the hands of sailors from a different out of commission vessel, and who lacked familiarity with the McCain’s controls? And keeping in mind many Fitzgerald and McCain sailors died in their sleep - “Both crews did not attempt to contact the merchant ship bearing down on them, sound a warning horn, sound a collision warning or sound general quarters before the impacts.” Ending a few Navy careers isn’t nearly enough. Some deserve jail for a very long stretch for that level of dereliction, including officers who were sleeping and survived, but failed to train their crews properly.
Who behaved worse?
These sailors or Bergdahl?
No $hit, Sherlock.
That's seamanship 101. If you are at the helm and have any ability at all to maneuver, then you must never, ever, EVER, FREAKING EVER allow your vessel to strike or be stricken by another vessel.
Concurrent with that is when posted on lookout watch you are to remain at your post and vigilant at all times, until properly relieved by another qualified sailor.
It made no difference if it was raining buckets in the tropics or 40 below in the Arctic. You stood watch and stayed at your post, period, no exceptions. The safety of your ship and the lives of your shipmates was on your shoulders.
That's how I was trained. That's what the COLREGS demand.
Even with radar, we posted watches in periods of poor visibility (squalls, fog, haze, smoke, whatever) and from dusk until dawn. And this was even while we had at least one radar set working at all times.
As a corollary, when the lookout sights an object, he or she must immediately call out the sighting to the officer of the watch. The officer of the watch is required to immediately acknowledge the sighting and take action to avoid the object.
And God help any man caught sleeping or away from his assigned lookout post. It would not go well with him. It used to be okay to shoot them on the spot and throw them overboard for endangering the ship and crew. Now they just put him ashore.
But that was the Merchant Marine. It appears that in the Navy, sloppiness and lack of diligence on watch are acceptable. The lookouts and ODs aboard those warships should be nailed to the wall. But since our UCMJ system allows deserters to get off without punishment, then these squids will probably have ships named after them.
Well, I don’t know about the Navy, but in the AF we would call this a career ender. Apparently it is.
But the little snowflake ship drivers are experts in diversity and transgender ROEs.
JoMa