[Love Bob Newhart!]
Posted on 10/18/2020 4:46:00 AM PDT by C19fan
The USS Stout and its crew lived up to its name after spending a record-breaking 215 consecutive days at sea after the coronavirus pandemic made it unsafe to pull into ports around the world.
The destroyer left Virginia's Naval Station Norfolk in mid-January and finally ended its grueling nine-month deployment when it returned home on October 11, the US Navy said.
Along the way, the USS Stout traveled more than 60,000 nautical miles, completing multiple strait and choke point transits as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean while operating in the US 2nd, 5th and 6th fleets carrying out various missions including ensuring the free flow of commerce.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Yeah because warships have huge stores of paint on board? Unreps usually include food and fuel, not paint.
I was over in Hawaii working on a steel deck in 1984 and I had brand new tools that I unpacked on the job right by the sea. Within an hour my tools were covered in rust. I sprayed them with WD40 after that.
‘Rona or not. This is not something the Navy should be proud of. It’s more of an indictment on management of ships and assists.
So did any crewmembers get the virus while in this enforced isolation period?
It happens with lightning speed without regular paint and preservation. The sea is a horrible environment to work in.
My My!!
How times have changed.
In 1957 I was aboard a ship that was in an Amphibious Squadron (COMPHIBRON 1) that went to WESTPAC with the entire squadron and we set sail in the MIDDLE of the ASIAN FLU pandemic and returned CONUS in early 1958.. DIDN’T miss a Liberty Port, don’t recall ‘fighting’ over masks but am sure they have worked up quite a ‘cocktail for us young, unsuspecting swabbies as we were used to getting shots on a daily basis.
When I first saw the ‘miracle’ drug this year I opined that possibly all that quinine etc we ingested in the 50s/60s while in WESTPAC (to ward off malaria) may have built up an immunity.
Strange but all of us from the 1957 adventure (admittedly only a few) that still manage to ‘stay in touch’ are still around and all in our 80s...
Remember WE (those of us older than 65 or so) were going to DIE if we didn’t lock ourselves in the attic/basement.—THIS time around
Who gets to scrape the hull?
That’s hardly “covered in rust.” As one who has been to sea for a length of time (on an amphib) I could not imagine 215 days on a destroyer. Those things are tiny!
Haze gray...
The crew all racked up some serious sea time for their career files. Promotions coming for everyone.
We are so lucky covid didn’t hit during WWII. Imagine what the Japanese could have accomplished as the Pacific Fleet cowered in port or hid on the open seas for a year to avoid exposing sailors to the sniffles. Absolutely ridiculous.
My Dad served on destroyer escorts during WWII on convoy duty in the Atlantic. The ship was so narrow you could hang your hammock across the berth from one side of the ship to another. They rolled so much that hammocks were often the preferred sleeping arrangement. You also didn’t have to worry about a shipmate in the bunk above puking on you.
My Dad was transported in a converted destroyer escort across the North Atlantic in November 1951. His description of that 14 day ride was horrible.
December 1950 the journey was no picnic either, espcially as a three year old legal immigrant..
That’s a pretty long at-sea period but it’s not really rare. Waaaaay back in the ‘70s my squadron made two 9 month deployments in a four year period. The reason was a realignment in deployment cycles for two of our sister squadrons. That may have been a factor here, too. But of course the published reason is the ‘Rona.
Kudos to the ship and her crew!
She was sustained by underway replenishments, about 26 or so of them. Since Stout was part of a carrier group, she had access to helicopter deliveries for much of the time as well as major unreps via ship to ship. She had several major major maintenance jobs performed by the shipboard crew that normally would be depot level jobs.
As any of the FReepers with a boat that is full time in the water could attest to, maintenance requirements are higher for an in the water vessel compared to a trailered or dry store boat. On a steel ship, it is nonstop painting. This is more on the order of touch up and small projects though. I think the Stout was likely due for some dry dock and depot maintenance when the extended sea time cropped up.
The topside paint in particular was just worn out. The waterline fouling suggests that the bottom paint was worn out. The USA is flat low on dry dock capacity and this affects depot scheduling.
[Love Bob Newhart!]
Wow! Interesting. I’ve never been on the Ocean, kind of landlocked in Indiana. Don’t do much travel.
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