Posted on 06/10/2023 9:25:34 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
The training accident killed eight Marines and one sailor.
The former Navy commanding officer of the amphibious transport dock USS Somerset, who was officially censured for a training accident in which eight Marines and one sailor died, will not command an aircraft carrier after all.
Navy Capt. John William Kurtz was the Somerset’s captain when an amphibious assault vehicle, or AAV, sank while returning to the ship during a July 30, 2020 training exercise. It was the deadliest training accident involving an AAV in Marine Corps history.....
But not long after news broke that Kurtz had been selected to command an aircraft carrier, the Navy’s top admiral stepped in.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday removed Kurtz’s name from the Sequential Command at Sea selection list on Dec. 22, said Navy Cmdr. Courtney Hillson, a spokeswoman for Gilday.
(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...
As it should be.
I’ll bet he was given a second chance because he announced that he was transitioning to female. Then a fight broke out with normal women on the list saying that he was not really a woman and they should not have to compete against him for the CV commander slot. He lost.
Sounds like a perfect fit in Sniffer’s Navy.
But not long after news broke that Kurtz had been selected to command an aircraft carrier, the Navy’s top admiral stepped in.
He was out there operating without any decent restraint, totally beyond the pale of any acceptable human conduct.
I was originally going to say that dinging an officer whenever anything goes badly will lead to extremely risk-averse officers.
But from the article
“A Navy and Marine Corps investigation later identified several communications problems aboard the Somerset during the events leading up to the AAV sinking. As a result of these issues, neither Kurtz nor the officer of the deck aboard the Somerset were aware that AAVs were returning to the ship until the vehicles were already in the water.”
Not being on top of where all your craft and people are during such scenarios, and not making sure your people keep you informed, is bad. The skill would be an essential part of being a carrier commander.
Apparently a male parading in drag is a plus in today’s Navy. If only this captan could charge the agency with “transphobia,” he’d be whisked to the top of the mountain, bypassing carrier command.
I think the drain plug was open in the AAV.
I think the drain plug was open in the AAV.
Presumably, everyone selected for carriers and flag rank are, and have always been, ranked as perfect in every fitness report category.
That said, how do they become such Stockholm Syndrome dolts once in flat territory?
Actually, looking into this, there was a loose oil plug, which cause the transmission to fail, which reduced power in the engine - then there wasn’t ehpough power to run the bilge pumps at full speed, and so the water built up in thr compartment. The commander of the AAV should have started evacuation then, but instead flagged for help. A wave flooded the sinking ship, and the marines and sailor trapped inside wearing full combat gear couldn’t get out while the AAV tipped up and sank.
If the drain plug was open, that indicates either a lack of training and procedure, or a failure to get rid of idiots in critical positions, which reflect on the commander.
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