Posted on 01/20/2005 9:22:10 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Navy Reassigns Commander of Submarine That Ran Aground in Pacific The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Navy has reassigned the commander of an attack submarine that ran aground Jan. 8 in the western Pacific Ocean, officials said Thursday.
Cmdr. Kevin Mooney, who commanded the USS San Francisco, was reassigned to a unit in Guam pending the completion of the investigation into the crash, a statement from the U.S. 7th Fleet said. Vice Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the fleet's commander, ordered Mooney's removal from command.
The nuclear-powered San Francisco was on its way to Australia when it struck an undersea mass of rock that was not on the ship's charts. Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died of injuries suffered during the crash, and 23 other members of the crew were injured. The submarine was conducting underwater operations about 350 miles south of Guam.
The submarine has a crew of 137. The vessel sustained severe damage, but the vessel's nuclear reactor was unaffected.
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.tbo.com ...
You may want to go to grammar.com. (if there is such)
world's worse vs. world's worst
Has anyone heard
rumors about this event?
I mean, in the past,
when subs have "hit" things,
hasn't it almost always
been the result of
the sub tracking close
to an enemy sub and
then getting surprised
by a bad guy's move . . .
If this guy hit a mountain,
then, hey, not his fault.
But if he screwed up
some standard tracking routine
he'd expect the boot . . .
There are two entirely different subduction trenchs between the Sumatra Trench and the Maria's trench which is east of where the accident happened.
The fractures in the earth's crust would prevent transmission that kind of energy over that great a distance.
Make that Marianas trench.
My but you are a tenacious petitfour, aren't you.
I think it must be my day to be annoyed at folks who point out grammar and spelling errors of others. Thankfully, such errors on FreeRepublic will not cause anyone to lose life or limb. :)
As I told Zavien Doombringer in post #19,
"Inasmuch as you repeated a form of the word three times, or so, I thought you would like to know."
BTW ... what other "errors" do you choose to be "annoyed" at when they are pointed out?
Should they have legal consequences you may be a bit more than annoyed. ;)
"Seems like a good way to lose good men."
Yes, it does appear harsh. However, the Captain of a vessel is responsible for the training of all crew members, even delegated it is still his responsibility. So, even if a subordinate messes up, the Captain usually goes down also. Because he didn't do his job of training. These high standards are actually a good idea. However, it is hard to be a ship's CO and not be a bit of a hardass.
Chances are the Captain of the sub was not using good judgement using poorly charted routes.
The other day a sailor commited suicide on a sub. What happens to that captain?
"The other day a sailor commited suicide on a sub. What happens to that captain?"
Good point and question. Answer - Nothing, unless the suicide caused the ship to be damaged. Or, if somehow, the suicide was a result of negligence by the Captain. The Navy does recognize that some things are beyong the control of the Captain. However, it doesn't take kindly to shipwrecks...usual due to negligence.
"If he is found guilty, he's toast. But if he is cleared in this accident, the very fact he was put through this process and found innocent by a group of peers will add legitimacy to his next command."
First of all there is no guilty or not guilty, unless the Board of Inquiry finds that he somehow violated orders or proceedures dictated by regulations. If that was the case it would be referred to a Courts-Martial. The BOI will try to determine what the causes of the accident are, and who or what is at fault, if anyone or anything. The main purpose of the BOI is to learn from the mistakes. However, if the Captain was taking chances (going through poorly charted waters on his own initiative), he made be held culpable. He won't be court-martialed, but a letter of finding goes into his record. Even if they can find no apparent clause, it looks bad on the Captains record. Chances are he will never be promoted again. So, his career is essentially over. Oh, and command is highly competed for. So, you usually only get one chance at his rank level - too many others waiting in line. He will not get another command of a vessel. If he stays in the Navy, then he will get some desk job and finish out his remaining time untill he has to retire or go ahead and retire if he has at least 20 years.
Yes, I agree it is pretty draconian. However, it seems to work well. The standards for commanding officers in all branches of the military are high, they have to be. Too many lives and expensive equipment is at stake.
That's why I think be a staff officer is much better. You may not ever be an admiral or general, but you don't carry such a heavy responsibility for things you often can't control.
I'll bet that rock formation is charted now.Sounds like the Capt had to rely on faulty info.
"Prayers to the family of the lost brother seaman."
Amen to that!
Thanks for the ping! I've been out of town for most of two weeks, so I haven't heard anything about what's going on with this (except that one crewman didn't make it).
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