Navy says fire damage on USS George Washington to delay Kitty Hawk transition

Stars and Stripes ^ | 6/23/08 | Allison Batdorff

[Dawnsblood]

Fire damage aboard the USS George Washington will delay the swap out with USS Kitty Hawk and may push back the carrier’s arrival to Japan, the Navy announced.

The Kitty Hawk, which left Yokosuka last month for eventual decommissioning in Bremerton, Wash., was to turn over duties to the George Washington this month at Pearl Harbor. The aircraft carrier transfer will now happen in San Diego in August, according to a Navy release.

The George Washington is already in San Diego undergoing repairs. A May 22 fire aboard the George Washington damaged electrical cabling and components in about 80 of the aircraft carrier’s 3,800 spaces, the release said.

While initial assessments are "substantially complete," the fire’s source remains unknown and will be the focus of a Pacific Fleet-based investigation called for by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, the release said.

[LayoutGuru2]

George Washington Continues on to San Diego Following Fire
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2020357/posts

[Lokibob]

“That boy has absorbed a lot of electricity”.

....Bob

[Thrownatbirth]

[A.A. Cunningham]

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Navy says fire damage on USS George Washington to delay Kitty Hawk transition


By Allison Batdorff, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Monday, June 23, 2008

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Fire damage aboard the USS George Washington will delay the swap out with USS Kitty Hawk and may push back the carrier’s arrival to Japan, the Navy announced.

The Kitty Hawk, which left Yokosuka last month for eventual decommissioning in Bremerton, Wash., was to turn over duties to the George Washington this month at Pearl Harbor. The aircraft carrier transfer will now happen in San Diego in August, according to a Navy release.

The George Washington is already in San Diego undergoing repairs. A May 22 fire aboard the George Washington damaged electrical cabling and components in about 80 of the aircraft carrier’s 3,800 spaces, the release said.

While initial assessments are "substantially complete," the fire’s source remains unknown and will be the focus of a Pacific Fleet-based investigation called for by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, the release said.

Norfolk’s Naval Safety Center is also conducting a Safety Investigation Board, the release said.

The damage, which is primarily electrical, "may delay the GW’s deployment to Yokosuka," said Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter after touring the nuclear-powered ship last week. The carrier was to arrive at Yokosuka in August to replace the 47-year-old Kitty Hawk, but Winter said assesing the fire damage won’t be hurried.

"Experience has shown that we must complete the removal of material in the damaged areas before we can make a full assessment of the necessary repairs and corrective actions," said Winter in a statement. "That takes time and until that work is complete" the George Washington’s deployment schedule won’t be definite.

The carrier’s capabilities are "critical" to the Forward-Deployed Naval Force and the Navy is focused on "getting the ship back to sea," he said.

The Navy also wants to put together "lessons learned" from the fire and is studying how it was fought and the extent to which "ship modifications" played a role in spreading the fire, Winter said.

"What we learn here can help us ... improve our damage control training, assess our damage control procedures and equipment, inform future ship alterations, and prevent future accidents of this type," Winter stated.

Meanwhile, the Kitty Hawk will take the George Washington’s place in the upcoming Rim of the Pacific exercises but is expected to complete its January 2009 decommissioning "on schedule."

Officials are working with sailors on both carriers and their families to limit inconveniences caused by the delay, which the release said was the Pacific Fleet’s "top personnel priority."

© 2007 Stars and Stripes. All Rights Reserved.

[driftdiver]

In 80 of the spaces? That musta been one serious fire.

[Snow Eagle]

GW Crew fought the fire for nearly 12 hours. No serious injuries. BZ to the crew. Fire started as a result of hazmat stored in a “void” years previously. Please pray for CDR Jay Dill, Chief Engineer, GW

[Vroomfondel]

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[magslinger]

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[thewitz2]

This just stirred up all of the anti-American lefties in the Japanese media again. I haven't noticed anything different out in town; concerning the Japanese conduct towards American Servicemen lately, though (thankfully). I just got done reading a few articles from the Japan Times and the Tokyo Shimbun, which pretty much infuriated me... Very, very biased. Kinda like Chris Mathews on steroids, I wonder if they have the same journalistic "standards" as we do around here.

[Bean Counter]

Curious...

I was on the Pre-Commissioning Crew for USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and they had a major electrical fire in one of the main turbine generators on sea trials the first night out. They had the generator cranked up to 100% when the rotating element shorted against the windings, and the resulting arc blew out several rectifier panels below decks and vaporized the first three feet of the cables above the generator set. They had to muster the entire Reactor Department on the Mess Decks at midnight, to be certain they had not lost a man, because there were holes melted in deckplates down below.

Nobody killed but several were flash burned and a few had shrapnel from the exploding bus-bars..

The point is that a Nimitz Class reactor plant puts out a lot of power, and if it gets out of hand it does a lot of damage. Everything around you is grounded in a metal ship, and there are cables everywhere.

And I hear that the Ford Class is going to have even more electrical power...

[tacticalogic]

Whoa. My son’s a glow worm (fast attack sub), so I’ve kind of got a personal interest.

[tacticalogic]

Whoa. My son’s a glow worm (fast attack sub), so I’ve kind of got a personal interest.

[Mercia]

Why does the US have bases on the Japanese mainlands?

Im a Brit, I don’t know, so I’m curious.

[MinuteGal]

Mainly for strategic location and repair/re-fueling purposes for our Navy and Air Force in their patrols around the world.

You never know what area of the world will heat up next, endangering either us or our allies.

Leni

[wtc911]

Why does the US have bases on the Japanese mainlands?

_______________________________________

The same reason we keep @ 35,000 troops in Korea.......China.

The history is more complicated but that's what it boils down to.

[Reader of news]

Why does the US have bases on the Japanese mainlands?

The bases date from the post-WW2 world and the Cold War. Japan was not allowed to have an army and still do not have armed forces but a self-defense organization. Plus, Japan was surrounded by the USSR, Communist China and North Korea. Nowadays, the Korean Peninsula is not yet a quiet region and North Korea has launched missiles in the last decade (apart from the nuclear bomb test).

[thewitz2]

Right, just like what the others said. We have a defense agreement with the Government of Japan, however, Yokosuka is also a UN base. A few months ago we had some ships from a few other navies pull in here.

[Mercia]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

From what I gather, the Japanese Defence Forces are undergoing something of a re-tasking. I know they are getting around the fact they cant have air platforms at sea by calling their new carriers, ‘destroyers’.

A strong Japan will go someway to balacing out the region, but you have all explained very well why the US needs the bases at the mo.

Cheers all.