Mobile-built Austal LCS stranded in Singapore (US Navy ship)

al com ^ | 2/22/17 | Harress

[pabianice]

An Austal-built Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and crew are stranded in Singapore because of a change in training standards propelled by a series of recent engineering breakdowns throughout the LCS fleet.

The USS Coronado, built in Mobile nearly five years ago, deployed to the Pacific Rim in June last year to relieve the LCS Fort Worth. The Coronado and its crew were supposed to arrive back in the home port of San Diego by Thanksgiving but could now end up being abroad for an indefinite period as they wait for a relief crew to be trained to the new Naval engineering standard.

The deployment is on schedule to be one of the Navy's longest in decades, while relatives of the sailors told the Navy Times that it has caused morale issues among crew members and placed pressure on families.

"They were being told April, now they are being told mid-to-late May," one of the family members told Navy Times Monday in an interview. "Truth seems to be that the replacement crew has made little-to-no progress."

[pabianice]

The LCS disaster is probably the US Navy's biggest peacetime mistake in its history. The Navy committed to getting as many as 80 of these "little crappy ships" (per one surface warfare admiral) to build-up the Navy's ability to fight littoral (brown- and shallow-water) wars. The entire concept of building many cheap ships crewed by not nearly enough sailors (original estimate was a ridiculous 40 man crew) and warfare modules that can be swapped out in 21 days has collapsed. The ships do not work and the exhausted crew cannot cope. Now all of them are dry-docked for repair and /or modification. The concept of multi-crew ships has been blown-up by a training program that cannot train crews fast enough to be proficient.

[Jim Noble]

Build the Montana class BBs.

[Jim Noble]

Build the Montana class BBs.

[ClearCase_guy]

Mean Time Between Failure (MBTF) for naval vessels may be measured in hours, but not usually in single digits, but for the LC it seems to be.

[pfflier]

"They were being told April, now they are being told mid-to-late May,"

Seriously?

I remember deployments that were open ended during the Persian Gulf War. Ordered to pack for thirty days come home in 179 (one day short of a PCS). Only one flight suit through the whole thing. It soon became a matter if pride to see who's was the most gamey.

Does anyone know what Stop Loss did to the troops?? Their enlistments were extended for months or years for the needs of the service. That's hardship.

[SueRae]

Totally unacceptable.

[Cicero]

But do they have transgender bathrooms? After all, this is the New Navy.

[JimRed]

...original estimate was a ridiculous 40 man crew...

Four watch sections of only ten men each. OOPS! Forgot to back out the Skipper and XO, 2 cooks, 2 stewards, 2 master-at-arms...leaves four 8 man watch sections. Or could go three sections with more deck apes and no stewards, 12-man sections and dog watches for rotation.

[reed13k]

4? On my FFG we were port/stbd for nearly two years. But then the OHPs had a similar proposed manning issue. I think they were supposed to be ~150 peacetime and ~190-200 during conflict, but when you’re forward deployed there really isn’t any down time... and we sure didn’t staff up during gulf-1

[B212]

50 years ago men were recruited from farm country...today's men and women, have no/no mechanical sense, like checking the oil levels in the propeller reduction gear box....

[Grampa Dave]

People, unless they have been in the Navy, don’t realize that a normal work day re your skill set is a minimal 8 hours.

Then, you stand 2 separate 4 hours watches.

That is on a normal day. On other days, any problems, GQ’s, training exercises take precedence.

On these ships, the crews wear out. So does the electronic and mechanical gear and the ship due to lack of preventive maintence time.

Then, when your ship doesn’t return to its homeport, your family suffers even more because you are still at sea.

[Grampa Dave]

Never accept a free flight suit from a real air jock.

If a Navy Doc offers you his, it was probably like new.

I have stolen your Mark Twain re newspapers and your Who watches the night watchman.:)

You can use my other Latin Phrase, Cui Bono! Who benefits, when you can’t figure what is happening, why and so who benefits!

[RitchieAprile]

let’s resurrect the Spad and Jenny too.

[DoodleDawg]

Build the Montana class BBs.

Because wasting $30 billion on the LCS program wasn't enough money down the drain?

[PIF]

Then there’s the vaunted F-35 ... peas in a pod - both designed by committees to do everything and nothing well - so nothing works.

[Jim Noble]

Well, there are two differences between the Montana class BBs and the LCS:

1) We need more workers and more domestic steel to build them, and

2) In shallow water they look badass rather than like toys.

[DoodleDawg]

Well, there are two differences between the Montana class BBs and the LCS

And one similarity - both are useless in today's naval scenarios.

[Hiryusan]

Build the Montana class BBs.

We can’t...no armor plants, gun lathes, gun pits, steam spares, etc. Even the existing spares were scrapped by certain past administrations.

[Jim Noble]

We can’t...no armor plants, gun lathes, gun pits, steam spares, etc

So, build 'em.

#MAGA

[Bull Snipe]

Why build a ship that’s offensive capability is only 24-25 miles.