Posted on 08/23/2017 10:45:50 AM PDT by Oatka
Full title: "US Navy Loss Of The USS Guardian, 2 Patrol Boats, USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain. Why Does The List Keeps Going?"
Four ships in four years – not to mention USS Antietam grounding and the USS Fitzgerald collision – apparently due to breakdowns in seamanship, something is wrong.
Having served for a combined 36 years in the Navy and the civilian Military Sealift Command, I have had the opportunity to compare both systems of grooming deck watch standers. In my opinion the surface Navy expects too much too soon from its surface junior officers.
Initial sea tours on Navy combatants is an exercise in surviving a pressure cooker. One has to be a division officer (sailors and equipment), bridge, engineering , in-port watch standers, finish surface warfare qualifications, navigate constantly around the globe in ever changing environment, while trying to get ones feet on the ground. Standing watch on the bridge is Often a break from the endless work. SWO’s brag about lack of sleep and constant fatigue. They are known to eat their young. I did it so why can’t you is the mentality. With a reduced Navy the deployments never cease. Most cannot wait to get off the ship. In this environment people break down.
In officer accession programs surface skills are not considered sexy like aviation, submarines, or special ops. In fact the surface navy is too often the last choice for many new officers. Seamanship is not the focus of officer training programs. Aviators are not expected to get familiar with the plane and then learn on the job to see if they can do it.
Update: Search Continues for Missing John S. McCain Sailors
Contrast that with a merchant marine licensed officer. Most 3rd mate sea tours consist of 8hrs/day of bridge watch standing only, protected by rest/work rules. While challenging the environment is much more benign, not as fast paced and most of the senior licensed officers have many years of experience of focused at sea experience to draw on and time to mentor young cadets one-on-one.
Merchant Marine Academies and licensing requirements focus on seamanship skills to pass the rigorous USCG licensing exams, Summer sea tours focus on learning navigation skills, not so with Navy. New 3rds, make six figure salaries and are compensated well with OT. They serve an average four months at sea then go home, usually for more training but they are not living on the pressure cooker, which is the ship.
There are many similarities and many differences between the Navy and Merchant Marine. Each can learn from each other. Maybe new Surface Officers should spend their first two years at sea in a watch standing role to learn navigation, weapons warfare skills and engineering. Running a division of sailors is onerous by itself for a 20 something if only because of the paperwork requirements to take care of your people.
A requirement for surface officers to prepare for and pass the 3rd mate USCG licensing exam is excellent preparation for seamanship skills.
There is something wrong in the surface navy, this is the fourth seamanship disaster in as many years, with the loss of a USN minesweeper on a reef in the Phillipines, capture of two USN patrol boats in Iranian waters, now the collisions of two DDG’s, which are a mainstay of our sea based anti-missile capability at the height of tensions with North Korea (I could go on).
Slow things down, allowing time time for junior surface officers to gain more experience and emphasis on basic seamanship skills may be an answer. They are expected to do too much too soon, and all the technology in the world does not solve that.
Joe Tenaglia is a former Special Operations Officer with a specialty in Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism. and Maritime Security. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University after completing a 4-year NROTC program and was commissioned as a Naval Officer. He was qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer, Navy Diver, Naval Parachutist, Master EOD Technician, Intelligence Specialist, and a marine ammunition logistician . He retired as a Commander with over 20 years of distinguished service. Since his retirement from active duty he has served as an Anti-Terrorist Training Officer for the Military Sealift Command. He specialized in training licensed and unlicensed crews, military and law enforcement personnel in maritime anti-terrorism measures and response, shipboard security tactics, basic small arms and compliance with ISPS/MTSA security regulations. He can be reached at jtenaglia01@gmail.com
Eight years of obama trans/gay training, affirmative action promotions, fears of any EO complaint and not enough time spent learning how to sail/fight...
Great article.
Thanks for posting this.
Close to this time last year, the USS Louisiana (SSBN-743) collided with the offshore support vessel USNS Eagleview (T-AGSE-3) in the Strait of Juan de Fuca off the coast of Washington.
No, we were expected to do three or four jobs at once. First, you are a division officer. Second, you are an airman (pilot, NFO). Third you are Scutt Job 1 (Morale Officer, Coffee Mess Officer). Fourth you are whatever they make you on deployment (facilities sanitation officer, Family Affairs Officer, whatever). You are always tired and if it weren't for NATOPS rest requirements, you would fly until you did something stupid and killed everyone aboard the aircraft. Until NATOPS was instituted in the 1960s, that's just what happened.
That aside, the surface Navy has been moving towards more accidents as under-manning and lowered standards have continued. LCS was originally to have a 40 man crew. That fantasy blew-up the first time an LCS went to sea.
Now please list all the merchant marine issues that occurred in the same time frame and we can do more than just a straw-man.
The only difference is the merchant marine may still be able to work after the incident, in the Navy (now not so in the past - did you know Adm Nimitz ran one of his commands aground?) your done - career over - OOD, CO, others....
In WWII COs of frigates were often junior LCDRs. Yet there was no such call. Merchants have their issues too... their requirements don’t include fighting the ship... and that is part of why the Navy has more watch standees than merchants.
There are reasons for the different systems. Few have served in both. The issue from this past OODs perspective is a lack of training time at sea.
I agree.
USCG Academy provides training and all requirements needed to graduate and apply for their 100-ton license. Many hours of ship driving in maritime simulators as well as summer assignments aboard ships where they integrate into the watch schedule to amass apprenticeship sea-time. All that, a 4 year degree and a paycheck too.
Interesting that CDR Joe Tenaglia’s article mentions nonetheless of that. Did he retire BEFORE Obama rammed all that crap down DOD’s throat? Maybe he didn’t experience any of that junk.
IMHo, the "secret weapon" used to cause the collision of both the Fitzgerald and the McCain is the labor arbitrage behind outsourcing chip production to China.
Very Chinese approach, really. Plant termites in the house then let the house fall in its own good time. Then you can show everyone your clean hands and express great sympathy for for the people who no longer have a house.
JMHo
I see the erosion of leadership in the enlisted ranks. The CPO actually ran the division, with the LPO in a more take charge role. The JO had the time to concentrate on his other duties. It just doesn’t seem to be that way anymore.
Answer - hubris
My neighbor once told me that, as a junior naval officer, his captain ordered him to take his ship away from the dock and head towards sea. He told me he didn't have the slightest idea about how to do it. BUT, there was a senior NCO behind him, who had done it many, many times, and the NCO told him (quietly, so the Captain didn't hear) how to do it step-by-step.
How is it possible Adm. John M. Richardson has not been fired yet? His navy can’t even sail from point A to point B without crashing into stuff and killing sailors. He needs to be replaced immediately!
If memory serves, didn’t that weird USS Zimwalt have to be towed in on her first shake down cruise?
New $4 billion USS Zumwalt breaks down again, needs tow through Panama Canal
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/11/22/uss-zumwalt-out-of-commission-again/
Tow, tow, tow your boat! US Navy’s ‘truly unstoppable’ new warship breaks down after only three weeks at sea and has to be pulled back to shore
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3357454/USS-Milwaukee-breaks-towed-base-Virginia.html
Gee, maybe they read my suggestion 15-20 years ago, that any military hardware (ships, planes, missiles, weapons, electronics, radar, etc.) we sold to other countries should have a hidden self-destruct feature that our forces could activate if it was ever used against us. Maybe they've done so with the chips!
Learn by doing, under competent supervision. That's the best way. The captain likely knew that the junior officer would have the help he needed, and would learn more by doing than by watching.
Or techies from Antifa, MoveOn, CPUSA, Resist, Occupy...
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