Posted on 01/18/2019 4:28:53 PM PST by daniel1212
.. so much worse than previously thought.
A scathing internal Navy probe into the 2017 collision that drowned seven sailors on the guided-missile destroyer Fitzgerald details a far longer list of problems plaguing the vessel, its crew and superior commands than the service has publicly admitted.
Obtained by Navy Times, the "dual-purpose investigation" was overseen by Rear Adm. Brian Fort and completed 11 days after the June 17, 2017 tragedy.
Their report documents the routine, almost casual, violations of standing orders on a Fitz bridge that often lacked skippers and executive officers, even during potentially dangerous voyages at night through busy waterways.
The probe exposes how personal distrust led the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Sarah Coppock, to avoid communicating with the destroyer's electronic nerve center — the combat information center, or CIC— while the Fitzgerald tried to cross a shipping superhighway.
When Fort walked into the trash-strewn CIC in the wake of the disaster, he was hit with the acrid smell of urine. He saw kettlebells on the floor and bottles filled with pee. Some radar controls didn't work and he soon discovered crew members who didn't know how to use them anyway.
Fort found a Voyage Management System that generated more "trouble calls" than any other key piece of electronic navigational equipment. Designed to help watchstanders navigate without paper charts, the VMS station in the skipper's quarters was broken so sailors cannibalized it for parts to help keep the rickety system working.
Since 2015, the Fitz had lacked a quartermaster chief petty officer, a crucial leader who helps safely navigate a warship and trains its sailors — a shortcoming known to both the destroyer's squadron and Navy officials in the United States, Fort wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
One of the guys I worked with had three daughters and his wife. Once a month he and his son moved out to let them have at it.
My cows all eventually synch up and go into estrus about the same time. Sure makes it easy to round them all up for AI. We only need one happy clean-up bull and get good and varied genetics trials without shopping actual bulls that are not as good as the straws that we can afford.
Exactly. People in the military have to twist the truth to survive.
#14. Exactly. Obama’s “Queens Navy”. Can’t remember the SecyNav who was under Obama but he was so bent he couldn’t walk up a gangplank without falling off of it.
Shit. I used to have lunch with Arleigh Burke, Radford, Dan Galley (U505), and one other from WW2/Korea. These were real men, not Ken Barbie Dolls.
Met Middendorf and Adm. John McCain II (CINCOMPAC)and SecyNav Lehman. More real men.
Who the hell is running the Navy today, McHale?
Captain Maylon T. Scott was the commander of my ship, USS Biddle DLG-34, call sign Hard Charger. My home for three years, from ‘67 to ‘70.
It was a very different time, a different Navy.
One of the crew members published a book about it, and has several blog posts. This one is from the decommissioning ceremony in ‘93.
The one lone comment way down at the bottom of the page is mine:
https://ussbiddle.wordpress.com/decommissioning-25/
The last paragraph describes Capt. Scott, alone on the pier as his ship is being towed away:
“Captain Scott departed the ceremonies to attend to personal business, intending to return later for a few last goodbyes. Upon return, he found that all had left except for workmen who were dismantling the tent. Biddle had already been nudged from the pier into the channel and was being towed away to be stripped of her equipment and await her fate. Standing alone and at attention, Captain Scott watched as Biddle slowly disappeared. With one, last silent salute, Biddle faded from sight, but not from the hearts of Captain Scott and the thousands of Hard Chargers who served in the United States Navy’s finest, USS Biddle!”
Urine filled bottles in the CIC?
Is that standard ops?
The problem rests above the captain as at the time (and maybe stil)l Navy ship captains are given OJT with no prior training on running a ship as there once was.
She said if DJT corrects the BS, she might re-enlist.
—
Hope she isn’t holding her breath
What was the failure rate for the men in the class with the women?
There were no failures. Women can not fail ...
Jeez, what a damning report. No wonder the Navy sat on it. Considering that partial blame shot up to Navy back in the States, it seems insufficient heads rolled.
Given the massive amount of Navy regulations, you’d think it wouldn’t make much difference between one Commanding Officer or another. But I’ve experienced radical changes when new OICs come on station. There’s an amazing amount of leeway.
Is this a phony picture? In my day, chevrons and ratings went onto the left sleeve exclusively, not on the right as shown here on one of the ‘sailors.’
Not so in the USN, where lines of responsibility are often unclear
Yep. It’s a phony picture.
Humorous to recall/review all the conspiracy theories posted around this incident when it happened...”freighter crew Islamic terrorists” being the most popular:
Remember “Hanlon’s Razor” & “Occam’s Razor” apply in most cases:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3561939/posts?q=1&;page=151
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3561885/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3562169/posts
I am not at all for dropping physical or other standards to allow more women to pass into positions in the military (or firefighting or police work either, for that matter) and what you post doesn’t surprise me in the least.
But the one thing from the article at the top of this thread is that counter to reports here, it wasn’t a woman who was the commanding officer of this ill-run ship, but a man.
My guess, also, is that unfortunately this sort of thing is probably rife through the navy and other branches of the military.
Absolutely.
“Is this a phony picture?”
You know, I knew something was off about the picture (besides the VERY obvious!). I’ve sewn on a few rating patches ...on my left sleeve...during my time in Uncle Sam’s Canoe Club. But memories fade, so I didn’t pick up on the wrong placement.
Good eye, sir!
I feel personal embarrassment over this. I only served 4 years enlisted, many decades ago, but this report still hurts me... makes me wonder what the Hell has happened to the USN.
Where’s Captain Queeg when you need him?
That’s right; she’ll get a free pass with the gender card.
Watched a show on the crash of flight 1493 at LAX back in 1991, and it was completely the fault of a female air traffic controller. The program did mention that it was her error, but then piled on a bunch of other excuses - she got away with killing 35 people (no charges).
You don’t get to define his own concept of success, and more importantly, what the Navy says represents success. This is a problem throughout all of the services, and through society at large. Achievement and competence is no longer the metrics of success. Now, hiring actions, promotions, bonuses, selection for positions is based on social goals including diversity and identity groups.
Hope she isn’t holding her breath
><
She’s disabled from a Humvee roll over from an IUD near miss in Iraq. She’s going to school. She is conservative and I’m sure she is monitoring the situation through friends who are still active duty.
Friggin Colonels and flag officers playing PC politician to advance their careers is one major problem.
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