Posted on 09/29/2020 8:26:53 PM PDT by Mariner
A U.S. guided missile destroyer ship has broken the record for the longest consecutive number of days at sea for a military surface vessel, the Navy said Tuesday, underscoring the effects of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The USS Stout reached 208 days at sea Sept. 26, spending nearly seven months in the Middle East and the North Africa area, known as the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The previous record of 207 days, held by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS San Jacinto, was also set this year.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the Navy to cancel port visits to prevent sailors from being exposed while ashore.
Earlier this year, more than 1,000 sailors were infected with Covid-19 on board the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. One sailor died and the aircraft carrier was sidelined in Guam for weeks.
In an exclusive interview last month, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said the Navy has learned from the Roosevelt incident and has been successfully preventing transmission on ships, but he acknowledged changes, like fewer port visits and longer time at sea, have put more stress on the sailors and hurt their quality of life during deployment.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Aye, they are Stout.
No other navy in the world can do this, and we had at least 3 ships do it this year.
But know it's tough on the crew to demonstrate to the enemy that we are tireless and ever present.
A salute to the crew of the U.S.S. Stout! I’m sure they are all more than ready for a port call! In the meantime, fair winds and following seas.
Their next liberty is going to be a doozy.
Unlike most navies, the US Navy and its ships are designed for long periods at sea and sustained operations. China aims to do the same, but they are not there yet, not even close.
Been there, done that. Got the crabs to prove it. Subic Bay, 1967.
Crossing the Olongapo river bridge, after exchanging money, the diving girls shouting “Sailor throw me coins”.
Dang! That’s a long time at sea! You forget what day of the week it is. Heck you forget the month.
You still have those crabs? LOL
And if you throw them a penny, they throw it back. Straight out of $h#t River.
“destroyer ship”. idiots.
There’s women on ships these days, or so I’ve heard.
That is horrible! I can only imagine how many steel deck BBQ and swim calls they must have needed to stay sane.
My 1st ship had a blues band at least to entertain us.
If this was in mid 80s whenbI was in...there would be a lot of brand new Camaros purchased when the ship got back to port .. ...but now you can spend you money over the internet so who knows.
I forgot about that....probably half the men are broke and half the gals are buying homes.
“Venmo me 30 bucks and meet me in aft steerage around 0100.”
“Crossing the Olongapo river bridge”
They didn’t call it the sh!t river bridge in ‘67?
I’m betting they won’t be in the running for any retention awards.
Please, do explain. Describe some things a civilian like me doesn’t know.
I did 102 days under Reagan.
At least we got a couple of beers for it.
And that sucked ass.
I can’t imagine 208.
Back in ‘84 my ship was at sea 284/365 days. We had a few port calls sprinkled in to make it feel better. 208 straight is ROUGH duty.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.