Posted on 06/14/2022 11:28:40 AM PDT by American Number 181269513
No. Commercial fisherman.
Marines.
I'm not sure about the McCain, but the Fitzgerald was mainly attributed to poor comms between the bridge OOD and CIC. Seems there was some friction between the 2 females in charge according to many sailors interviewed in the investigation. Both investigations included operational fatigue due to under-manning and extended sea time that takes away time from required training.
I just read the Navy is undermanned by about 6,000 sailors.
“...The vehicle - a kind of seafaring tank...” [from the original article]
“Sounds kind of unseaworthy.” [1Old Pro, post 2]
The media thinks any armored vehicle used by the military is a “tank.”
If the story was otherwise accurate, the machine that sank was a type of armored personnel carrier that floats, and powers itself from ships onto the shore during assaults on hostile landmasses.
Amphibious landings are perhaps the most complex and risky activities that armed forces can undertake. Designers and engineers have been working since before World War Two, to produce armored vehicles that can protect troops while remaining sufficiently seaworthy to make it ashore without foundering. Compromises are difficult, as the criteria for one phase clash with criteria for the other: armor sufficiently thick to provide serious protection drives the vehicle’s weight up so high that it floats only marginally.
Military operations are inherently hazardous, even the best planned training events can result in a lost life. That’s why the services have developed risk management tools. In this case, the leaders let time pressures cloud their judgement. Despite that, most training events are conducted safely.
For perspective, the accident rates during World War II were staggering. Of over 43,000 aircraft lost, about 20,000 aircraft of all kinds we lost in accidents.
Oh hell no! I’m no naval officer, and even *I* know you don’t send an AAV out into those conditions.
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