[Gay State Conservative]

In the Navy, about the only thing worse than running your vessel aground is the death of crew members.

I know nothing about the Navy (I was Army) so this might be a stupid question,but....might this incident have been caused by circumstances/conditions (perhaps which arose suddenly) that the Captain could not have foreseen? Might these deaths have happened in spite of all safety procedures having been observed?

[rottndog]

May the dead sailors RIP.

Despite all precautions, accidents do happen. All military operations are hazardous, even in peace time, and it's a tribute to the professionalism of todays armed forces that more people don't die in accidents. There will be an extensive and thorough investigation, and if this was not preventable, the CO and others in charge at the time will be exonerated. But even if no fault is found, this incident will be incorporated into future training (the military is excellent at learning from its' mistakes).

[Lancey Howard]

might this incident have been caused by circumstances/conditions (perhaps which arose suddenly) that the Captain could not have foreseen?

The Captain will be relieved for not foreseeing these circumstances/conditions.

[Doohickey]

It's not a stupid question. Yes, that may be the case. Topside is a dangerous place that isn't built to be manned, despite the presence of non-skid and safety tracks.

The topside linehandlers all wear safety harnesses that include a 4' long tether with an additional 4' of breakaway strap that acts as a shock absorber. All that is attached to a t-shaped safety track in the deck with a C-shaped ring called a deck crawler.

[John Jorsett]

I know nothing about the Navy (I was Army) so this might be a stupid question,but....might this incident have been caused by circumstances/conditions (perhaps which arose suddenly) that the Captain could not have foreseen? Might these deaths have happened in spite of all safety procedures having been observed?

It's possible, but the odds are against it. The probability is very high that someone screwed up on some procedure or rule, and, while that individual is responsible, the captain almost always takes the hit too, since he's ultimately in charge of deeming people fit for their assigned duties. It's a very unforgiving system, but a necessary one.

[dsc]

"might this incident have been caused by circumstances/conditions (perhaps which arose suddenly) that the Captain could not have foreseen? Might these deaths have happened in spite of all safety procedures having been observed?"

Won't matter. They'll burn him at the stake anyway.

[xxqqzz]

"I know nothing about the Navy (I was Army) so this might be a stupid question,but....might this incident have been caused by circumstances/conditions (perhaps which arose suddenly) that the Captain could not have foreseen? Might these deaths have happened in spite of all safety procedures having been observed?"
I haven't served in either, but there is probably a different attitude towards men getting killed between the two services. In the navy, you typically will have some casualties in combat, but usually don't lose many men without losing the whole ship. In the army, there is more likely to be some casualties in any combat situation, so casualties due to accidents or hostile action may not reflect as badly on the commanders.