Posted on 02/18/2014 1:12:28 PM PST by gandalftb
The guided-missile frigate USS Taylor, one of two ships on deployment in the Black Sea, is being inspected for damage after running aground last week as it was preparing to moor in Samsun, Turkey, a spokesman for the U.S. 6th Fleet said Tuesday.
The Taylor was able to moor without further incident, and there were no injuries, said 6th Fleet spokesman Lt. Shawn Eklund.
The incident, which occurred on Feb. 12, is under further investigation, Eklund said.
The Taylor and the USS Mount Whitney, an amphibious command ship and the 6th Fleet flagship, entered the Black Sea on Feb. 4 on what the Navy said was a routine and pre-scheduled deployment to the region.
The Pentagon announced their planned deployment in January, after terrorist groups threatened to disrupt the Olympic Games in Sochi, the resort town on Russia’s Black Sea coast.
(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...
Does not matter ..
“I think their chances of staying with a murder charge is more likely then running the ship aground even today.”
Killing people and breaking things (like enemy ships) is the Navy job description.
Breaking the Navy’s ship - not so much.
The commanding officer takes credit for all success ... or failure ... in his (or her) ship’s operations. The immediately responsible personnel will also get some degree of proper recognition.
More often lately in the last decade. I know they have huge exercises in the Summer in Ukraine that last at least a month. I believe port calls are becoming more popular.
Interesting...
Glad it wasn’t interpreted as hostile action.
Charts out of date? Or helmsman a touch too slow/fast on the “right full rudder”?
IIRC, Captains rarely are allowed the excuse of people below them being at fault, especially for collisions or groundings. The thinking is that the Captain's job includes putting people of the job, and leading them in such a way that those incidents either don't arise, or are caught before they occur.
I also had a former Navy Captain tell me that the US Navy believes in "luck," too, when everything else is equal. Some Capatains are simply luckier than others. Not smarter, just luckier.
Case in point, this particular Captain told me he was moving his nuclear powered cruiser out of dock in San Diego, all 500+ feet of it, and, being in a line of docked naval vessels, he decides he's going to do a reverse u-turn right out of the dock to end up pointing seaward, and then just cruise out, instead of backing out.
Well, the other pier was roughly 500+ feet away. So as he's swinging the bow around from the planted stern, he realizes that he might not make it. So he sounds the collision alarm, and all the sailors on the other ships come out to watch... and his bow juuuust misses colliding with a ship docked across the inlet.
So I asked him what he did then, and he replied, "I issued a stand down order, and sailed out of the port."
And I said, "that's it?" And he said, "yep, the Navy likes lucky Captains."
So I asked him what would have happened if he had actually hit the other ship with his bow.
"My career would have instantly ended, and I would have been court martialed for breaking regs," he said.
I laughed, and then asked, "so why take such a big risk"?
He laughed right back and said, "because I'm lucky!"
I don’t think it works that way in the Navy. Ship goes aground, Captain goes ashore. Loss of confidence, etc., etc.
While I was aboard the USS Intrepid, we made it all the way up the Bosporus to Istanbul ... near the entrance to the Black Sea. Upon leaving Istanbul, the constant current from the Black Sea had us pointed in that direction ... so we pulled up anchor in a special way:
Several AD's on the flight deck were lined up fore and aft, tied down while facing - respectively - port and starboard. When the anchor came up, the AD's revved their engines up and beautifully turned the Intrepid around in midstream.
Diversity training and protecting the rights of gay Americans is much more important in today’s Navy than something like seamanship.
“Well, that was a great career.”
Well there is one rope choker who is about to lose his job.
And rightly so.
The commanding officer takes credit for all success ... or failure ... in his (or her) ship’s operations. The immediately responsible personnel will also get some degree of proper recognition.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
In the pre Lloyd Bucher/USS Pueblo days, the CO was responsible for ANY member of his crews actions. If a power outage happened and he was ashore, HE better have the answers for the ‘Inquisition Board’.... Of course in those days, the greater Majority of Ships were Commanded by White Males, definitely no Women and possibly a handful of Minorities.
The Pueblo incident changed things because Bucher, the CO wasn’t allowed in some spaces but the Court of Inquiry wanted to Court Martial him and his ‘research officer. CDR Bucher for ‘losing’ the ship and LT Harris for not damaging all the required, classified records(at the time also Buchers ultimate responsibility).
SECNAV decided to not Court Martial Bucher or Harris, the ‘head’ of the CT Detachment, or ANY Pueblo Crew Member, determining that they had all ‘suffered’ enough.
Not long after that the “CO is God” theory remained but the ‘responsibility’ phase was somewhat lessened, dependent on the circumstances.
The U.S. Navy inherit most of their traditions from the Royal Navy. The commissioning document for a naval officer is an instructive example. A commission in the British Army was once governed by purchase, influence, and social rank and was peppered with phrases from the Sovereign referring to “my dearly beloved cousin”, faithful, etc. etc. The Navy commission was very different. Though social rank and influence were important, Naval officers were held to very strict standards in the execution of their duties and handling of their ships. This from 1800:
By the Commissioners for executing the Office of the Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland &c and of all His Majesty’s Plantations &c.
To Lieut. ..... hereby appointed Lieutenant of His Majesty’s Ship the.......
By Virtue of the Power and Authority to us given We do hereby constitute and appoint you Lieutenant of His Majesty’s Ship the ..... willing and requiring you forthwith to go on board and take upon you the Charge and Command of Lieutenant in her accordingly. Strictly Charging and Commanding all the Officers and Company belonging to the said ship subordinate to you to behave themselves jointly and severally in their respective Employments with all the Respect and Obedience unto you their said Lieutenant; And you likewise to observe and execute as well the General printed Instructions as what Orders and Directions you shall from time to time receive from your Captain or any other your superior Officers for His Majesty’s service. Hereof nor you nor any of you may fail as you will answer the contrary at your peril. And for so doing this shall be your Warrant. Given under our hands and the Seal of the Office Admiralty this ..... day of ....., ..... in the ..... Year of His Majesty’s Reign.
By Command of their Lordships
The U.S. Navy had the same attitude and still does.
Just about. I’m sure it ranks up there in the top 3 of ship Captains worst nightmare I bet. He’ll be Captaining a Tug or Garbage Scowl.
“Several AD’s on the flight deck were lined up fore and aft, tied down while facing - respectively - port and starboard. When the anchor came up, the AD’s revved their engines up and beautifully turned the Intrepid around in midstream.”
Didn’t the carrier in “The Bridges of Toko Ri” do something similar (ie. use aircraft thrust to vector the ship)? I think that those were also Skyraiders if I’m not mistaken.
What did he say about those who had their ships sunk? /s
yeah but usually since he’s running the ship (top dog) he bears the consequences. personally it would make more sense who’s actually in command on the bridge at the time of the incident.
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