welcome... if the contractor isn't made to fix this on their own dime, something has to change in the contract process
Posted on 08/23/2014 4:07:48 PM PDT by GATOR NAVY
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan – The USS Bonhomme Richard will likely miss its next underway deployment after a botched $3 million resurfacing of the amphibious assault ship’s flight deck.
The ship had undergone the resurfacing less than a month ago.
“A recent application of non-skid coating on the flight deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard was not up to Navy safety standards and is being reapplied,” Cmdr. William Marks, spokesman for 7th Fleet, said in an email to Stars and Stripes. “This will cause an increase in port time and decrease in underway days for Bonhomme Richard.”
An “accidental gouging” of the flight deck on Aug. 8 led to a visual inspection, during which time officials from Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center Detachment Sasebo saw the non-skid surface was flaking.
Further testing confirmed the nonskid material had not set properly, making the surface unsafe for flight operations, something preliminary quality-assurance testing didn’t indicate, Marks said.
The problem was immediately reported to Naval Surface Forces Pacific.
“We are now researching the root cause of the failure,” Marks said. “There could be a number of reasons it didn’t set properly and we won’t know the final details until additional testing takes place.”
As a result, the ship will likely have to delay its next deployment, which was set for late September or early October. The ship is currently conducting sea trials, and the repairs will take place afterward.
Personnel from SRF-JRMC Detachment Sasebo are working with technical experts from Naval Sea Systems Command and Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock on a rework plan, the Navy said. The same contractor, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, is expected to reapply the nonskid with increased oversight.
“At this time, the contract for this rework is not yet complete,” said Marks. “SRF is still reviewing what it can do to hold the original contractor accountable for paying for the rework.”
The Bonhomme Richard — which can carry a crew of 100 officers, 1,000 sailors and 1,900 Marines, along with four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters — is often called into duty when disaster strikes. Most recently, the ship spent more than a week in the Yellow Sea, assisting South Korean officials after the April 16 sinking of a South Korean ferry.
While the ship is out of commission, Navy officials say they will lean on the USS Peleliu — which arrived Friday in Sasebo a port visit — and the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group to pick up the slack.
“Peleliu can be configured to conduct the same operations and take the same types of aircraft and landing and attack craft as USS Bonhomme Richard in different numbers,” Marks said. “Her characteristics are different, but she can support the same mission as USS Bonhomme Richard and this will not affect our participation in planned exercises throughout the deployment.”
The Bonhomme Richard arrived in Japan in April 2012 to replace the USS Essex, which had its share of problems during its final days in Sasebo.
In the months before the hull swap, mechanical and maintenance issues made the Essex unfit to fulfill its mission. In July of 2011, the ship was unable to take part in the Talisman Sabre exercise in Australia, and it never left port in February of 2012 when it was to participate in Cobra Gold training in Thailand.
Ironically, the Bonhomme Richard broke down while en route to Sasebo to replace the Essex. Problems with its boiler forced the ship to stop in Okinawa for repairs before making it to Sasebo.
For years, Navy officials have said that the high operations tempo placed on ships have led to advanced wear and tear.
Testifying before Congress in 2012, then-Vice Adm. William Burke, who was serving as deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics, said the Navy has “a limited supply of forces.”
“When you have these additional deployments, you sometimes impact the maintenance, or you impact the training, which will impact the maintenance,” Burke said. “So what we have is one event cascading into another, so we don’t get either of them quite right.”
kimber.james@stripes.com Twitter: @james_kimber
The current picture at Norfolk:
One carrier in overhaul (based on the West Coast)
One in post-overhaul
One in maintenance
One on deployment
One post-deployed
Therefore, at most 4 carriers in the basin at once right now.
The other carriers are based on the West Coast and Japan.
Not even Cheney fit that description sad to say. The downturns began under his Sec of Def watch.
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I worked for Bell Helicopter at that time and Cheney was the one who shut down funds for the V-22 Osprey that significantly delayed the aircraft’s continuing testing, production and deployment to the USAF and USMC. The aircraft is a proven winner, now, but could have been in use much sooner.
I like Cheney’s attitude, but politicians don’t understand, or refuse to listen to aides who do, the impact of just cutting items from their budgets.
We used to ‘call’ her “Bonnie Dick”...
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LOL at your whole posting.
Same name we called her. The USS Shangri-La was called the “Shi**y Shang”. I had a couple of friends on that ship from our public school days and one time in the Med we were able to visit each others’ ships. ...It really fit the slang name.
Nothing like the sound of a deck grinder taking up non skid. Right?
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You were lucky to be below the Hanger deck! I was in V-2 Catapults and our berthing was only ONE deck below the Flight deck, just below the arresting gear! When we finished our launches for the night, we’d just be starting to get some sleep and the aircraft recovery would begin, with the planes hitting the deck plates about 4-5 feet above our compartment.
I had three cruises right underneath the wires.
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Similar to what I posted before seeing your comment.
I also served on “Rosie” but finished active duty in 1962.
I did a shore tour at SIMA Portsmouth, the shop next to ours was the Non-Skid shop. Temperature seemed to be a critical factor. They’d often check the flight deck temp prior to laying ‘skid. They were always busy, but still 1/2 the jobs would be done by contractors, (many of those guys were former sailors).
More than once, there would be a “bad” batch and the stuff wouldn’t adhere correctly. Tedious process, shot peen the flight deck, primer, lay the skid. That primer was instant head ache inducing. The Navy guys would be wearing respirators, the civvy guys, nothing. The fumes that were coming off of that primer had to be killing braincells.
This was 30 years ago, perhaps the process has changed.
OMG...I spent a week on the Rosie back in the mid-seventies on exercises down in the Carribean, and it was pretty bad. She was very advanced in years at that point.
LOL...I always wondered why someone thought they could put sleeping quarters below the flight deck right there, but...they were wiser than I. They knew that people would simply get used to it...and we did, didn’t we?
And, thanks for serving!
V-2, eh?
The first time I walked all the way forward during flight operations on that deck, I happened to be right by one of the bow cats when it shot, and I nearly crapped my pants. I had no idea that was what it sounded like right next to it without ear protection!
(I was doing that thing on the ship when you are new, where you just start walking around to see where you can go...and happened to walk right up there)
Thanks! This is interesting...and irritating too.
Funny how you can have your own name for your ship, but other people generally know better than to use it. I was on the Kennedy, and everyone, even outsiders, called her “The Big John”.
We used it as a toilet-based reference, but outsiders and the brass who used it clearly didn’t mean it an epithet the way we did!
Some of the nicknames of ships were funny (even if some were tragic in their origin, like “ForrestFire”)
I recall “Sinkin’ Sara” and others...
Louis XIV purchased the French East Indiaman Duc de Duras, and placed her under the command of John Paul Jones. Jones renamed her Bon Homme Richard - usually rendered in more correct French as Bonhomme Richard, to honor Benjamin Franklin, the American Commissioner at Paris whose Poor Richard's Almanac was published in France under the title of Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard.
There may well be a go back on the contractor, if corners were cut.
awesome
welcome... if the contractor isn't made to fix this on their own dime, something has to change in the contract process
I believe! You are correct..
Same name we called her. The USS Shangri-La was called the “Shi**y Shang”.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
At one time you could have called her ‘Shi**y Shi**y Shang Shang”, after the Movie.....
The Henrico (APA45) was “The Happy Hank”
and Terrell County (LST-1157) “Terrible Terrell”
Must remember though going back to the flat hat days etal, if you are not ‘showing the ships name’ on your sleeve or cap, best not say to much about it one way or another, especially in ‘mixed company’.
Of course, once you transfer off a ship, you are allowed to speak in awe of her but the disparaging remarks are best kept to oneself.
Like they said...
The two best ships(duty stations) one every served on were the one you just left and the one you were going to.
Oh yes, that ‘pecking order’ did not stop at ships.
On board it was Deck V Engine Room followed by the ratings in your own Section.
It went to type ships, squadron ships, Phibs, Cans, Fly Boys, etc etc...
Pride sure runs/ran deep and in the end ALL the Sailors would bond together ‘against’ the Marines and the Marines and Navy would bond together to take on the ‘rest of the world’........
I always wondered why someone thought they could put sleeping quarters below the flight deck right there,...
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I think it was because it provided us a quicker access to our battle stations during general quarters, instead of being several decks below. There were passageways along the port side and catwalks that permitted us to move from the berthing compartment to our stations forward much faster than having to climb ladders. (I carry scars and dents in my shins from the edges of hatch combings while running in near dark to travel about 600 feet to my station during GQ)
Regarding the noise of landings... Yes, we got used to it and slept like logs. ........Thank you for your service, too!
I remember the monthly “snake” demonstrations in the streets?!
For those that don’t know, young Japanese leftists would form up in half mile long columns about 10 abreast and lock arms with each other. Then they would move down the 4-5 lane street that led to the base snaking back and forth across the street, incredibly, the Japanese riot police always outnumbered them and when thy got down in front of the main gate our Marines would just ignore them and they would fight with the riot police.
Their politics nationally must have been pretty weak though because the base is still there and bigger than ever.
We also lost the F-14 Tomcat program under his watch. An expensive program sure but it ruled the skies. Cheney listens to contractors the most. That was his big downfall.
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