Even under ideal circumstances things go wrong. We lost #3 MMR and had a switchboard melt due to a boiler feedwater line rupture right over the switchboard. Thankfully no one got hurt. I think it was either while we were in the last part of the 79 Med Cruise or a smaller sea trial afterward.
I can tell you something about America and why no radar before the 93 deployment. It's basically simple. The Operational electronics/Avionics systems on a carrier are very high demand cooling capacity dependent. Two of six generators? Of her 10 at that time A/C units only one if that would have been operable. I say that from first hand personal knowledge of her system I worked on. Damage Control such as fire pumps comes first then lights etc and the power needed to operate the boiler itself.
The chillers were the single biggest electrical power consumers. Chillers #1-6 took about 1600 amps at 460 volts to light off and then after the surge about 220 amps running. Chillers 7,8, & 9 took roughly 1200 amps start up and 180 amps running. Chiller #10 added in 1980 {I signed for that one LOL} took about 2000 amps start up and IIRC 300 amps running. No A/C meant no electronics except for one critical navigational equipment space that had it's own back up package unit. GOD help us if they are running the Nuke carriers ragged like they did the conventional at their end. Nuclear doesn't mean you can skip yard periods. The yard times are as much for addressing auxiliary equipment maintenance /replacement as it is addressing hull and propulsion issues.
I get what you’re saying. Remember when they announced that they weren’t going to make the 600 ship Navy goal, and James Webb resigned as SecNav in protest?
I had a friend who was assigned to a Garcia-class Frigate at the time. He said that the thing was a deathtrap and the crew was afraid to take it to sea. They were thrilled when the decommission order came down, thought Webb was a primadona idiot for his resignation stunt.