Category: Navy

According to NPR, the commanders of the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain both face charges of Negligent Homicide for the collisions of their vessels last year;

A Navy investigation completed in November 2017 determined that both accidents were “avoidable” and reflected “multiple failures by watch standers.”

In the case of the USS Fitzgerald, the commander, two lieutenants and one lieutenant junior grade face possible charges of dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide.

The commander of the USS John S. McCain will face possible charges of dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide. A chief petty officer also faces one possible charge of dereliction of duty.

From Military.com;

An investigation into the Fitzgerald collision, reviewed by Military.com, found that watchstanders were looking the wrong way as the ship entered a collision course with the container ship ACX Crystal. When the danger was finally identified, the officer of the deck froze, giving an order and then retracting it as danger rapidly approached.

An investigation into the McCain collision, released in November, revealed massive confusion on the bridge as the ship made an early morning passage through one of the busiest sea lanes in the world.

Sanchez was on the bridge, but had not summoned a sea-and-anchor detail to assist with the movement, according to the investigation.

When he observed the ship’s helmsman was having trouble staying on course and controlling speed, Sanchez ordered the duties be divided up. But the message was not communicated, and chaos ensued, resulting in the helmsman incorrectly declaring the ship had lost steering.

The investigation also found that several of the sailors on watch had been transferred from the cruiser USS Antietam, and were not familiar with steering controls for the destroyer.

Associated Press reports that an Iranian oil tanker, the Panama-registered tanker Sanchi, has collided with a the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal. 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis have been missing since the collision and the US Navy has joined the search for the missing crew.

China, South Korea and the U.S. have sent ships and planes to search for Sanchi’s crew, all of whom remain missing. The U.S. Navy, which sent a P-8A aircraft from Okinawa, Japan, to aid the search, said late Sunday that none of the missing crew had been found.

All 21 crew members of the Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States to China, were rescued, the Chinese ministry said. The Crystal’s crew members were all Chinese nationals.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the collision.

The Sanchi was bringing oil from Iran to South Korea, the Crystal was hauling grain. The Chinese have begun to clean the nearly 1-million-barrel oil spill from Sanchi.

Jonp sends us a link to Fox News which reports that the Navy C-2A aircraft which crashed last month claiming the lives of Lt. Steven Combs, originally of Massachusetts, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Airman Matthew Chialastri of Louisiana, and Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Apprentice Bryan Grosso of Florida has been discovered in the Philippine Sea at about 18,000 feet below the surface;

A contracted salvage vessel located the aircraft using a pinger locator that homed in on the crashed plane’s emergency signal.

The focus now shifts to salvaging the plane from what would be a record-setting depth for such an effort, the Navy said.

“Despite very challenging conditions, every effort will be made to recover the aircraft and our fallen sailors,” the Navy said, adding that poor weather caused the initial mission to be postponed.

The cause of the crash is still being investigated. Eight sailors were rescued from the wreck due to the efforts of the pilot, Lt. Steven Combs, who the Navy has called a hero because of his actions during the tragedy.

The Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, made a trip to Afghanistan and he was photographed in Camp Shorab talking to some folks by the Marine Corps Times. He was strapped with a handgun, you know, in a war zone. Of course, CNN reporter, Barbara Starr couldn’t believe her jaundiced eyes;

Can someone explain why the civiilan head of the Navy is wearing a sidearm? @chinfo @SECNAV https://t.co/8YyrgkZSUf

— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) December 28, 2017

Good thing that he wasn’t eating two scoops of ice cream at the time.

From Business Insider;

Spencer was reportedly offered the pistol and ammunition from Marine commanders, according to a Navy spokesman cited in a San Diego Tribune report.

“He was offered the weapon to carry while he was traveling around [Afghanistan] and he accepted that offer,” the spokesman told The Tribune. “It was not something that he specifically requested and it was offered to everybody on the travel team.”

If I was in Afghanistan, where most of our recent casualties resulted from “insider attacks”, I’d have more than one firearm visible. Grow up, CNN.

We first wrote about Peter Mims when his shipmates found him below decks of USS Shiloh hiding, after they had searched the Philippine Sea. The Navy Times updates the story;

He had financial problems, his marriage had fallen apart and his chain of command was riding him about qualifications. He’d sought mental health counseling, but was not treated when he needed it most.

Before he disappeared from the cruiser Shiloh on June 8, Mims was known for making crazy-yet-sincere claims. Shipmates recalled him saying he had been to space, and that he could shoot fireballs out of his hands.

After he went missing and sparked a massive, 5,500 square-mile man overboard search across the Philippine Sea, the ship’s crew continued a hopeful and fruitless search for him inside the claustrophobic catacombs of the ship’s engineering spaces.

A week after he disappeared — and after his family was notified of his presumed death — a search crew found him hiding in an escape passage leading out of a sweltering engine room.

He was covered in urine and feces, and had a camelback, a multi-tool, Peeps candy and an empty peanut butter jar with him.

The Navy Times’ exclusive reportage is pretty extensive and detailed – Geoff Ziezulewicz did a really good job. You should read the whole thing.

After reading it all, I don’t know how the Navy didn’t see Mims’ bizarre behavior coming – but it looks like the Navy is divesting themselves of him at a reduced rank. I suspect he’ll be a phony SEAL on our Stolen Valor page soon.

Thanks to AW1Ed for the link.

Mick sends us a link to the Virginian-Pilot which has pictures of our Navy ships in Norfolk decorated with lights for Christmas;

For decades, the ships at Naval Station Norfolk have spread holiday cheer by decorating with brightly colored Christmas lights and decorations.

Operation Decorama challenges ship crews to see who can come up with the most colorful and creative holiday decorations for their ships. Here are some of our favorites. Let us know yours in the comments.

Yeah, I hated that shit when they made us decorate our cubicles when I worked in a federal office, but I’m sure sailors like this shit./s