This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Navy

  • MCCAIN’s officers canned

    MCCAIN’s officers canned

    Business Insider reports that the commander and XO of USS MCCAIN, Commanders Alfredo Sanchez and Jessie Sanchez have taken the fall for the ship’s collision with an oil taker last month;

    Although the investigation is ongoing, the Navy called the collision preventable and said “the commanding officer exercised poor judgment, and the executive officer exercised poor leadership of the ship’s training program.” The Navy’s strict adherence to customs and traditions dictate that commanders be relieved of duty when superiors lose confidence in their leadership.

    Thanks to Mick for the link.

  • Navy brings back pencils and compasses

    According to the New York Times, the Navy is turning away from technology and looking at returning to using pencils and compasses to avoid collisions like the two last month which cost 17 sailors their lives;

    Collectively, current and former officers said, the new rules mark several significant cultural shifts for the Navy’s tradition-bound fleets. At least for the moment, safety and maintenance are on par with operational security, and commanders are requiring sailors to use old-fashioned compasses, pencils and paper to help track potential hazards, as well as reducing a captain’s discretion to define what rules the watch team follows if the captain is not on the ship’s bridge.

    “Rowden is stomping his foot and saying, ‘We’ve got to get back to basics,’” said Vice Adm. William Douglas Crowder, a retired commander of the Seventh Fleet and a former deputy chief of naval operations, who reviewed the four-page directive issued on Sept. 15, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “We ought to be doing this anyhow.”

    They’ve also decided that sailors need more rest and more training;

    “We found some things about risk that didn’t match what we thought, and we’re making changes in things we discovered,” Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan, commander of the Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain, said in a telephone interview.

    “When we have something like this happen, we do rigorous homework,” Admiral Donegan said. “We’re not standing fast.”

    There is little argument, however, that a shrinking Navy is performing the same duties that a larger fleet did a decade ago, and that constant deployments leave little time to train and maintain ships amid their relentless duties.

    Funny how they’re arriving at this conclusion now, but no one had the guts to tell their civilian masters last year, you know, when lives could have been saved.

  • Hillary Clinton, the backseat driver

    The other day, Hillary Clinton sent this tweet from her backseat, or from the trunk, or from a trailer with one broken wheel being dragged behind the country;

    It’s a shame that she wasn’t thinking of the Americans in the Benghazi consulate when she could have actually done something from the front seat. Anyway, the Washington Post helpfully points out;

    The Navy already had two amphibious ships off the coast, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Oak Hill, so the few thousand Marines and sailors aboard could launch relief operations. But her call to action took off, with a petition on the website Change.org garnering more than 100,000 signatures in three days and critics expressing frustration with the hashtag #SendtheComfort.

    Yeah, those petitions really have an influence on the body politic. Almost as much influence as a loser of the last Presidential election in her tweets.

    Either way, the USNS Comfort will be steaming towards Puerto Rico soon. You know, even though Puerto Rico kicked the Navy out a few years ago.

    Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rosselló has complemented US efforts thus far;

    “I know it is a challenging situation,” Rossello acknowledged. “This is the most devastating event in the history of Puerto Rico… But we U.S. citizens who live in Puerto Rico, the proud U.S. citizens who live in Puerto Rico, want to work, want to deal with the emergency, but we are also looking forward for a special aid package from Congress.” He urged that the federal government “act quickly,”

    Yeah, coming off of two other disaster relief operations in Texas and Florida, helping Mexico with it’s earthquake victims and now Puerto Rico – all within a month, I think we’re doing fine. Maybe not as quickly as the victims would like, but help is on it’s way.

  • Admiral Scott Swift chooses retirement

    Admiral Scott Swift chooses retirement

    The Navy’s Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral Scott Swift announced his retirement, and the Navy Times speculates that it was because he was passed over for promotion. Those collisions in the Pacific Rim are causing quite a shakeup among flag officers;

    Adm. Scott Swift’s announcement, made in a posting to Pacific Fleet’s website, marks the latest departure for regional and surface force commands in the wake of two fatal destroyer collisions this summer that killed 17 sailors.

    Navy officials confirmed last week that Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, the three-star in command of Naval Surface Force, would put in for early retirement, but declined to offer further details.

    Also last week, newly installed 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Phillip Sawyer fired Task Force 70 commander Rear Adm. Charles Williams and Destroyer Squadron 15 head Capt. Jeffrey Bennett.

    The destroyers Fitzgerald and John S. McCain, involved in the fatal collisions this summer less than two months apart, were overseen by those two units.

    Before that, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was fired as head of 7th Fleet just days after the McCain disaster in August.

    In Monday’s statement, Swift said the service’s top officer, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, had informed him that he would not become the next commander of U.S. Pacific Command.

  • Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Jeffrey Thomas earns Silver Star

    Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Jeffrey Thomas earns Silver Star

    AW1Ed sends us a link to the story of Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Jeffrey Thomas who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Iraq on October 20 and 21, 2016 while his unit was engaged in a 10-hour firefight with elements of ISIS forces after an IED ambush.

    After the lead vehicle in the convoy struck an improvised explosive device, mortally wounding a teammate, Thomas exited his vehicle and swept the vicinity for additional explosive devices in spite of enemy mortar and small arms fire impacting near him.

    This enabled medics to maneuver to the damaged vehicle and provide critical combat care to the casualty. Thomas then guided the remaining vehicles out of the minefield, ensuring all forces safely reached the medial evacuation zone.

    “No one that was present on the 20th of October knew better than Jeff the dangers he was facing,” said Cmdr. Geoff Townsend, commanding officer, EODMU 3. “After the EOD supervisor, a friend and mentor, was mortally wounded Jeff knowingly exposed himself to hazards in order to protect the lives of his teammates and brothers in arms, and secure a MEDEVAC for his wounded teammate. His actions that day saved the lives of his teammates and exceeded all measures of selflessness and devotion to his country.”

    From the Navy Times;

    A 10-hour firefight ensued, during which Thomas repeatedly maneuvered through heavy small arms, RPG and mortar fire to sweep for additional explosives, enabling medics to reach the disabled vehicle and care for casualties.

    Thomas then guided the vehicles out of the minefield, ensuring safe transport to the evacuation zone.

  • CTF-70 Commander fired

    CTF-70 Commander fired

    Commander Task Force-70 reports that Rear Admiral Charles Williams has been fired from his assignment as commander of the Carrier Task Force along with Captain Jeffrey Bennett, commander of the Destroyer Squadron – 15 (DESRON-15) because Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer, commander of U.S. Seventh Fleet says that he’s lost confidence in their ability to commander.

    Stars & Stripes reports that the loss pf confidence stems from the string of collisions;

    In January, the USS Antietam ran aground and spilled roughly 1,100 gallons of hydraulic fluid into Tokyo Bay. In May, the USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing boat while operating off the east coast of the divided peninsula. In June, a collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a Philippine-flagged merchant ship killed seven sailors. Last month, a collision between the USS John S. McCain and a civilian merchant vessel killed 10 sailors.

    The commanding officers of the Antietam and Fitzgerald were relieved of their duties.

    Thanks to W2 for the tip.

  • Navy sends USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN to Keys

    Navy sends USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN to Keys

    Mick sends us a link from Fox News which reports that the carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN is steaming towards the Florida Keys along with USS IWO JIMA and USS NEW YORK to help with recovery operations there;

    Statewide, an estimated 13 million people, or two-thirds of Florida’s population, remained without power. That’s more than the population of New York and Los Angeles combined. Officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone.

    More than 180,000 people huddled in shelters in the Sunshine State.

    I guess the sailors have their work cut out for them.

  • Gitmo weathers Irma

    The other day, the LA Times was wringing their hands about the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba and it’s residents, most specifically, the terrorist detainees warehoused there, since Hurricane Irma was headed in that direction. The Pentagon decided that the 5000 folks there should shelter in place rather than evacuate.

    A special prison at the base also holds 41 detainees captured overseas and held on suspicion of terrorism, including the ringleaders of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

    The base has “initiated its severe weather plans and is preparing to shelter in place,” Navy Cmdr. John Robinson, a prison spokesman, said in a statement.

    “It has plans and procedures in place to ensure the safety of detainees in its custody during severe tropical weather conditions,” he said.

    “Due to force protection and operational considerations, we do not discuss details about those plans and procedures.”

    Well, they needn’t have worried. The Miami Herald reports that everything is just fine down there;

    “So far no damage of any significance has been reported or discovered,” Navy Capt. Dave Culpepper told the roughly 5,500 residents through a midday broadcast on Radio Gitmo. He had earlier decided not to send base residents to hardened shelters after tracks showed the storm going north of the base, and no destructive winds were expected.

    Bay waters were still rough, with 6-foot-swells, requiring no ferry crossings although a smaller utility boat could carry passengers between the Leeward and Windward sides.

    “The beaches are all still closed,” Culpepper advised, reporting that after a survey of the damage “tracking nicely to get back into full operations here.”

    Well, see, the beaches are closed – I’m sure that’s Trump’s fault.