Category: Navy

Stars & Stripes reports that the US Navy is changing their duty uniform again from the aqua-flage we’ve all come to love to a more traditional camouflage;

A two-year rollout should put the green, pixelated, camouflage work uniforms — called the Navy Working Uniform Type III — in every sailor’s wardrobe by October 2019, the message said. They’re replacing blue outfits — nicknamed blueberries — that have been the Navy’s only authorized work uniform since July 2010.

The first sailors to get the new uniforms will be at the Navy’s Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill., at Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and in the Southwest Region, the Navy said in its message.

The old gear is being phased out partly because of sailors’ complaints, former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said last summer. Sailors have panned the blue outfits as uncomfortable, heavy and a fire hazard.

Yeah, well, whatever. Who actually cares that the Navy has a camouflage uniform – they ride boats, big gray looming targets. I get that camouflage is cool-looking, but what a waste of taxpayer dollars. If anyone could pull off the old cotton OD green fatigues (which cost about $13/set) it’s the Navy.

The Stars & Stripes reports that some bodies were discovered in flooded compartments of the USS JOHN MCCAIN by Navy and Marine Corps salvage divers and that Malaysians, aiding in the search, have found another body that may or may not be one of the ten missing sailors that were lost when it collided with the Liberian-flagged Alnic MC oil tanker.

[Adm. Scott Swift, Pacific Fleet commander] said the destroyer suffered “significant damage” to its port side aft. The admiral, who said flooding has been halted, praised the crew’s damage-response efforts.

“I visited with the crew today,” Swift said. “They are tough and they are resilient. It is clear their damage-control efforts saved their ship and saved lives.”

CNN claims that the accident resulted from a steering failure;

The McCain suffered a steering failure as the warship was beginning its approach into the Strait of Malacca, causing it to collide with a commercial tanker, a Navy official told CNN.

The official said it was unclear why the crew couldn’t use the ship’s backup steering systems to maintain control.

Earlier, another US Navy official told CNN there were indications the destroyer experienced a loss of steering right before the collision, but steering had been regained afterward.

The Washington Post reports that the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson has ordered a fleetwide review of training in the Pacific after the collision last night of the USS JOHN MCCAIN with a commercial tanker;

On June 17, the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided off the coast of Japan with a much heavier container ship, drowning seven sailors after a berthing compartment inside the ship flooded in less than a minute.

In addition, the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel on May 9 off the Korean Peninsula and the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam ran aground Jan. 31 in Tokyo Bay, near its home port of Yokosuka, Japan.

[…]

Richardson said the trend of accidents in the Pacific “demands more-forceful action” and ordered a one-day “operational pause” in Navy fleets across the world to make sure they are operating safely. More significantly, he ordered a separate investigation into how the Navy prepares its forces to operate in the Pacific.

“This will include, but not be limited to, looking at operational tempo, trends in personnel, materiel, maintenance and equipment,” Richardson said. “It also will include a review of how we train and certify our surface warfare community, including tactical and navigational proficiency.”

The Marine Corps recently lifted their operational pause in the use of their OV-22 Otter fleet when one slammed into the back of the USS GREEN BAY transport ship, causing three Marine deaths.

According to Fox News, 10 sailors are missing and five more killed when the Yokosuka, Japan-based USS JOHN MCCAIN collided with the commercial tanker Alnic MC near Singapore;

Authorities said four of those injured were medically evacuated by a Singapore navy helicopter. They suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Search and rescue efforts were launched in coordination with local authorities, the Navy said. Initial reports indicated the warship sustained damage to its port side aft, the left rear of the ship.

The collision occurred at 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time. There is a massive search and rescue underway, involving tug boats out of Singapore and helicopters. An MV-22 Osprey is expected to arrive soon.

A photo of the damage;

Stars & Stripes reports that former Navy Captain Jesus Cantu became the 19th person convicted in the Fat Leonard mess when he pleaded guilty yesterday;

Cantu admitted taking bribes and prostitutes from Francis until 2013, when he was serving as deputy commander of the Military Sealift Command’s Far East division in Singapore.

According to the plea agreement, Cantu’s final escapade with Francis occurred on Sept. 13, 2013, when they went to dinner in Singapore and partied with prostitutes at Francis’s expense. Three days later, Francis was lured by federal authorities to San Diego and arrested in a sting operation after a years-long investigation into his company.

Cantu was questioned at the time by a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent about his contacts with Francis, but gave “materially false” responses, the plea agreement states. He retired from the Navy the following year.

Ten more cases are pending.

Mick and Chief Tango send us links to the news about the firing of three folks commanding the USS FITZGERALD after the ship collided with a Filipino ship, ACX Crystal, last month. According to Fox News, commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson; the executive officer, Commander Sean Babbitt; and Master Chief Petty Officer Brice Baldwin were “detached for cause” by Admiral William Moran, Vice Chief of Naval Operations because the Navy had lost confidence in their ability to lead the sailors.

The Associated Press reports that nearly a dozen other sailors face non-judicial punishment that has yet to be determined.

“Serious mistakes were made by members of the crew,” Moran said, adding that he could not fully detail those mistakes because the investigation is ongoing. He said “the bridge team,” or the sailors responsible for keeping watch on the ship’s bridge to ensure it remains safe, had “lost situational awareness,” which left them unable to respond quickly enough to avoid the disaster once the oncoming container ship was spotted.

Separately, the Navy released the results of a review of events that took place aboard the ship after the collision, focusing on the crew’s efforts to control damage, save lives and keep the ship afloat.

From Fox News;

“Clearly at some point the bridge team lost situational awareness,” said Moran, describing the group of officers and sailors responsible for driving the warship through the water.

“It is somewhat amazing that we didn’t lose far more,” Moran said.