![\"flight](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/USS-Ronald-Reagan-flight-deck-1800-e1545316890211.jpg\")
An aviation boatswain’s mate directs an aircraft on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the Philippine Sea, Sept. 20, 2018. (U.S. Navy photo\/Kenneth Abbate)<\/p>\nAn aviation boatswain’s mate directs an aircraft on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the Philippine Sea, Sept. 20, 2018. (U.S. Navy photo\/Kenneth Abbate)<\/p>\n
But 100-Hour Workweeks Continue<\/em><\/strong> The relentless Pacific Fleet OPTEMPO and misguided “More with Less” attitude, combined with a leadership blind to realities, were direct causes of needless loss of life and trauma, millions of tax dollars for repairs, and careers shot down. Lessons have been learned, or better re-learned, in ensuring ships and their crews are able to perform the missions assigned. But the realities of life at sea hasn’t changed.<\/p>\n YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Navy ship crews in Japan have seen a drastic improvement in training certification numbers, but some sailors report no change to heavy workloads cited last year as a contributing factor in two deadly ship collisions, according to a Government Accountability Office report.<\/p>\n The report, published last month, said the Navy in Japan had “improved markedly” the number of surface ship crews with lapsed training certifications over the past year.<\/p>\n In September 2017, about 41 percent of guided-missile cruisers and destroyers based in Japan were operating despite expired certifications. As of November, that number was down to 3 percent.<\/p>\n These certifications are given in crucial areas such as damage control, surface warfare and navigation once crews complete required trainings and meet qualifications for their rates. They signify that a ship’s crew has met Navy standards and is ready to deploy.<\/p>\n After three ships based in Japan were involved in collisions last year — two of which killed a total of 17 sailors — the Navy made it more difficult to issue waivers to allow ships to operate on lapsed training certifications. A new policy requires multiple, high-level officials to approve a waiver.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “The Navy has [increased certification numbers] by pouring resources into what’s called the Afloat Training Group, and that means that folks are going out and working with the ship crews to make sure that they’re trained and certified before they deploy,” Pendleton said at the hearing.<\/p>\n The ATGWP oversees maintenance, training and certification for the Navy’s ships in the Pacific. It was launched this year in Yokosuka to have an on-site team dedicated to working closely with ship commanders to ensure ship and crew standards are met.<\/p>\n While the renewed emphasis on training addressed one causal factor identified in the collision reports, Pendleton said it did little to improve another factor: sailor exhaustion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n My NATOPS was written in blood. So are these certifications. Read the rest of the article at: Military.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nStars and Stripes | By Caitlin Doornbos<\/p>\n