U.S. Navy

If not for the tragic death of 7 USN sailors the fact that our Navy was rammed by a container ship would be fodder for the late night comedy shows. Least we forget a Chinese submariner "popped up" in the middle of the carrier fleet surrounding the Kitty Hawk in 2006. Perhaps to deliver Chinese Take-out?

US Navy 7th Fleet commander dismissed after a series of ship collisions

David Choi, Business Insider

Aug. 22, 2017, 9:56 PM

Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander, US Naval 7th Fleet, speaks with sailors in Busan, South Korea. US Navy
US Navy Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the three-star commander of the US 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, is reportedly being relieved of duty, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing officials who pointed to a series of ship collisions and the deaths of several Navy sailors under his command.

Although Aucoin was scheduled to retire in a few weeks, the Navy's strict adherence to customs and traditions dictate that commanders be relieved of duty when superiors lose confidence in their leadership, The Journal reported.

The news follows the collision between the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters early Monday. The collision tore a hole into the destroyer's left rear hull. Ten sailors disappeared. Though exact numbers remain unclear, search-and-rescue divers found the remains of some sailors in sealed compartments on the vessel, according to the Associated Press.

The McCain collision followed another fatal collision in June involving the USS Fitzgerald and a commercial container ship, killing seven sailors. Both the Fitzgerald's executive officer and senior enlisted sailor were dismissed following the incident.

Following the McCain collision, the Navy said that it would put an "operational pause" on all Navy vessels and ordered a broad investigation. Four accidents involving ships have occurred in the western Pacific since February, according to The New York Times.

From WSJ Letters to the Editor 8/31/2017

Regarding your editorial “The Navy’s McCain Moment” (Aug. 22) and Seth Cropsey’s “Has the Navy Reached Its Breaking Point?” (op-ed, Aug. 24): I served on a carrier during the Vietnam War and my principal duty was that of a watch officer. I went through countless hours of trading watches, serving first as a junior officer of the deck under instruction, then a junior officer of the deck and finally reached the pinnacle of officer of the deck underway.

We had captain’s standing orders for use when the captain wasn’t on the bridge. One of the most important was when to call him when we had a contact that was CBDR, constant bearing-closing range. That indicated a potential collision. When passing through heavily transited areas, i.e., Gibraltar, which we always did at night, we had the captain, executive officer, navigator and, of course, the officer of the deck (OOD) on the bridge. We posted extra lookouts for boats which didn’t show navigation lights. When in the Mediterranean we were constantly shadowed by Russian trawlers which harassed us. I never heard of any collisions during that period.

I’m struck by the spate of collisions, but even more concerned when I enlarged the photo of the USS McCain, which showed a rusting, ill-kept warship. We had paint crews out every time we entered or anchored in ports. The discipline to keep shipshape was imbued in us, as was the safety of the ship.

The captain bears the ultimate responsibility, and the OOD is in total command of the ship. These collisions are unacceptable, and I would expect both the captain and OOD of the McCain to be court-martialed for dereliction of duty and manslaughter. And I suggest rather than having our fleet standing down, the CNO enact training standards for OOD’s in the Navy.

David A. Rosow, Lt. j.g. USNR (Ret.)

Palm Beach