Pelican Parts Forums - Another USN ship in collision

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk (Post 9714321)

Just a few points from me, much less valuable than Sandy's opinion.

Command climate has a lot to do with how ships operate. I cruised on Frigates and Aegis Destroyers and the feel of the ship from one CO to the next could be astounding.

Sounds like your young SWO got a good ship. Fantastic.

Back in the day - remember I was an OOD on a steam ship - the watches were four hours with a two hour dog of the watch everyday.

Dogging means the watches move - you don't stand watch the same time every day.

I don't think the cell phones were the root of the problem, I was just citing an example. This week I had to condemn a brand new berthing module ( conex box with bunks and lockers). A circuit breaker was tripping and they called me over to troubleshoot it. I found so many dangerous electrical problems I thought might electrocute someone I couldn't just walk away from it. Caused a huge stir all the way up to squadron level. The ship has electricians yet they called a contractor...
I flew to Singapore last month because a deployed ship was having battery issues on one of their 11meter RHIBs. They had exhausted their on board supply of batteries replacing dead ones. Once I got there I found the on board battery charger circuit breakers were off, I asked the crew to demonstrate how they hook up shore power. They thought the polarity indicator light was for the battery chargers and never looked. Why didn't the crew look in the operators handbook of the boat? Why didn't their Chief / Operations boss take a look or ask the right questions before spending 20 thousand dollars to send a contractor halfway around the planet? I sure did, and I did not pass on the opportunity for refresher training on how to operate their equipment.

Bottom line is, I think technology and training plays a huge part in what I see. I also think ineffective leadership plays a huge role.
Like Paul said, different commands are just that, the climate at one ship could be the best ever but the one moored right next to it could be absolutely horrible. It takes years for a ship to get over a bad command triad. A great command can really do wonders. I can go on and on with sea stories ( just one of the services I offer) but there is definitely a problem and I hope somebody implements a solution to correct it before any other people die. I am trying to do my part.