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Accountability: The Axe falls on the GW
By Bull Nav
I have been wondering for some time when this was going to happen.
SAN DIEGO — The skipper and executive officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington were fired Wednesday, Navy officials said, in the aftermath of an investigation into the May 22 at-sea fire that blamed unauthorized smoking that ignited improperly stored flammables.
Ships have fires. Not a lot but they happen. Most are small and quickly extinguished and usually don't require even a port visit to repair.
The GEORGE WASHINGTON has been in port San Diego since late May undergoing evaluation and repairs. It missed its scheduled relief of the USS KITTY HAWK and participation in the RIMPAC exercise.
The fire has forced the delays in the turnover of both ships and crews in San Diego, now scheduled to begin Aug. 7 when the Kitty Hawk arrives in San Diego, Navy officials said.
George Washington is slated to leave San Diego on Aug. 21 for Japan, where the ship is expected to arrive in late September, they added.
I had an instructor once upon a time who insisted that accidents did not happen: they are caused.
When you find the cause is lax standards, you punish those responsible, which on a ship is the Captain. He is held accountable.
Its unfortunate. But in my mind they were lucky: no one died.
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Comments
The Navy does not like to lose one of its ships, for any reason.
And the Captain is ultimately liable, even though he is not responsible.
You've got that backwards there, Jim.
My old CO always told me that you can delegate authority, but not responsibility.
The CO is always responsible for anything that happens on his ship.
I think the fact that the ship will be late getting to Japan is an aggravating factor here and really made the flags angry. The last year CNFJ had been performing unnatural sex acts convincing the Japanese that there was nothing that could go wrong with GW and it would be on time.
Now it is going to be late-and it won't matter to them what the reason is.
Even though it actually works to the Navy's advantage to have the ship be late coming to Japan for reasons that are technical and not best discussed here.
So Skippy-San I get to SUB-ject ya,
Skipper is the LAST word on a S.O.L
Maybe a friend of yours and for that I am sorry. BUT, the SKIPPER takes the heat for the major F.U.'S on his ship! THAT is the way it has and always will be in the HAZE GRAY AND UNDER WAY DOCTRINE. Thank God no sailors died in the incident, and I hope that what-ever swinging-dick started that cluster-F is keel-hauled trough the time-line and shell-backed with a garden rake up his poop-deck.
The Doc has spoken
Richard,
I'm not saying that the CO should not have been fired-I'm simply pointing out the damage from this one lapse spreads far and wide. It is also clear to me that it is going to suck to be on that ship for the next year or so. I was in Japan when KHK CO got fired.
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The wheels of (naval) justice grind exceedingly small. The position of ship's Captain, though analogous to any other commanding officer, is in a class by itself.