Posted on 05/27/2018 10:36:52 AM PDT by BBell
During the transit, a change in settings on the ship’s new digital integrated bridge and navigation system caused the 18-year-old helmsman to lose control of McCain when the steering function was transferred to another terminal on the bridge.
“We put this on this 18-year-old,” Sanchez said. “I did not put him in a position to succeed.”
Essentially they sucked the steering wheel out from under the poor guy. That'll do it.
Thanks. Good information in that article.
What? Have their misconduct rewarded with a huge retirement package and lifetime benefits? Forfeit one month's pay?
You need an edit to the word order.
'Unfortunately, the Navy doesn't give people quality commanders'.
Was Traitorobama listed as an unindicted co-conspirator?!?
Hells bells, a guy called Afredo Sanchez could easily be an AA hire.
In the court-martial, Sanchez admitted he acted against the recommendation of his operations officer, navigator and executive officer. They advised Sanchez to set McCain’s sea and anchor detail as the ship was entering the heavily traveled Singapore traffic separation at 5 a.m. local time on Aug. 21. A ship’s sea and anchor detail include a U.S. warship’s most experienced ship handlers that are put on the watch bill when the ship enters difficult operating areas. Instead, Sanchez ordered the more experienced watch team to get an extra hour of sleep and said he would supervise the less experienced crew on the bridge.
During the transit, a change in settings on the ship’s new digital integrated bridge and navigation system caused the 18-year-old helmsman to lose control of McCain when the steering function was transferred to another terminal on the bridge.
“We put this on this 18-year-old,” Sanchez said.
“I did not put him in a position to succeed.”
https://news.usni.org/2018/05/25/former-co-uss-john-s-mccain-pleads-guilty-negligence-collision-case
This is a disgrace. People killed and the incompetent negligent derelect commander who puts an untrained 18 year old in charge of helming a warship gets a slap on the wrist and a full retirement. The Nvay dirtbags who made this decision should be cashiered.
A disgrace day for the Navy. They gave a slap on the wrist to the incompetent negligent and derelct Officer of the Deck. And she gets to stay in the Navy!
It’s the rest of the story that is most telling. The lack of training on the new system is the cause of this disaster.
Apparently, on the Arleigh Burkes, the ship can be controlled from several different places. From an article at (of all places, Ars Technica, but given that it was a software User Interface UI error, maybe not surprising) titled: USS McCain collision ultimately caused by UI confusion
"...According to the report, at 5:19am local time, the commanding officer of the McCain, Commander Alfredo J. Sanchez, "noticed the Helmsman (the watchstander steering the ship) having difficulty maintaining course while also adjusting the throttles for speed control." Sanchez ordered the watch team to split the responsibilities for steering and speed control, shifting control of the throttle to another watchstander's station—the lee helm, immediately to the right (starboard) of the Helmsman's position at the Ship’s Control Console. While the Ship's Control Console has a wheel for manual steering, both steering and throttle can be controlled with trackballs, with the adjustments showing up on the screens for each station.
However, instead of switching just throttle control to the Lee Helm station, the Helmsman accidentally switched all control to the Lee Helm station. When that happened, the ship's rudder automatically moved to its default position (amidships, or on center line of the ship). The helmsman had been steering slightly to the right to keep the ship on course in the currents of the Singapore Strait, but the adjustment meant the ship started drifting off course..."
This 18 year old kid, probably not long out of Boot Camp, was in over his head. He shouldn't have been there, and the ship should have set the Special Sea and Anchor detail, but the Captain, in his misguided attempt to give his crew a break, doomed a number of them to death.
Possibly.
But I think what is just as likely was a failure of leadership in two areas: not having his people trained to the correct level of competency, and trying to give his crew a little respite at a time and place (one of the busiest sea lanes in the world) when he should have had them suck it up and had the best people on the job.
Both failure to train, and inappropriate manning of the ship by trying to go easy on the crew are failures of leadership.
I don’t know much about the Captain. You may be right, but I think it is unfair to label him an Affirmative Action hire just because his name is Sanchez.
Army PFC Oscar Sanchez gave his life, standing up in full in front of a suicide truck in Mosul, firing his weapon into the cab of the approaching truck which the suicide driver prematurely detonated, killing Sanchez, but saving the lives of many of his mates.
And so on. You know what I mean. I know in today’s Navy it is entirely possible this guy is an AA climber, but...looking at his career, he seemed to follow the appropriate paths to command. I contrast him with the black woman Obama promoted to full Admiral (Michele Howard) who was clearly an Affirmative Action hire, especially if you compare her service record to those who she was advanced over. It wasn’t even close.
Thank you for sharing. Still grieving.
Yes, you’re welcome. That we remember people like him this weekend is our duty as citizens and humans.
Actually, putting an 18 year old in charge is not the issue...it is the untrained part that really did the damage.
One of the things that has always made an impact on the military to me is the awesome responsibility it gives to very young people. I use my own experience to relate it:
When I was 20 years old and a flight deck troubleshooter in the squadron I was in, one of our planes was on the aft portion of the flight deck, one of the last to take off in what they called an alpha strike (like a maximum effort launch, everything that could fly would go...that kind of thing)
One of our planes had oil coming out of the belly, so I took off the wraparound panel (probably 30-60 Dzus fasteners, the kind that take a quarter turn to undo) so there were a lot. I took off the panel, and could see oil leaking at a decent rate from a fitting.
I figured it would take me just a couple of minutes to determine if the leak could be stopped...cut the safety wire, tighten the fitting, if it stopped, I could re-wire it, check the oil level, put the panel back on, and be good to go.
I started working, focusing on the work at hand (my head and upper torso inside the plane) when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked down to see a pair of khaki trousers being buffeted by the wind. It was a Chief Aviation Bosun’s mate, and he was one of the senior people on the flight deck.
I stood up and put my ear next to his mouth, and he yelled “CAN THE PLANE TAKE OFF?”
I yelled back “YES. I NEED TO FINISH SAFETY WIRING THIS FITTING AND PUTTING THE PANEL BACK ON...JUST ANOTHER TWO OR THREE MINUTES.”
He yelled “OK. LET ME KNOW WHEN IT IS GOOD TO GO. THE CAPTAIN NEEDS TO FINISH LAUNCHING SO HE CAN CHANGE COURSE.”
I didn’t give it another thought, got right back in, finished the job, and the plane taxied to the catapult, took off, and I went below.
It was only later that I thought of it: That entire carrier task force, the escorts, billions of dollars of equipment and probably 10,000 men were waiting for me to finish my job so they could change course and begin the next phase of operations.
All waiting on me, an average 20 year old guy.
What really struck me as I thought of it was...this is commonplace. We do this all the time. We load the young people in our military up with awesome responsibilities, and we expect them to perform. And they largely do almost ALL the time. When they don’t, people can get maimed or killed.
So when I read this, I thought of that 18 year old kid. That man. Hitting the wrong button, not having enough training or supervision to know his mistake, and nobody around him picked it up and set things right before a catastrophe happened and people died.
Sure, that is a combination of poor software, poor training, and poor leadership to get it to that point.
But the bottom line is, that young sailor is going to have to live with that the rest of his life.
This particular weekend makes me think of all those who have served and died, and those who have been permanently disfigured or scarred in some way in the service of their country. This young man will bear scars the rest of his life, as will the Captain, and the crew, along with the loved ones of those who lost their lives.
Your words are profound. Thank you.
Thank you for an excellent insightful analysis of the situation. After serving in the military at a young age and being expected to make immediate decisions—it was a huge comedown to spend my career in bureaucracies where all decisions were deferred to the next higher level. Any initiative to make immediate decisions was second guessed.
Should have said he was just being a “Maverick” after the ship’s namesake....
John S. McCain Sr. is the father of John S. McCain III, the current senator.
I agree with you that inadequate training plus inadequate supervision is more important than age alone.
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