I saw that coming the day the story broke. In that biz, there is no second chances. Screw up once and you’re history.
Dead link
Gee,one wonders why the Guardian,of all news sources,chose to feature this story.Can anyone help me out here?
Steely-eyed Killers Ping.
Apparently they were radioing the nuke logs. Not career-enhancing at all.
The was a pretty easy call by the Navy on a very serious matter. Even though HAMPTON is a high-profile command, the same would have happened to any CO on any boat.
Hey Mike- I think it’s www.monster.com.
The navy sure has had a run of poor officers the last couple of years, what is this about the fifth that has been relived of his command.
No need to rub salt into his wounds. His career is over. The navy wouldn't let him command a rowboat now.
The Nuclear Navy has the most unforgiving standards in safety and technical proficiency. I’m only surprised that they’re not bringing him up on UCMJ charges.
It appears from a preliminary investigation on the Hampton that sailors in Submarine Squadron 11 had skipped the required analysis of the chemical and radiological properties of the submarine's reactor for more than a month, even though a daily check is required.
It is always the radcon! People who aren't Navy Nukes probably won't understand this but radcon (radiological controls) is one of the most tedious jobs on a nuclear reactor. Probably half of the Navy Nukes who have been to Captain's Mast (UCMJ Art 15) have been there due to falsified radcon logs. I remember 2 in my last two years at my old command--and one would have made Chief but was busted down to E-5 (and would have been denuked if his record wasn't spotless)!
The problem with reactor chemistry and radcon logs is that even though the job is tedious, if you start to make something up and aren't extremely smart about it, the logs will always give you away. Always. On my old boat those logs were reviewed over and over again before giving them to the CO to review just to make sure that some dumb ELT (Engineering Laboratory Technician--Navy Nuke who does Radcon work) didn't screw something up. Reading those logs and looking for discrepancies was about as much fun as watching paint dry, but without the fun fumes to distract you.
And if the CO doesn't catch errors in radcon logs, the Squadron will always put their nose in and check things out and the ORSE board, Naval Reactors Inspectors, and the Shipyards. Those logs that a tired ELT scribbles down at O'dark thirty will probably be reviewed by 10-15 people eventually. Someone will eventually find the error. I don't think even reactor operation logs are reviewed as religiously.
I used to repair Squadron 11 boats on USS McKee. USS Hampton was commissioned about 2 weeks before I left active duty.
I’ve seen a few unplanned and quiet change of command ceremonies for the boats. As dangerous as sub duty is to all aboard, the captain’s career is probably most at risk.
When I first read this story, I was amazed that it sounded like the entire ELT (RC Div ?) group was in on this. I could see one guy trying to radio the logs, but the whole division? Was the Div-O relieved as well?
What were these guys doing for the month? We are not at war requiring the use of a submarine. Were the crew just crusing around playing cards while on duty? How hard is it to just do the job you were hired to do?