Yea, this is a Connecticut focused article and the Senator and a congressman from there are at it.
The Silent Service is an especially unique bunch and they look for a certain type of individual to recruit for this specific reason. Just because their cruises are a bit longer gives me no indication that fatigue would be the primary cause. I would tend to think it has more to do with the environment they are asked to operate in as their missions are now replete with all sorts of social experiments and not focused on the prime mission directive.
“The submarine’s commanding officer was relieved of duty, and the costly mistake also led to changes in the way the submarine force trains, plans for, and executes complex maneuvers.”
It bothers me that they so frequently punish the Captain and often the Captain had nothing to do with it. I remember writing reports and a standard element that was always required was, “The technicians were retrained to ensure this would not happen again.” Firing the Captain is reminiscent of (oh, and we fired the Captain so this will never happen again.)
I can’t remember the name of the WWII admiral, maybe Nimitz. He badly damaged a ship in his pre-war career and it was his fault. Had he been sacked for it he’d not have been available for the war.
There is so much invested in an officer we should really think hard before relieving them from command even if they did make a mistake. It’s reminiscent of those ludicrous zero tolerance debacles carried out by schools where they expel a kid for nibbling a pop tart into a gun.
It’s a stupid mistake. A full 360 sonar sweep is always done before coming to periscope depth. Someone needs more training.
Take it to periscope depth!
But sir I’m picking up noise.
Don’t but sir me!
Aye Aye skipper.
When we were at Pearl Harbor sub base, one of the subs returned home and was immediately covered in tarp and had Marines (I think it was Marines) standing 24 hour guard over it. Turns out we got too close to a Russian ship and damaged our sub. I think it was the Queenfish. That was kept real quiet.
It could be fatigue, considering that most shifts are 6 on 6 off. During the 6 off, you do the housework and study study study. Getting your “dolphins” is a big deal and your expected to have them within a year. Weeding out otherwise is/was preferable as you were a safety concern and therefore unreliable.
Fact is, most of the incidents on subs and surface ships are preventable and the fact, too, is if your surface ship is in the Black Sea and you are docking or piloting, if you are the Commanding Officer and you aren’t on the bridge taking control, then you are derelict in your duties. Same for surfacing or periscope depth with a sub. Subs do not surface or come to periscope depth too often and when they do, you better be there directing operations.
That is cut and dry. Is it clear enough?