Navy orders stand down of entire submarine force

wavy.com ^ | 01/15/2006 | N/A

[rwa265]

Navy orders stand down of entire submarine force

In a news release, the commander of the U.S. Submarine Force announced today that it will conduct an Operational Stand Down in the wake of recent submarine incidents.

In a message to the submarine force, Vice Adm. Chuck Munns, U.S. Submarine Force commander, directed the immediate "stand down" to focus energy and intellect back onto the basics of submarine operations.

The stand down comes after two incidents involving Norfolk-based submarines.

[SauronOfMordor]

here is a good article on sub procedure (with good pics)

[justshutupandtakeit]

That was my understanding. Thanks.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Thanks that is what I was calling two crews.

[lilycicero]

Thanks for this sonar ping Red.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Ohio has been undergoing transformation from the Boomer type to one undertaking tactical missions. I got to tour it last summer when visiting my boy. Incredible machine and men manning her.

I am happy to say I admire my son for his achievement in this program. And thank his glorious mother for him she would be bursting with pride.

[Doohickey]

SSN = Saturdays, Sundays and Nights. The majority of of submarines do not have two crews. The poster you responded to is correct. Subsequent posters are providing you with information that true for only about 25 percent of the submarine force.

[RedRover]

Thought you might like the company.

[SmithL]

Cheap Shots duly noted, aye.

Question, though. Do the boats that have been converted from SSBNs to SSGNs have one or two crews?

[lilycicero]

Yes, it only took me one family cruise to know that it is a hard living. Submariners are ok by me!

[justshutupandtakeit]

See #49.

[rottndog]

On the contrary--this is entirely for public consumption.

[Doohickey]

Okay, okay. Im sorry. From now on I won't make fun of my Fleet Ballistic Missile boat brethern. I know how sensitive y'all are

Do the boats that have been converted from SSBNs to SSGNs have one or two crews

Ohio's web page only lists one CO, so I think it's safe to assume that gone to a singe crew now.

[rottndog]

A Safety stand down will not result in Submarines coming back to port--all it will be is a couple of days of intense training on basic seamanship and safety, and more importantly, documenting that this has been done. All other training and drilling will stop until this is done. This is much more for PR than anything else, although it does have a lot of value in rehashing the basics of safety.

[rottndog]

How do the subs stay at sea almost all the time it there is no off crew?

At Sea priority #1--get on station and patrol, and stay there as long as possible or until relieved.

In Port priority #1--Get back out to sea to relieve another boat.


I can't tell you how many times we pulled into port just long enough to effect repairs and required maintenance, and then turned right back around and got back out to sea. Many times we were in just for a few hours. That's the life of an SSN submariner--very intense and fast paced, and absolutely unrelenting.

I have nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for those that stuck it out longer than I did, and I have absolutely no regrets for having served. I would gladly do it again.

[Disambiguator]

Yes, I've already acknowledged my mistake. Next time I'll check up on myself before posting.

:^)

[RobRoy]

Is this one of those "who is John Galt" things?

[Doohickey]

Okay, there's not really a blanket answer to that question. As much as I like to make fun of the boomer guys, they had a strategic mission that had entirely different demands from SSNs. Having to get a boat turned over to another crew and back to sea in a month was no picnic.

SSNs have a more tactical mission, so we went where operational requirements dictated. They're not "out all the time". Brief, frequent underways between deployments just makes it seem that way. My personal best is 284 days in a 12-month period, but most of the time it wasn't quite so much.

[Kevmo]

bump for later reading

[cva66snipe]

Want I'm REALLY afraid of is that a "stand down" means thousands and thousands of EXTRA man-hours (or tens of thousands of extra man-days!!!!) of extra training and inspection - instead of a couple of hours of REST and THINKING of an overextended force with too few subs to do too many jobs that is actually what is needed. You can micro-manage your people to death. Literally.

It's been going on since Gulf War one when the downsizing started under Poppy. People need to wake up and understand ones like John Warner and Carl Levin should have been relieved of his chairmanships of the Armed Services Committee for failing to provide for our military. The over extensions have cost us plenty both in manpower and in loss of ships due to missed maintenance because they had to shorten rotation times and missed yard periods.

It started going downhill in 1989 here is the proof Shipboard Casualties The numbers speak for themselves and this wasn't even in war time but it was when the Reagan military gutting began. Note the high numbers in 1989. Several events happened. A new Secretary of Defense the second one after Weinberger, Secretary of the Navy, and likely CNO changed that year as well.

It's simply not gonna get any better at all until some congress critters like Warner and Levin are replaced as well as finding us another capable Sec of Defense the stature and wisdom of Cap Weinberger who actually honest to goodness understood how to rebuild and run the military that the DEMS and RINO's have now nearly ruined in overextending a minimal force.

Cap was outside the Ford/Bush inner circle as well that has been an albatross to our military within the GOP. The truth needs saying on the matter.

We've got to stop making the same ongoing mistakes of Ford/Rummy, Carter/Brown, Bush/Cheney, Clinton/Aspin/Perry/Cohen and Bush/Rummy and go back to what actually worked. Weinberger was the best Secretary of Defense post WW2 second to none and Bush and his buddies need to take a look at what the man did and follow his examples. Any man who could rebuild the military that Ford and Carter ran to the level of readiness IMO is the very best.

[Kozak]

We would do this in the VP Navy whenever there was an incident or accident.

USAF would do this periodically too when ever there is a rash of accidents.