[Stormdog]

“I think that the (vacuum) system was installed with all good intentions,” he said, “but not designed soundly enough to be placed onboard an aircraft carrier.”

I guess it sucks...well, maybe not..

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Low-flow toilets suck.

I guarantee that's the problem, here.

They can't blame it on the law that forces them to use low-flow toilets, so they have to blame the sailors for flushing "inappropriate material" like a normal bowel movement.

[QT3.14]

Rename the ship USS George H.W. Bush’s Fault?

[Iron Munro]

The problem lies with the vacuum system that pulls waste through the ship's 250 miles of pipe. The Bush is the first aircraft carrier to be outfitted with a vacuum system, similar to those on commercial airplanes and cruise ships.

Too late for common sense to prevail....

[Bender2]

Gadzooks! The vacuum finally... hit the fan!

Even I, from the year 3000, still rely... on gravity--

Now, let me guess, the Obamanation will say this... is George H.W. Bush's fault!

[Sequoyah101]

Conserving water and minimizing waste? In the middle of an ocean?

Sounds like another case of tree hugging gone mad to me.

[oh8eleven]

Toilet troubles add to sailors' deployment stress on carrier
"In the Navy ..."

[stuartcr]

...”One sailor was recently disciplined after urinating in a place he wasn’t supposed to, the Navy said”...my guess, is that he used an officers head.

[CrazyIvan]

Submarines have no latrines
The men wear leather britches.
They hang their tails out ‘or the rails
And yell like sons ‘a bitches.

WWII Submariners song.

[chrisser]

the majority of the outages - and those that usually take the longest to repair - have been caused by sailors flushing "inappropriate material or items" down the ship's toilets.

Maybe it's just me, but could this "inappropriate material or items" have something to do with women serving aboard this vessel?

[Ole Okie]

One sailor was recently disciplined after urinating in a place he wasn't supposed to, the Navy said.

Uh oh! Got caught peein' up a rope in Officer's Country? Or in the Officers Head?

[Tallguy]

Lends a whole new meaning to the term “shake-down cruise”.

[AndyJackson]

The Bush is the first aircraft carrier to be outfitted with a vacuum system, similar to those on commercial airplanes and cruise ships.

Sounds like some defense contractor sold the Navy a bill of goods, again. The Navy has been operating steam propelled vessles with operating toilets for over a century. Getting stuff to flow through pipes and into tanks was one technology the Navy had down pat, until they decided to "improve" things. These are combattant vessles not cruise ships. Fer Chrissakes already. A single point of failure is never acceptable in any complex combat system. The Navy runs on three things: propulsion, coffee and a convenient place to get rid of the coffee. But they figured out how to screw that up. What is the old saying about if it ain't broke...

Alinsky's rule #5 - Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. And the Navy deserves ridicule here.

[mmichaels1970]

if one clog disrupts the vacuum, it can cause half the ship's toilets to fail at once.

Just like Christmas lights! And most of us know how hard it is to diagnose even a small problem like that.

It does sound terrible. I hope they get things fixed for those guys.

[ArrogantBustard]

the majority of the outages - and those that usually take the longest to repair - have been caused by sailors flushing "inappropriate material or items" down the ship's toilets.

Ummmm ...

Kotex?

[treetopsandroofs]

“It definitely affects my morale,” said Frakes, an aviation mechanic. “When I was unable to relieve myself for two days, I was irate to say the least.”

IMHO, this doesn’t quite pass the smell test.

[pfflier]

Go to the poop deck!!

[SunTzuWu]

Tampons and condoms. And yes... I am a plumber.

[SailormanCGA72]

The main reason vacuum toilets are installed on seagoing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. is to comply with the international treaties involving dumping of sewage overboard. The sewage systems are getting larger and more complex in order to comply with these regs. I have installed vacuum systems on drilling rigs and have been very disappointed with the result. It takes a good bit of education to overcome certain toilet habits. Cigarette butts, tampons, paper towels are all show stoppers.

I can remember when the “straight over the side systems” we had on the old Coast Guard Cutters were modified to include a holding tank while in inshore waters. These tanks worked well until they filled up and the automatic pump kicked in. On more than one occasion I witnessed some inappropriate pumping incidents.

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

I’m on a ship in blue water, where to go, where to go, where to go? Hmmmmmm. Look to the left, look to the right aaaaannnnnnnd overboard!