10 missing, 5 injured after USS John S. McCain collides with tanker in Pacific

[vintage_tube]

What the hell is going on with our naval vessels and their competence at sea?

I'm thoroughly pissed and rightly so.

Thoughts & prayers to everyone involved & those missing & their families.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08...n-pacific.html

Bob

[Karl Maga]

Astounding, a historically excellent Navy has egregiously stumbled twice in a very short period of time.

[jdandy]

Bob.......Saw this yesterday. I'm an old Navy veteran. This puts a knot in my stomach.

[For The Love of Music]

Yes ditto to the statements made in this post.

I read training has been reduced, and I'm not sure what that exactly means and back to publishing something like that

Again condolences to all affected by a self caused tradegy!

[jimtranr]

Been there, nearly done that one clear night in 1964 while conning a plane-guarding tin can in the South China Sea. The carrier USS Ticonderoga signaled a port turn and then came to starboard at 28 knots without announcing a course change (not uncommon during flight ops when the wind shifts) that could have could landed her in our wardroom. We avoided a collision with emergency rudder and a crank-up to 32 knots.

So I appreciate the operational environment and the challenges it presents, not least in how quickly things can happen. But, as with Dan, what's happened with USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain knots my stomach. And causes sorrow for lives lost needlessly.

Insufficient situational awareness seems to have been the culprit in USS Fitzgerald's case. Don't know if that applies to USS McCain as well, but situational awareness is what it's all about out there. And that's what training drummed into us.

[vintage_tube]

USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), nicknamed “Big Bad John,”

The navies of the United States, Malaysia and Singapore continued their search for the 10 American service members on Tuesday.

I'm not going to print what the Chinese media is broadcasting. Disgusting & just a typical thorn in our side.

Not trying to spread any rumor(s) -- but as recently reported:

""Itay Glick, the founder of a cyber security firm called Votiro, told News.com.au that his initial reaction to news of the USS McCain collision was that it may have been hacked. Glick worked in the cyber-warfare unit of the Israeli intelligence agency and pointed to the possibility of involvement from Russia and China.

“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Glick said. “Both USS McCain and USS Fitzgerald were part of the 7th Fleet, there is a relationship between these two events and there may be a connection.”"

The significance of this accident is the USS McCain (named for the Senators father and grandfather -- both Admirals), is The McCain is equipped with the Aegis missile defense system, which has been touted as a possible counter to any North Korean missile launch.


Best Sirs,

Bob

[jimtranr]

While hacking--say, of GPS-based navigation systems ala the James Bond "Tomorrow Never Dies" scenario--is a possibility, Itay Glick is a cyber specialist, and he'd naturally be disposed to focus on that as an explanation for what happened to Fitzgerald and McCain (and perhaps to sister 7th Fleeters Antietam, which ran aground, and Lake Champlain, which smacked a Korean fishing boat earlier this year).

Coincidence may be difficult to accept (just ask Leroy Jethro Gibbs), given the ship types involved, the theater in which these incidents occurred, and the technological sophistication of their navigation and control systems. But manure happens in blue water, so I'd wait to see what the Navy system-wide and individual-incident review processes turn up. One news report I read stated that McCain had a steering system malfunction shortly before the collision, so that may explain, at least in part, what went awry in that instance.

None of this detracts, of course, from the tragedy involved for those who elected to serve.

[vintage_tube]

Best Sir,

Bob

[jimtranr]

Thanks, Bob. I see this morning that CNO has indicated the possibility of cyber attack, so we'll see where this goes.

[Mikado463]

Originally Posted by vintage_tube

Best Sir,

Bob

X2 .......thanks Jim !