As a former Navy Damage Controlman I 100% agree with this. I can't believe these idiots, when I served you had 90 days from the time you report onboard to become DC qualified and our ship sent a lot of the crew to shipboard firefighting and aircraft firefighting school on base and also we trained crew how to work with AFFF, there's no excuse for what happened and I hope the chain of command pays for it.
Main problem is the ship had a complement of over a thousand . There were only 138 onboard at the time because of the refit. The civilian contractors were doing the refit not the sailors. They were there just to do minimal maintenance and to stand watch. My guess they had sailors with no clue standing watches. As far as the fire fighting most of the DC men and engineers that normally fight fires were not present. One or 2 days of fire fighting in boot does not qualify you as a fire fighter
I was on an Aegis Cruiser back in the 90's. Our leadership didn't mess around, we were prepared for everything and even won the Arizona memorial trophy award. We had fires but they were put out within minutes. Training for me started the day I reported for duty and it never stopped. The first thing they did at the moment I first reported for duty was bring to various parts of the ship then blindfold me and asked me to find my way out. Then in the following days it was all about how to communicate a fire FIRST and then what to do about it whether it was electrical, communication, or regular wood/cloth/etc. We ran a fire drill at least every week and rotated responsibilities. Watching this video leaves me in all kinds of disbelief. I can't fathom how a crew on ANY NAVY ship could be so unprepared.
Just an FYI, the ship was going through a maintenance availability so there was quite a bit of combustible material onboard, and many systems were tagged out for a reason. Could BHR have been salvaged had the crew been trained, yes, but being near the end of an availability, it was that much more difficult. My thoughts, sailors just don’t care these days. They care about their phones, social media, making rank and getting their paychecks; many don’t even know how to do their jobs. If it doesn’t affect them positively or benefit them, many sailors will just turn a blind eye. Fact: one sailor on her way to get snacks saw a foggy haze in the lower V well, didn’t say anything and went back to berthing. Not one ounce of care. Had said sailor reported it, it could have given the ships crew that much more time. By the end of Sunday morning, civilians firefighters and military were pointing the fingers at each other to see who would go in and neither wanted to.
Yeah next time the big news will be some Rangers is gonna be wiped out in some type of mission or something. Cause you know on what they did with the standards in the Ranger course. Imagine a freakin Woman with a 3 children already, survived that "grueling" training. Makes me laugh. Telling you man all this *wokeness* is going to be America's downfall, it might not be the MAIN reason but it will definitely be a big part of it. *DiVeRsiTY* *EqUaLiTy* so ridiculous.
Back in the 1980s we ran damage control drills every damn day. I was an Agangotang and I had to check every fire extinguisher in my ship once a week. My job firefighting was access and overhaul. WTF? The Navy has to do some training.
The Navy has spent years promoting the wrong people. And it would seem so almost at random. And there's still plenty to this incident they have yet to release. But what I remember most about military service is that anytime an unqualified individual is promoted anyway, it never takes long for this sordid fact to reveal itself. That's one of the benefits of this veteran vs active duty thing. We can tell the truth and we can even cuss while we're doing it! Just think, a strictly "no-cussing" military. They better grow up. Or that deep dark ocean will eventually put a paint job on them.
It is very unlikely that anyone intentionally started the fire. It is a fact that the fire training and equipment inspection records were falsified. The ship's crew failed 17 of the last 17 fire safety drills. 85% of the ships firefighting equipment stations were out of service but not placarded so nobody knew which stations had the proper gear. Other ships sent personnel with gear and hoses but were turned away. Nobody from the vessel called the base fire department or San Diego. A terrorism task force official 2 blocks away called the contract fire department. The contract fire department that operates at the San Diego naval base has no training or knowledge of anything involving the piers or vessels. They also don't have adapters to connect their hoses to the connections on the ship. When they did get enough hose to connect to the closest hydrant they saw a second hydrant and connected both only to realize they drew from the same source and it couldn't provide the pressure. The Commanding Officer first told the contract fire department they weren't needed, they chose to stay out of the way but on scene. Then they looked at the ship and saw an obvious clear path to access the ship and near the fire without going through the long maze everyone was using. Then they took it upon themselves to use their hose and walk to the fire and start applying water. The ship itself and it's crew never did find a single section of hose or provide productive assistance. At some point the damage control map used to direct resources was misplaced and never found. The map of another vessel of the same class was retrieved as a makeshift replacement. Both San Diego fire department and the base contract fire department finally decided that the disorganization created an unacceptable risk for their crews and they departed. Even Congress agrees this was completely understandable. In other words, there are serious doubts that the fire was intentionally started. If it was intentionally started then the person should get a medal and credit for saving everyone that would have been onboard at sea. This level of incompetence was a disaster waiting to happen.
I think that depleted uranium weapons were being dismantled but ONBOARD. Autonomously, by the crew. HEU tips gathered on a side, unidentified perhaps with soldiers rejecting the fact it's nuclear. Goes critical because of a local overconcentration of HEU tips stored in the middle of water bottles or oil ? Then the fire spreads as it burns the inside metals. Separated DU stored at the rear gets engulfed, strong heavy black smoke.
Imagine if this is at sea. The story is... will Sailors protect and defend a ship? Are they being trained by the chiefs or are the chiefs too busy with bake sales, season that is not required? They set the Commanding Officer for failure and all the Junior Officers. U.S Navy, keep putting feelings ahead of the mission and we will see how you truly do at sea with a country that can fight.
I don't need four hundred pages to figure out anything that happened. this is the new woke military not a single focused trained unit able to combat any issue regardless of where or when. a total breakdown starting at the top-period. it's time to get back to the basics. fire extinguishers do not require any electrical power just the willingness to utilize them and not cut and run before the blaze got out of hand. dogging down a door or sealing off a compartment doesn't require any power. when a ship goes into dry-dock it's treated like a mini vacation instead of strengthening crew readiness. The officers are equally poorly trained leaving the academy only worrying about what sweet duty station their connection can get them. where the fuck was the officer on duty, who is actually in command regardless of the ship's status. over 600 shipboard personnel couldn't contain a fire before it gets out of hand is a total disgrace and an embarrassment. the blame game and finger pointing is pervasive throughout the military not just a single incident as seen here.
Wow... they really didn't even mention this tragedy very much on the news, weak coverage of this event, while they give more time to pointless nonsense.
@Tom Somhairle cables and hoses yes. Maintenance items no. All of us onboard been reading the reports for days now. Navy Times got a lot of topics incorrect.
The Senior officer accountable for the lack of operational training is the one who directed that the emphasis of military training should be shifted to a focus on social diversity training beginning in 2009; the Commander in Chief!
This started way back! Remember Tail Hook? People like admiral Zumwalt! It is not confined to the Navy alone! That’s three star can be recalled and held accountable if he is not 60 years old!
@@Jake-rs9nq Supply is one of the divisions you can work if you have a low score on your military entrance exam (ASVAB) and this the overwhelming majority of sailors assigned to this division are from low income neighborhoods with poor education systems. Black sailors in these divisions routinely get away with stuff that white sailors are disciplined for, such as not shaving, being out of uniform, late, absent without leave, and especially sexual harassment. The leadership is all black as well and makes sure to sweep these things under the rug, while at the same time bringing the hammer down on any white sailor steps outside the lines of regulation. Unless the white sailor is a somewhat attractive female, in which case the leadership will most likely join in with the sexual harassment. And she can’t do anything about it because the only people she can report this to are the same ones who are perpetrating and/or allowing this. Depending on where you work, the Navy can be disgusting and hostile work environment for anyone who isn’t the right color. It’s sad but true.
@@Jake-rs9nq Less time focused on the things that actually matter like fighting ship fires. If you have to ask how it's related, you're probably one of the morons who think the military should be a daycare for adults.
