Captain Sacked After Grounding Nuclear Submarine

originally posted by: jimmyx
the only thing that captain will be commanding is a desk until he retires

He not comanding anything they sacked him

originally posted by: strongfp

I agree. The responsibility was put into his hands, and he should take the brunt of it, as should any commander.

In a statement to The Brunswick News, he wrote: "The actions that hazarded Georgia upon a scheduled return to port in the dark on the morning of 25 Nov were mine alone.

"I ask that my lapses not be used to denigrate the terrific service of the sailors and families of Georgia Blue.

"After 30 years of serving in the world's finest Navy, my only regret is that I will miss sailing with them again to stand against our nation's enemies."

From the article. Sounds like he is a man of integrity if nothing else, but then, I doubt they give nuclear sub's to any bonehead in the navy.

I've never served on a Submarine or anything so I'm not an expert. But just one question...

The captain isn't the one who is physically at the Helm, Was it really the captains error, or was it a rookie at wheel?

When a car crashes do we blame the backseat driver?

The CO of another sub (USS Oklahoma City) was also relieved for unspecified reasons today.

The USS Georgia has had issues before back in 2010 when a crew member dropped a screw in the transmission which put it out of commission for three months I believe.

An incident that locked up a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine for three months of repairs — totaling $2.2 million — boiled down to an embarrassing series of actions by the crew, reports Sam Fellman at Navy Times. It all started when crew members of the USS Georgia heard a "whump!" noise when the vessel's propulsion shaft started spinning.

Instead of simply shutting down the shaft and calling for help, a naval investigation reveals the crew decided to try spinning the shaft and gears at different speeds over two whole days, trying "in vain" to figure out what was wrong. Investigator Vice Adm. John Richardson, head of Submarine Forces, noted that "continued rotation of the shafts and gears after the noise was heard likely made the damage more severe."

So what was the cause of the "whumping" noise? A single bolt that cost less than three dollars, according to the investigation. Vice Adm. Richardson said the bolt had been accidentally left in the submarine's gear housing during a routine inspection in December 2010.

Sailors aboard the USS Georgia did not escape punishment, reports Navy Times. The crew's "inadequate" preparation and oversight resulted in an officer and a senior sailor in engineering getting stripped of their responsibilities. And three crew members "went to mast" (a disciplinary hearing) for dereliction of duty, while three others received "letters of caution" in their records.

Navy investigation reveals avoidable mishap on USS Georgia submarine

originally posted by: Mikeyy
I've never served on a Submarine or anything so I'm not an expert. But just one question...

The captain isn't the one who is physically at the Helm, Was it really the captains error, or was it a rookie at wheel?

When a car crashes do we blame the backseat driver?

It was likely a group of errors, but ultimately, the Captain is responsible.

We all screw up once in awhile and learn from our mistakes.I can't pilot one of these
subs and I don't think there are too many here who can either.

originally posted by: Mikeyy
When a car crashes do we blame the backseat driver?

In the Navy yes...

I was once stationed on a frigate where some one had stolen the ships steering wheel.

The entire crew was restricted to the ship because of it.

The incident I just mentioned above on the USS Georgia resulted in 8 men being punished.

Sailors call it the 'One boat, one crew, one shaft, one screw' policy...

Technically this is incorrect on subs though, where there are actually two alternating crews.

a reply to: Mikeyy

As Murgatroid said, the captain is responsible for the ship. Period. There were cases many years ago where captains were asleep in their bunk and something happened, and they were put on trial.

He scraped the paint, my wife drove through a garage door and the kitchen wall. Poop happens.

a reply to: Nickn3

And when it happens with a multi billion dollar missile sub, it happens to careers.