GW CO & XO relieved

[MAKE VAPES]

Bottom line... the poop hit the fan on their watch. Somebody's gonna burn.

I remember the JFK's CO getting relieved few year back. Someone probably knows the details better than myself but I think it went something like...
admiral orders ship to sea in 5 weeks, there is 6 months of safe for sea type shit to do (that boat always needed more work than it was worth), troops would have to work 24/7 to make going to sea in 5 weeks happen... Said CO says something like "no way, im not doing that to my people", he is relieved shortly there after... "not confident in your ability to command".

Maybe Im just molding the story to something I wish happened, someone on the inside or closer to the action may want to jump in.

I would want to work for that CO. Saying roger, yes and wilco all the time isn't always right. A good leader will find a way to get the job done, a truly Great Leader will listen and get it done faster and safer.
Crap... im outta my element, this is theoretical stuff, back to my operational hole.

 

[Hozer]

That would be CAPT Maurice Joyce, retired.
The crew did work 24/7, in fact the crew were restricted to the ship for quite some time in an effort to get the ship ready for an INSURV. The crew just didn't know what to, or how to, correct the admittedly incredible amount of broken gear after JFK's stint in the NRF.
Bottom line, JFK failed an Insurv inspection, and badly. When 3 aircraft elevators, 2 cats, and most of your boilers are inop, you fail INSURV.
You fail INSURV, which occur at prescribed periods, you're fired.
Bad analogy.

 

[Mumbles]

So Capt. Joyce was set up for failure.....I was kind of under the same impression as MAKEVAPES..... I understand that the Navy really really wanted to put JFK out to pasture, but to make a guy who screened CV skipper a sacrificial lamb...damn!

 

[MAKE VAPES]

Good perspective from the inside Hozer... I was actually looking for that.

Good idea, guess a bad analogy. Was Capt asked to do something impossible by the stars, or was it possible? Whatcha think (obviously without soiling a reputable dude as i may have been labeled as doing)?
Neither of us are CV skippers but perspective shouldn't be verboten, ever.

Did anyone stand up and say no way in hell we pull it off?? I thought he got relieved way prior to any inspections or the results came out, but im obviouslly humbly wwwwwwaaaaaayyyyy outta the loop. Outta my element.

Speed and angels left, speed and angels right, fights on, left to left... back to my comfort zone.

 

[FlyinSpy]

That would be CAPT Maurice Joyce, retired.
The crew did work 24/7, in fact the crew were restricted to the ship for quite some time in an effort to get the ship ready for an INSURV. The crew just didn't know what to, or how to, correct the admittedly incredible amount of broken gear after JFK's stint in the NRF.
Bottom line, JFK failed an Insurv inspection, and badly. When 3 aircraft elevators, 2 cats, and most of your boilers are inop, you fail INSURV.
You fail INSURV, which occur at prescribed periods, you're fired.
Bad analogy.

Attached below is the INSURV Quick Look report for the KENNEDY at the time of the incident in question; I'm not practiced enough in the reading of these things to look for any nuances (subtle or otherwise), but it is pretty damning.

 

[MasterBates]

That was the 01 INSURV.

The boat was not much better in 04 on her last cruise.

 

[FLYTPAY]

The boat was not much better in 04 on her last cruise.

Yeah..that Right to Right with the dhow didn't go so well.

 

[MasterBates]

Yeah. That was a FUN SAR op.

"You are looking for debris in the water"
(pretty much explains a lot of the gulf. crap EVERYWHERE)

 

[Hozer]

That was a call by Captain Squires, personnally, who by his presence on the navigation bridge had de facto CONN of the ship. He opted to catch a Tomcat on short final in a Case 3 recovery than manuever the ship after a spurious small radar contact, categorized as a poss dhow:
-had not beeen displaying required navigation lighting IAW international maritime law.
-did not answer/monitor international radio frequencies
-did not respond to overhead hover/downwash alert of planeguard helo minutes/seconds prior to assumed impact.

When the contact was positively verified as legitimate via VID (pitch black night of a low rcs contact) , an extreme hard over was ordered to avoid contact, which on a CV doing 35 knots takes distance. Several parked aircraft on the deck made contact with one another during the avoidance manuever.

Dhows occupy the Gulf by the thousands. I know of one sitting Admiral who ran over one (I was there too), albeit some time ago, without any negative career impact.

I'll leave it at that.

 

[bert]

That was the 01 INSURV.

That and a couple other failures also prompted a major re-emphasis on PMS fleet-wide. I was working at CNAF as JFK was being pushed out the door - $$$-wise you simply could not get there from here and there was much relief when they were finally able to retire her.

 

[bunk22]

That was a call by Captain Squires, personnally, who by his presence on the navigation bridge had de facto CONN of the ship. He opted to catch a Tomcat on short final in a Case 3 recovery than manuever the ship after a spurious small radar contact, categorized as a poss dhow:
-had not beeen displaying required navigation lighting IAW international maritime law.
-did not answer/monitor international radio frequencies
-did not respond to overhead hover/downwash alert of planeguard helo minutes/seconds prior to assumed impact.

When the contact was positively verified as legitimate via VID (pitch black night of a low rcs contact) , an extreme hard over was ordered to avoid contact, which on a CV doing 35 knots takes distance. Several parked aircraft on the deck made contact with one another during the avoidance manuever.

Dhows occupy the Gulf by the thousands. I know of one sitting Admiral who ran over one (I was there too), albeit some time ago, without any negative career impact.

I'll leave it at that.

I knew Captain Squires when he was the XO of the Connie. As I recall, damn good man and leader.

 

[Hozer]

Agreed.

 

[picklesuit]

Attached below is the INSURV Quick Look report for the KENNEDY at the time of the incident in question; I'm not practiced enough in the reading of these things to look for any nuances (subtle or otherwise), but it is pretty damning.

Reminds me of the report from my mechanic before I put my 1989 F-350 out to pasture...I miss that truck.

Are reports like that available for public dissemination on all of the ships in the fleet? Where would we find that kind of info?