# Over a Third of U.S. Navy Ships in Pacific Lack Training Certification -Watchdog



## Geoff Gower (Sep 8, 2011)

WASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) – A U.S. government watchdog said on Thursday that more than a third of U.S. Navy ships based out of Japan had expired warfare training certifications, as lawmakers raised concerns about readiness after a series of collisions involving the Navy this year. The U.S. Navy recently removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin after a pre-dawn collision between a guided-missile destroyer and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia in August, the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet this year. In the latest incident, 10 sailors were killed after the USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel in waters near Singapore and Malaysia, triggering a fleet-wide probe of operations and training. In June, the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine container ship, killing seven U.S. sailors. Speaking before a House of Representatives Armed Services Committee hearing, John Pendleton, from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), said that a report had found that 37 percent of U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers based out of Japan had expired warfare certifications as of June 2017. That was a five-fold increase from the number in May 2015.
The certification is a measurement of whether a ship and its crew are well trained and ready for operations. The GAO report also found that a reduction in crew sizes was contributing to safety risks, with some sailors working over 100 hours a week and there was limited training because of an increased demand for operations. “The Navy has made plans to revise operational schedules to provide dedicated training time for overseas-based ships, but this schedule has not yet been implemented,” the report said. Admiral Bill Moran, deputy chief of naval operations, said that advanced technology was meaningless unless sailors were well trained. “All of the marvelous technology, the magnificent hardware that we put together in these ships, and the power of our weapons systems are meaningless without well-trained, skilled, patriotic and experienced sailors who are well lead,” Moran said at the hearing. Lawmakers expressed concern about the Navy’s readiness. “These negative training trends clearly contributed to the lack of seamanship evident onboard the USS John McCain and the USS Fitzgerald,” Congressman Rob Wittman said. (Reporting by Idrees Ali;


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## Barrie Youde (May 29, 2006)

The horse's mouth, so to speak.


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## Samsette (Sep 3, 2005)

Does that starboard hoist say "Sorry 'bout that?"


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

100 hours, per man, per week. Serious $$$$$$$!


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## George Bis (Mar 8, 2014)

Stephen J. Card said:


> 100 hours, per man, per week. Serious $$$$$$$!


China's watches.Go on and stop on!


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## Bill.B (Oct 19, 2013)

They are saying here that long deployments and high work loads are to blame, though later this week one senior navy official said it is training and experience that is the cause. How come on all the ships I sailed on the 3rd and 2nd mates did 4 on 8 off at sea along with fire equipment and lifeboat maintenance during the 8 off and then went on 6 on 6 off during cargo and yet after 6 months were still doing their jobs. All this on a one man on watch in daylight and a two man watch at night. I always had the greatest respect for those that did this. All this was pre sat nav and not always reliable radar era. The US surface navy, it admits it themselves, lost the plot on bridge watch keeping. Their deployments are not all sea time either. I have witnessed sea trials on military ships where the fact that more than one or two people are on the bridge have made it a semi social occasion. One occurrence was in Diego Garcia when we were returning from a run around the islands for three days and we're heading in through the gap in the reef to the lagoon when the mate and the master were so engrossed in their conversation that neither one heard another ammunition ship get underway and was heading for the same gap in the reef. My statement to them both that the Fxxxxxx was underway was met by Oh Sh*t . At the time there were 19 ships in the anchorage all loaded with either ammunition or oil.


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## George Bis (Mar 8, 2014)

Strange how 60/70 hours a week at sea didn't seem excessive but ashore is something you could do without. 
I never had a problem at sea working nights but found it really hard ashore.


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

I think stewards on cruise ships work harder... at least 12 hours a day, 7 for 7.... 10 months!


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## George Bis (Mar 8, 2014)

Of course if one mentioned " this is hard" the answer came straight back " what do you think you are on? Daddy's bleeding yacht? " Of course the answer was "no, Daddy's yacht has twin screws! "
Happy days!


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