Navy Overhauls Ship Navigation Training After Deadly Collisions

No, CSM Charles Hayden this is not computerized equipment vs. old equipment. We used to have a school that all officers went to before they went to their 1st ships. It taught you everything you needed to know, hands on mostly, PPT where needed, taught by actual Officers that had done the job. What ended up happening, the Navy wanted to save money, so they replaced the school with a box of CD's. The new officers would show up to the ship with a box of CD's and have to go thru the modules on their own. The reason there was a school house for this training before is because there is zero extra time for someone to take a totally clueless officer and teach them this stuff when the CD's weren't helping them understand. It wasn't fair to the ships and certainly not fair to the young officers. We set them and ourselves up for failure. Many of us saw this coming, and built counter-proposals, all to no avail because it saved the Navy a bunch of money (CD's are cheaper then school house). That attitude towards computer training permeated all the way through all schoolhouses, and these two accidents with the loss of life, sits firmly on that decision. Don't know if you can tell but this one chaps my a@@! Sailors shouldn't have died because the Navy wanted to save a few bucks...

I was an OOD qualified guy that went to a CG event one time on Navigation and COLREGS. I could have sworn the CG's were talking a completely different language. I was never the best at COLREGS, but I also never hit another ship!

LT Brad McInnis - There is literally a clause that says, paraphrasing "...nothing in these regulations is intended to prevent the use of common sense to avoid a collision..."

In other words, you're free to disregard them in order to prevent a collision. Just best be right lol.

SN Greg Wright - I once dropped out of a DIVTAC formation at 0245. We were ordered to do an exchange of station of the entire formation after doing maneuvers for 9 straight hours. We were all exhausted. Saw the ship taking our station was CBDR, and I went to full power, full speed, and hauled out of the formation. So, there was the whole formation, and the US Navy ship 2000 yds outside the screen, steaming by our lonesome! Called the CO, and he said great, I can finally get some sleep!