Posted on Aug 20, 2017
USS John S. McCain collides with merchant ship near Strait of Malacca
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Edited 7 y ago
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 13
SN Greg Wright
I'm just...I dunno Colonel. I hate to second guess shit, but this can't be anything but systemic.
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LTC Orlando Illi
SN Greg Wright - when I was a 2LT a unit was conveying in the winter across icy roads. An M60 tank went off the road and two guys were killed. It was a completely avoidable accident in that the road conditions were Red and as such of convoys were permitted under peacetime conditions. The Troop Commander went anyway. The inquiry afterwards relieved him of command. What all of us thought at the time was this gung-ho ass hole got two guys killed. I don't know what happened on the bridge of theses two ships - but ultimately an Officer was on charge. Men die when Officers fuck up - there is no avoiding that reality
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When I heard that it was the Straits of Malacca (think LA Freeway with ships), I naturally thought they were west of Singapore. They were actually east of Singapore, inbound. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/21/us-destroyer-uss-john-s-mccain-damaged-after-collision-with-oil-tanker
Ten US sailors missing after destroyer USS John S McCain collides with oil tanker
A rescue mission is underway off Singapore in an incident which follows the fatal collision between USS Fitzgerald and merchant ship in June
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Even though this from the NYT, it's covering the Fitz and is appropriate for the latest collision. All points well covered.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/world/asia/destroyer-fitzgerald-collision.html
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/world/asia/destroyer-fitzgerald-collision.html
Maritime Mystery: Why a U.S. Destroyer Failed to Dodge a Cargo Ship
There should have been lookouts on watch on the port, starboard and stern of the destroyer Fitzgerald — sailors scanning the horizon with binoculars and reporting by headsets to the destroyer’s bridge. At 1:30 a.m. last Saturday, off the coast of Japan south of Tokyo, they could hardly have failed to see the 730-foot freighter ACX Crystal, stacked with more than 1,000 containers, as it closed in.
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