One iPod, one submarine= $96 million damage!

[Feuer Frei!]

"A US nuclear submarine rammed another ship causing nearly US$90million ($96.4 million) damage - while its navigator was listening to his iPod. The Sun reports sailors aboard the USS Hartford had also rigged up loudspeakers so they could play music on duty.Sonar operators and radio men were missing from their posts and others drove the attack sub while "with one hand on the controls and their shoes off", an official report said.
The report slammed the navigator, who was listening to his iPod in his cabin while revising for an exam at the time.
The captain, Commander Ryan Brookhart, was relieved of his duties after the US Navy found that more than 30 errors - including "an informal atmosphere" and "a weak command" - led to the "avoidable accident".
Fifteen sailors on the Hartford were injured when it hit the transport ship USS New Orleans in the Persian Gulf in March 2009.
Navy chiefs approved the huge $US87 million repair bill for the Hartford and another $US2.3 million for the New Orleans."
(By Neil Millard, The Sun)


All i can say is Wow!


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2926952/iPranged-a-submarine.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News

read more ^^^^^^^

[Onkel Neal]

No kidding, that's pretty lax. :o

[theluckyone17]

Oh, come on... I drive my boat in my underwear on Sunday mornings while listening to country & celtic music.:sunny:

Wait, you say they're playing DiD and the government pays to repair the damage caused on patrol? Ok, I see the fuss now...

[sonar732]

Give me a more credible source than The Sun and I might believe it. The mere fact that they claim the sonar operators and radio men were missing from their post is unbelievable since they were in a very hostile environment.

[Platapus]

If this story is true (The Sun), I don't imagine this will look good on their performance reports. :nope:

[SteamWake]

No kidding, that's pretty lax. :o

Not to mention a little hard to beleive 'steering with one hand and their shoes off" what the heck was it Kelsy Grammers boat :doh:

[Jimbuna]

Give me a more credible source than The Sun and I might believe it. The mere fact that they claim the sonar operators and radio men were missing from their post is unbelievable since they were in a very hostile environment.

Agreed.....certainly the bit about the credibility of The Sun :DL

[Max Peck]

I saw a similar story but it wasn't from the Sun. I'll see if I can find it again.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Every source I've found quotes The Sun, and I haven't been able to find any AP reports.

I wouldn't be surprised if the story were true, but I remain skeptical until I see something on it from the DOD or some accredited source. http://www.defense.gov/releases

[Jimbuna]

Every source I've found quotes The Sun, and I haven't been able to find any AP reports.

I wouldn't be surprised if the story were true, but I remain skeptical until I see something on it from the DOD or some accredited source. http://www.defense.gov/releases

Same here mate....The Sun is not the most reputable or reliable source :hmmm:

[Feuer Frei!]

A LOT of credibility:
Reuters.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52J3KY20090320

No iPhone mention in this one, no movie-style script.

[TLAM Strike]

Here are pics of the damage:
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/8330/032109aphartford800sml.jpg (http://img36.imageshack.us/i/032109aphartford800sml.jpg/)http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1102/090321n9909c211sml.jpg (http://img641.imageshack.us/i/090321n9909c211sml.jpg/)
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2295/090321n9909c993sml.jpg (http://img133.imageshack.us/i/090321n9909c993sml.jpg/)


Military times says the navigator was listing to his Ipod at the time.
http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/11/navy_hartford_111509w/

[Jimbuna]

Then he is potentially in a lot of trouble :hmmm:

[UnderseaLcpl]

Then he is potentially in a lot of trouble :hmmm:

That report says that only the upper echelons of the command structure are in trouble, but I'm sure the navigator will catch his in due time.

Oddly enough, there is still no news on the DOD website. They must be prepping their press-conference drone: http://www.theonion.com/video/pentagons-unmanned-spokesdrone-completes-first-pre,14256/

[August]

Looks like punishment has already been handed out.

Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart was detached for cause and chief of the boat Master Chief Electronics Technician (SS) Stefan Prevot was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 4 in the aftermath. The navigator, executive officer and weapons officer underwent nonjudicial punishment, as did 10 sailors. Also, administrative action was taken against three direct support element members assigned to Naval Information Operations Command in Georgia as well as a fleet intelligence specialist based near Washington, D.C. The report did not explain what role they played.

[Platapus]

Although I am a land lubber, It is my understanding that the Navy takes a dim view of ships bumping into each other. :nope:

[Aramike]

Certainly seems like incompetence from the skipper...

...however, I don't understand why the navigator's being slammed so hard. Surely he's allowed to be off-duty on occasion.

[bookworm_020]

If I have to be dressed in uniform to drive my $40 million dollar train around, they can at least keep their shoes on driving a billion dollar plus sub around!:nope:

[diver]

...however, I don't understand why the navigator's being slammed so hard. Surely he's allowed to be off-duty on occasion.

Exactly my thoughts, depending on the tactical environment I see no problem with the man listening to music in his cabin whilst doing some professional study.

Wildly sensational reporting that really has not highlighted the key factors.

Mind you the Sun have a history of unprofessional journalism, especially when it comes to submarines.

[perisher]

Exactly my thoughts, depending on the tactical environment I see no problem with the man listening to music in his cabin whilst doing some professional study.

Wildly sensational reporting that really has not highlighted the key factors.

Mind you the Sun have a history of unprofessional journalism, especially when it comes to submarines.

In any British newspaper you can believe that a reported story really did happened, but in some newspapers the detail is often pure invention.


"A spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, said, "It was a night-time event and the submarine was submerged at the time." (Wikinews)


The New Orleans draws 23 feet, so the Hartford wasn't very submerged. A serious problem with her depth keeping, by the look of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hartford_and_USS_New_Orleans_collision

[TLAM Strike]

If I have to be dressed in uniform to drive my $40 million dollar train around, they can at least keep their shoes on driving a billion dollar plus sub around!:nope:
Bare feet are quieter that feet in shoes... :yep: Ever see a Ninja in combat boots? :03:

[CaptainHaplo]

The issue of the navigator - was he on duty at the time? There should be - at all times - someone somewhat qualified in naval navigation in the control room or near enough to be useful. I know in US subs they use an inertial navigation system as a backup, so perhaps the on duty person simply had to have specific qualifications?

We don't have enough detail to know whether slamming the navigator is proper or not. However, the on duty sonar team (and its more than one surely) should be heavily dealt with if they (as a group) were not at their station. Its important to remember though that one guy out of the group not there is acceptable - the sonar lead may have cleared him to the head or something.

The devil is in the details - which we don't have.

[ETR3(SS)]

In any British newspaper you can believe that a reported story really did happened, but in some newspapers the detail is often pure invention.


"A spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, said, "It was a night-time event and the submarine was submerged at the time." (Wikinews)


The New Orleans draws 23 feet, so the Hartford wasn't very submerged. A serious problem with her depth keeping, by the look of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hartford_and_USS_New_Orleans_collision The Hartford was at periscope depth at the time, hence the damage to her sail. I can't recall exactly what PD is for a 688(i) but I think it's somewhere in the order of 65ft. That puts her well into the danger zone for the New Orleans.

Bare feet are quieter that feet in shoes... :yep: Ever see a Ninja in combat boots? :03:That's why we could wear sneakers and not our boots. :O:

The issue of the navigator - was he on duty at the time? There should be - at all times - someone somewhat qualified in naval navigation in the control room or near enough to be useful. I know in US subs they use an inertial navigation system as a backup, so perhaps the on duty person simply had to have specific qualifications?

We don't have enough detail to know whether slamming the navigator is proper or not. However, the on duty sonar team (and its more than one surely) should be heavily dealt with if they (as a group) were not at their station. Its important to remember though that one guy out of the group not there is acceptable - the sonar lead may have cleared him to the head or something.

The devil is in the details - which we don't have.
In regards to the Nav being "off-duty" listening to his iPod, he was more than likely in the wrong. During any transit of the nature involved the Navigation Team (not the tech term I'm sure) is required to be stationed, that includes the Navigator. There is always a Quartermaster of the Watch on duty during normal operations. The Navigation Team comes into play when there's going to be a high volume of traffic and/or when there is a significant challenge posed to safe navigation of the ship.

That's about what I remember from the boat, but I was a Radioman not a Nav ET.

[TLAM Strike]

That's why we could wear sneakers and not our boots. :O:

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/262/sonarroom.th.jpg (http://img641.imageshack.us/i/sonarroom.jpg/)
^Look at the guy to the right nearest to the camera.

I showed this image to my dad once, he was in the Navy back in the 1970's (Aviation Store Keeper at Lamoore NAS). His reaction was: "The Chief would have my ass if he saw me wearing those!" I had to explain that on subs they have to flex the regulations a bit since sneakers are much quieter than normal shoes.

Oh and never show him a TV show where a sailor is outside and not wearing a hat, he will yell "Hay @$$hole where is your cover!?" at the TV screen. :D

(http://img641.imageshack.us/i/sonarroom.jpg/)

[August]

I'm surprised the Navy doesn't issue some kind of sneaker like footwear for it's Sub crews. An old infantry axiom goes "Show me a man whose feet hurt and i'll show you a man who isn't paying full attention to his job".

[TLAM Strike]

I'm surprised the Navy doesn't issue some kind of sneaker like footwear for it's Sub crews. An old infantry axiom goes "Show me a man whose feet hurt and i'll show you a man who isn't paying full attention to his job".

Yea and spend $ 10 million on R&D, and have them produced for $100 a pair instead of buying $25 sneakers from Payless. :yep:

[Aramike]

Yea and spend $ 10 million on R&D, and have them produced for $100 a pair instead of buying $25 sneakers from Payless. :yep:Heh, too true ... except you'd think it'd be possible to find something already existing that makes sense. :cool:

[August]

Heh, too true ... except you'd think it'd be possible to find something already existing that makes sense. :cool:

Navy tested. Navy approved.

http://www.dollclothesstore.com/products/SLIPPERS/SL-10.jpg

[Aramike]

Navy tested. Navy approved.

http://www.dollclothesstore.com/products/SLIPPERS/SL-10.jpg:salute::haha:

[ETR3(SS)]

Navy tested. Navy approved. Cool, you found my slippers!:haha:

[commandosolo2009]

they say the other ship is amphibious?? looks to me like water type only..

[ETR3(SS)]

It has a Well Deck. That's what makes it an amphib.