[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by BdaGhisallo

http://theothermccain.com/2018/06/17...ank-navy-ship/


This is interesting if true:

"An anonymous email came in over the transom this morning:

Hi, Stacy.
During the early weeks after the USS Fitzgerald was speared by a lumbering Philippine container ship, it was noteworthy that the captain and a couple of admirals were publically named, but not the actual officer in charge, the officer of the deck. (OOD) The other person who should have kept the Fitz out of trouble is the person in charge of the combat information center, the Tactical Action Officer. That individual is supposed to be monitoring the combat radar, which can detect a swimmer at a distance of two miles.
Not until a year later, when the final reports are made public and the guilty parties have been court-martialed, does the truth come out. The OOD was named Sarah, and the Tactical Action Officer was named Natalie, and they weren’t speaking to each other!!! The Tactical Action Officer would normally be in near constant communication with the OOD, but there is no record of any communication between them that entire shift!
Another fun fact: In the Navy that won WWII, the damage control officers were usually some of the biggest and strongest men aboard, able to close hatches, shore up damaged areas with timbers, etc. The Fitz’s damage control officer was also a woman, and she never left the bridge. She handled the aftermath of the accident remotely, without lifting a finger herself!
Look it up: The OOD was Sarah Coppock, Tactical Action Officer was Natalie Combs. . . .
When I noticed last year that they were doing all they could to keep the OOD’s name out of the headlines, I speculated to my son that it was a she. Turns out all the key people (except one officer in the CIC) were female!

Indeed, I did some searching, and Lt. Coppock pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty. Lt. Combs faced a hearing last month:

In an 11-hour hearing, prosecutors painted a picture of Lt. Irian Woodley, the ship’s surface warfare coordinator, and Lt. Natalie Combs, the tactical action officer, as failing at their jobs, not using the tools at their disposal properly and not communicating adequately. They became complacent with faulty equipment and did not seek to get it fixed, and they failed to communicate with the bridge, the prosecution argued. Had they done those things, the government contended, they would have been able to avert the collision."

It's going to be interesting reading some responses. Altho I am not a fan of CO-ED military..particularly on ships and for grunts/fox hole dwellers(more expensive w/o an increase in warfighting 'strength..berthing, medical, etc..but that's another discussion)...The bolded is the most important parts. The fact that they were female isn't the reason they were so inept. They were inept either because they were trained poorly(by a male?), the training wasn't monitored properly by CO/XO(males?) or they just weren't very good at their jobs, regardless of training..but they weren't doing a poor job because they happened to be female.

Not surprised the USN wanted to keep gender out of this tho. Same thing when first female F-14 pilot killed herself behind the CV...Her training progress was poor, well documented..if she would have been a guy, she never would have been allowed into the cockpit of a F-14, behind the boat.