I have been working in the ship repair industry since retiring from the Corps. The Navy no longer has the ability to repair their own ships. I am firmly convinced of that. They do not do the PM (preventative maintenance) that is required. It is obvious when you see the work that comes across my desk.
Long gone are the days when a carrier can pull into port with battle damage and in three days pull back out again and fight the fight (Yorktown...Battle of Midway).
The shipyards are BEGGING for skilled tradesmen. Welders, fitters, pipe fitters, electricians, insulators, painters.......short short short.
You and I knew that we got those shipyard guys from the navy. We used to be able to fix anything. When I was young I didn't see why the navy paid millions to fix ships in shipyards. Give me 3 months pier side and my guys could rebuild the ship. That's not how it worked. I could't believe it as a I finished my 30 years. What was everyday repairs back when I joined turned into shipyard jobs with specialists. I didn't laugh. I was cheng in the middle east mine battleforce. My guys could literally fix anything. As a staff officer in there 10 years later it amazed me that ship's crews couldn't fix anything. Going to Korea and watching that play out actually hurt. Ship COs turned into children by staff officers. And rather than inviting them to fuck off they simply accepted it.
if I wasn't seventy and retired medically, I'd be down at Ingalls shipyards today looking for work. twenty years of aircraft work, flying, and then industrial maintenance teaches a guy a thing or two about preventive maintenance and the hard work of doing it all safely.
6 comments:
Concur!
Murderers row in Ulithi. It's amazing how far we have fallen.
A time when, if you count Fleet, Light, and Escort carriers, 150 seemed a reasonable number of carriers to have.
I have been working in the ship repair industry since retiring from the Corps. The Navy no longer has the ability to repair their own ships. I am firmly convinced of that. They do not do the PM (preventative maintenance) that is required. It is obvious when you see the work that comes across my desk.
Long gone are the days when a carrier can pull into port with battle damage and in three days pull back out again and fight the fight (Yorktown...Battle of Midway).
The shipyards are BEGGING for skilled tradesmen. Welders, fitters, pipe fitters, electricians, insulators, painters.......short short short.
You and I knew that we got those shipyard guys from the navy. We used to be able to fix anything. When I was young I didn't see why the navy paid millions to fix ships in shipyards. Give me 3 months pier side and my guys could rebuild the ship. That's not how it worked. I could't believe it as a I finished my 30 years. What was everyday repairs back when I joined turned into shipyard jobs with specialists.
I didn't laugh. I was cheng in the middle east mine battleforce. My guys could literally fix anything. As a staff officer in there 10 years later it amazed me that ship's crews couldn't fix anything. Going to Korea and watching that play out actually hurt. Ship COs turned into children by staff officers. And rather than inviting them to fuck off they simply accepted it.
if I wasn't seventy and retired medically, I'd be down at Ingalls shipyards today looking for work. twenty years of aircraft work, flying, and then industrial maintenance teaches a guy a thing or two about preventive maintenance and the hard work of doing it all safely.
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