USS Boxer still working up to deploy three years on
The Boxer is an amphibious assault craft, which essentially makes it a “small” aircraft carrier (843 feet long!) which not only can carry the usual Harriers, F-35s, and choppers, but good-sized air-cushion landing craft to rapidly deploy Marines as well. These are the odd-looking Wasp-class ships with the lower landing wells, effectively giving them a second launching deck below the flight deck.
Been a few problems…the USS Bonhomme Richard that burned at dock was one. The Boxer (not, thankfully, named after Barbara – it’s the sixth of the same name) has been docked for repair and refurb for most of the last three years – two years and $200,000,000 worth – and yet ever since has had three “engineering incidents” which kept her from sailing.
However, a command investigation, released to Military.com via a Freedom of Information Act request, revealed that between January and November 2023, the ship was investigated for at least three different engineering breakdowns that, according to the Boxer’s strike group commander, were “caused by a lack of procedural compliance, substandard supervisory oversight, and general complacency by the crew.”
The investigation revealed that the ship experienced damage to two “forced draft blowers” on Nov. 8, 2022. A separate investigation into that incident, also provided to Military.com via FOIA request, faulted “poor quality craftsmanship, lack of industry repair skill set/capabilities” and a “lack of supervisory oversight” from the Navy offices overseeing the work.
Then, on May 14, 2023, the ship had a “boiler safety” breakdown.
The last incident revealed in the pair of investigations occurred on July 11, 2023 — just a bit more than two weeks before Abrahamson would claim the ship’s crew was “focused on readiness” and preparing for deployment.
It found that the ship’s engineers allowed one of the main reduction gears, or MRGs — essentially transmissions from the turbines to the propellers — to turn without any lubrication.Military.com
No oil in the ‘transmission’ – that is a 7-8 digit repair. Luckily, some enlisted guy caught it in time and saved the ship. But it ran for 2 hours without any lube…tough unit.
The Navy is laying it all on the command, especially engineering. First for the blower incident:
Poor craftsmanship, lack of shipyard repair skill and lack of Navy oversight were among the causes of these failures, the investigation says. KPSB
Then, after the boiler light-off issue:
After learning of the incident, the ship’s chief engineer withheld the news from the captain for more than 24 hours, the investigation says.
The investigating officer writes that “the slow erosion of standards over time … lack of deck plate procedural compliance, marginalized training, inadequate supervision and lack of adherence to formal written orders” were found among the ship’s engineering crew. KPSB
That’s gonna affect a LOT of careers. Sounds like a total breakdown of the entire engineering command – well worth reading.
Meanwhile, we are supposed to have four of these operational – we got two. Marines, your taxi service has problems – is there a naval Uber?
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Navy
But on the positive side, the entire crew is 100% complete on their Diversity Equity and Inclusion training.
And things are only to get better once those recruits with an AFQT score of 10 starts hitting the fleet.
Still have boilers? Must be one the few that do…
As a former HT in Engineering Dept., you always heard “stories” about how some disgruntled MM or BT could sabotage the plant. You almost hope is the former and not incompetence. We are seeing the effect lack luster recruiting since the Resident Sleepy Joe’s Regime took power demonized straight, white men (the backbone of our military) at every turn.
It slipped my mind but when I went to the Iwo Jima class ship association renion back in 2007; one of the former LPH 3 Chiefs told me about one of the snipes who lit the Engineering berthing compartment on fire because he didn’t want the ship leaving on another cruise. They just flooded the compartment untill the fire went out.
Anyone remember Project 100,000 from the VN era?
Talk about Full Retard and never wanting to go there…
Cat IV enlistees use up, f*ck up or otherwise cost Uncle Sam 25% more to accomplish the same as Cat I enlistees.
I still remember the Cat IV medic trying to heat a canteen cup of water over a lit sterno can in the back of a M-561 Gamma Goat while it was moving cross country in Grafenwöhr, Germany – water spilling everywhere.
They will make MacNamara’s Morons look like super soldiers.
Still trying to figure out what critical billets these Sailors pulling in an AFQT of 10 are going to fill. The suckiest part of this idea, and there are many, is that the people promoting the lowering of standards will never have to serve beside these dead weights. The Chief will be telling the Skipper that Seaman Apprentice Schmuckatelli is a threat to the ship and his fellow Sailors, and the only thing he will hear in return is “It’s a leadership challenge.”
So the Boxer is laid up in Cali and the Wasp is laid up in VA. Will the Marines have ANY large deck support on a MEU? Gonna just pump the Kearsarge out again?
The ship captains can be like the 22 commanders of Forces in Afghanistan who made *significant progress” during their tour there. If it sinks when it pulls away from the dock, it’s that last guy’s fault.
I feel for those enlisted swabbies on that ship, you know every commander for the last 3 years has been cracking the whip trying to show “progress”. Every article I’ve read here and elsewhere tells me that being crew on a ship trapped in dock like this is a living hell.
Being “in the yards” totally sucks…
At first its easy with half day Fridays, but then when real work starts it really sucks ass. Sometimes the yard birds are working 24/7, and most of the systems are shut down. You’re living in barracks if you’re lucky or on the berthing barge (my son) if you’re not. I’d rather be on deployment then go through the yards again. My son’s last 10 months were in the yards before his schooling finally came through for Pensacola.
Early 1966 found USS Okinawa LPH 3 in the Philly Shipwards drydock for a refit. From the ships whistle on top of the mast down to the reefer flats, things were taken apart down to parade rest and we stood cold iron watches. A large number of the Brooklyn (NY) Naval shipyard Yard Birds were bussed down to the yards from Brooklyn every morning. I did a lot of fire watches with CO2 extinguishers while they burned with their oxi aceteline torches. Morning found me with the Yard Birds during coffe break then the leadman comes in and yells, drop your cocks and pick up your socks and get the fuck out of here. Road up in the bus with them one Friday going on a 72. We gave them WW2 spam for cumshawing 1/2 inch globe valves which I needed for the laundries washing machines and got them well before the ones were ordered through channels and the Engineering Dept’s Engineer Officer had a shit fit when he found out. We also berthed onboard during the work.
Forgot to add in that thee former old Boxer CV 21 was re classed as USS Boxer LPH 4 but wasn’t
a Boxer class LPH. She was already down in the Dominican Republic during Op. Power Pack in 1965 getting Americans onboard off of the island. She also took part in Op. Steel pike 0ff of Seville Spain in 1964 which was almost as large as Op Torch from what I heard.
Operation Torch was about 5-10 times the size.
Thanks for the heads up on Torch, 5JC I guess whoever told me was quite wrong.
“…faulted “poor quality craftsmanship, lack of industry repair skill set/capabilities” and a “lack of supervisory oversight” from the Navy offices overseeing the work.” Seems like we, as a country, have forgotten that Quality is job one. Teaching how to code or which pronoun to use is more important than building something that will work. Watching programs on History Channels of how the industrial might, and skill levels during WWII is what enabled us to win that war makes one wonder if we could repeat that in today’s age. Somehow, I don’t think we can.
DaHell we gonna do in a peer level shooting war when our fancy toys are tied to a dock or sitting on the bottom of the ocean and we can’t replace them?
Hey, AI and warning labels on everything will fix it! /sarc
(You know somebody will go there.)
P.S. The ship that hit the Francis Scott Key bridge was automated and computerized out the wazoo– fat lot of good that sh*t did with power failure at a bad moment.
Quality control and lack of attention to detail is the standard of “Generation Alphabet Soup”. Likewise in the cilly-vilian sector.
Maybe they shouldn’t have been so hasty with the cutting torches on the old USS Iwo Jima. I don’t recall her ever having these problems.
Of the ten NBB afloat during WWII all ten survived the war.
Well, a boat is a big hole in the water you keep throwing money at, so there’s that.
Could just go with the LCS ‘minimal manning’ plan. THAT should solve everything
Is this another example of our Navy lacking proper seamanship and operational competence? Oh well, they are likely passing all their DEI requirements.
Rum, sodomy and lash– uh, “diversity,” sweety– ahoy!
“… marginalized training, inadequate supervision and lack of adherence to formal written orders”
And that, boys and girls, is the modern United States military, regardless of branch, in a nutshell.
Yes, someone, somewhere, whether officer, NCO, civilian contractor or manufacturer can write down “this is the way it should be done.”
And there was probably a boldface red text in the operating manual, maybe even on a placard next to the reduction gears: “Do not place a load on the gears without oil in the transmission case.”
What is missing is the NCO with gray hair who has trained sailors for months on startup and underway procedures who would imbue his sailors with an innate sense that “gears do NOT turn without oil” so that the sailors would know what is under the padlocked* (!) covers to the reduction gears, and would never allow such a dry start.
But merely stating that “well it’s in the written orders” is a coverup, an alibi, a cop out.
*And if you ask yourself “why would the Navy put reduction gear transmissions under padlocked covers!?” … well, see this:
Trial of Sailor Opens in Sabotage of Carrier Ranger – The New York Times (nytimes.com)