The Change of Command will be Announced Next Week

| February 7, 2009

To make matters worse Rear Adm. Dixon R. Smith, commander Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific was onboard at the time of the incident.

Navy officials say an attempt to pull free a 9,600-ton warship that ran aground off the coast of Honolulu has been unsuccessful.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet says Navy tugboats and salvage ship USS Salvor tried to tow the USS Port Royal early Saturday but the guided missile cruiser remained stuck.

The Navy says it plans to try again after extracting fuel and water from the $1 billion vessel.

The 9,600-ton ship, while carrying guests that included a rear admiral, ran aground Thursday night on a sandy, rocky bottom. The cause of the grounding, as well the extent of the damage to the ship, remains under investigation.

Category: Politics

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Claymore

…paging Mr. Sulu.

airborne injun

It appears the unemployment rate increased by one.

Larry Sheldon

As I recall, running aground is not a career-enhancing maneuver.

HoosierArmyMom

Oops! Another career bites the dust!

Ray

Ouch… Welcome to the “Gator Navy”

Snowman

COB:

Deb wants to know: What if the ADM had the con? Old sea dog, back on the water, and takes over for a few turns?

Who’d be unemployed?

Snowman

Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET

The Skipper will be relieved, Perhaps the Officer of the Deck who was on watch will get a letter of reprimand, thereby causing him/her to resign from the Service. As for the Admiral, that will be up to CINCPACFLT.
Having a CO relieved is a somewhat traumatic thing, It happened when I was in VA-147 in the mid 1980s. Ain’t no fun boys and girls.
But it dowes happen due to the nature of the business. A Commanding Officer in the Navy has ultimate responsibility. That is soemthing very alien to the average American. He is reponsible for everything that happens in his command. It’ not the first time nor will it be the last.

Brian Sims

Yikes, Back to dry-dock and an out of the water 4 month inspection, paint and repair while the crew gets another Hawaiian Leave. All that tech onboard and no ones hep to the sand bar?

Anonymous

Stop posting lies.. Adm. Smith arrives Friday morning and the ship ran aground Thurs at dusk.

onagertom

Keep in mind that Chester Nimitz, as a 22-year-old Ensign, was given command of a destroyer (USS DECATUR) and promptly ran it aground in a mud bank in the Philippines. The future Fleet Admiral received a court-martial for “hazarding” a ship of the U.S. Navy. After the court martial he went on to command the entire Nave during WWII.

Ray

The Port Royal is sitting in about 22 feet of water, aground along the length of her port side on a bed of sand and rock of the type that was used to construct one of the nearby airport’s runways, Walsh said

Kind of like the opposite of the Miracle on the Hudson landing 🙂

BTW Anon.
Also keep in mind, this ain’t Chester’s Navy anymore. A CO who goes aground generally stays aground nowadays.

Anonymous

uss enterprise cvn-65 stuck in mud s.f. bay 1983 the capt. still made commodor.