Lucky no one was hurt. A collision with 6000 tons of sub and 9600 tons of cruiser could have been very messy.

Sipper you couldn't hit the broad side of a sub! Oh wait yes you can. How big is the Atlantic? And they can't keep from running into each other?

Well, that makes at least two Navy officers whose careers are over, and probably a couple more as well. I am sure that both the COs will be relieved of their commands after this. It really does not matter whether either one of them was any where near the bridge/con, both will be relieved. An unfortunate fact of life for the commander of any Naval vessel is that if there is a collision they are going to lose their jobs. Basically the view is that the CO is responsible for everything that happens, regardless of whether or not they are directly at fault or not. Of course the officers that were in control of vessels are also going to see their careers end as well. The officer who had the con on the sub and the one who was the watch officer on the bridge of the cruiser will be held responsible along with the COs. I am just thankful that no one was injured and that there was no major damage to either vessel.

I hope everyone is safe and sound.

I wonder what the story is of why two of the most powerful war ships in the world just had a collision?

Just sit right back
And you'll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful trip,
That started from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
The Skipper brave and sure,

DAGNABBIT Gilligan

I know two captains who are out of work. Guess they can get jobs with some cruise lines. I've been on the San Jacinto a few times, sorry to here this, just glad no one was hurt.

When the president can give orders to all of congress and expect those orders to be followed then you might have an argument JR.

@JS You are correct and I am 100% with you in being thankful no one was hurt.

Isn't this the 3rd or 4th collision this year? More damage has been done to Navy ships by the Navy than all the terrorists combined.

This is the McHale's Navy that is going to protect the Persian Gulf? If they were a cruise ship company the government would shut them down, because of their safety lapses and incompetence.

If this was an Exxon oil tanker, we would be asking if they were drunk.

JS - my first thought was... ooops! my next thought was there goes two command careers, like you say, the Captain of the ship is responsible no matter who had the conn. just the way it works in the military, if you are in command and things go good you get the attaboy, if things go wrong you get the blame. As a sergeant of a squad if my guys performance was sub-par, it was my fault for not having them good to go. no where does @!$%# roll up or down hill like it does in the military.

@Bill

These Captains and crews are being asked to do things that no cruise ship Captain would ever dream of doing. We want them to fight hard so they train as hard and realistically as they can. The Navy would much rather can a Captain for screwing up during training than send out hundreds of death notices for a ship lost in combat.

Gwaddamn infrastructure is so bad in this country ships and sub's are running into each other. Yo ho ho and a bottle o Rum um....................................

Antistupidity,

Wow, you impressed me! Gilligan's Island is my most favorite show! Back in the 80's(there was no cable TV) I would watch that show each day after school. The question was Ginger or Marian? My choice was both!! Hee Hee! Can you blame me?

In a stunning turn of events, U.S. Navy officials have given a preliminary assessment of the events leading up to this crash, and are being investigated fully. According to an anonymous source, officers from the U.S. Marshall's office have been summoned. Also contributing resources, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, ATF agents, The National Security Administration and The US Attorney General's offices.

This just in: Investigatory officials have tentatively pinpointed the cause of the accident. Again, quoting anonymous sources; it appears the submarine USS Montpelier had Big Bird (of Sesame Street renown) on board, and was using his long neck as a periscope for the sailors, since federal funding of the Defense Department is slashing expenses, the Montpelier's captain was unable to get funding for the repair. Therefore, after Big Bird volunteered for the tour of duty the Captain gladly accepted. None of the above agencies were willing to comment to numerous queries.

Job Opening 1, U.S. Navy, experienced Sub commander. Must have no less than ten years experience commanding L.A. class Submarine and hold OS 5 or higher rank.

Job posting 2, Experienced Aegis class Captain, U.S. Navy, Must have recent and extensive experience and currently hold OS 5 or higher rank.

For further details and consideration contact Chief of Naval Operations, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington D.C., Postings due to bad decisions on the part of former commanders of said vessels.

@Guy from NC.........Mary Ann was so much hotter than Ginger there never was any comparison in my mind. Although I wouldn't have kicked Ginger outta the sack, unless of course she preferred getting it on in the floor, she couldn't hold a candle to Mary Anns sexy little bod OR face. Just my opinion.

According to unnamed Pentagon officials: The sub captain did not want to be relieved of command so he and the crew will be joining Captain Marcus Chaplin and crew of the USS Colorado on Sainte Marina.

Officials report that an update to this situation will be available on THURSDAYS 8|7c on ABC.

@Midnightridr, I couldn't agree with you more. Mary Ann has the girl-next-door innocence going on that made you want to carry her behind the coconut hut and.........

This just in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sub was being driven by Lindsay Lohan and the Cruiser was being driven by Amanda Bynes!

Film at 11.

If this was of the coast of Florida I know exactly what they were doing. USS Montpelier was in Ref-Tra (refresher training) and the USS San Jacinto is an escort, monitoring and assisting in the training. Ref-tra is as real as they can make it. Without this training we would never be the BEST NAVY in the world.

Mary-Ann of course Mom would never allow me to bring Ginger home.

Sounds like two new Captain positions will be opening up. The Navy is not very forgiving.

Could have been very costly for us, not just in human life either! I think I remember reading somewhere that just one of those cruisers cost more than Japans yearly GNP!

@onlyyoucanchangethelaws

"Could have been very costly for us, not just in human life either! I think I remember reading somewhere that just one of those cruisers cost more than Japans yearly GNP!"

Wow. Disembling is becomming an art form (when did truth and the use of facts become quaint and inconveniant?)

The yearly GNP of Japan is approx. $4.85 Trillion (that's TRILLION). The unit cost of an Ticonderoga Class Aegis cruiser (like the USS San Jacinto) is approx. $1 Billion (that's BILLION).

You are only off by a factor of 4,850 times! Well done. Exagerate much?

It's ironic that people expect the ship's commander to be relieved over a collision because he's responsible for his crew but those same people don't think Obama should be relieved for the failures of his administration.

Leave it to a right wingnut to spin this story. Gloom, Doom, and spin....

It's a very small ocean.

I figure by tomorrow morning Romney will be blaming this on Obama too.

All the hi-tech gear IN THE WORLD is no substitute for basic seamanship skills and quite rightly any collision at sea is regarded as a major black mark and usually a career breaker. Both skippers will be lucky if they ever get to steer a USN desk, let alone another seagoing command.

I seem to remember such maneuvers being conducted on 9-11...the Air Force was too busy to respond to jets flying into buildings...shall we continue to lay blame where it is not due?????????

Idiots who want to blame anywhere they can - pitiful life. Get help for your anger issues.

...starring Ernest Bognine and Tim Conway.

Two skipper-goof balls wanting to get close enough for hollering, monkeying, and boistering. End up in a collision. Military intelligence is an oxymoron.

@ Guy from NC

You are correct, too hard to choose, it'll have to be both Ginger and Mary Ann or Mary Ann, or Ginger or..........................ahhh only one solution.................................it has to be both.

and since J R Browenstein had to go there

If Romney were in charge, no American would be looking at losing their commands...........................Romney would have outsourced the commands so it probably would have been 2 Chinese losing their commands P FRIGGIN TROLL.

Ginger all the way, why have the girl next's door when you can have the woman that know what she wants and likes don't have time to teach lol. But on to the subject at hand don't we still use sonor ?

@ guy from NC and antistupidity

Watching Ginger do Mary Ann....now that would be my choice....

Sounds like Romney was on the driver's seat on the boat....while Obama in the Nuclear Sub, trying to get away from the idiot...

JS in SD, you are 100% correct, too bad their Commander in Chief isn't held to the same standards.

edandbunny

When the president can give orders to all of congress and expect those orders to be followed then you might have an argument JR.

I see....maybe your problem is that you don't understand the basic fundamentals of our government. I stated that Obama should be held accountable for the failures of his adminstration, not Congress. Congress is not part of the Executive Branch...thus, Congress is not part of Obama's administration.

Maybe you should get yourself a remedial American government textbook.

Antistupidity

@ Guy from NC

You are correct, too hard to choose, it'll have to be both Ginger and Mary Ann or Mary Ann, or Ginger or..........................ahhh only one solution.................................it has to be both.

and since J R Browenstein had to go there

If Romney were in charge, no American would be looking at losing their commands...........................Romney would have outsourced the commands so it probably would have been 2 Chinese losing their commands P FRIGGIN TROLL.

Wow, your screen name is epic in it's irony.

you Team Ginger guys are in full up delusional mode....

Mary Ann is crazy hot...... those short shorts and the freaky top thingies...... no contest: Mary Ann has Ginger down on the ground kicking her

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4jE1MPo12XA/T1_U7aC1BsI/AAAAAAAAAwE/OrBgqQHRnQg/s1600/mary-ann.jpg

I pity da foo who picks Ginger!

J R Browenstein Comment collapsed by the community

It's ironic that people expect the ship's commander to be relieved over a collision because he's responsible for his crew but those same people don't think Obama should be relieved for the failures of his administration.

BigAl Las Vegas

I figure by tomorrow morning Romney will be blaming this on Obama too.

DocHolliday-2979123

Sounds like Romney was on the driver's seat on the boat....while Obama in the Nuclear Sub, trying to get away from the idiot...

Amazing how far some people will reach to make a political comment....or display stupidity.

If civilians only knew how often training accidents occured, this story would have been a: "Yeah and"? article.

Like js in sd said captains and officers will take the heat, lose jobs and be drummed out of navy....too bad same can't be said, or done with our worthless politicians.

I see a few posts about both skippers careers being over, that will depend entirely on the situation.

If the sub was in stealth (and they often are during exercises) and the sub inadvertently surfaced below or somehow entangled itself with the cruiser, the sub skipper will bear a much higher portion of the blame. I would say comfortably that the sub skipper is almost certainly finished, and possibly the cruiser skipper as well, but much less likely.

Was in a collision in the Straits of Gibralter back in 1977 on the USS Saratoga. The captain continued to command the rest of my time on board, approx. 2 yrs.

See what happens when shooting an AD for ELECTION 2012,

..... Romney and Ryan were showing their war maneuvering skills!

Just stay home boys.

Joking besides, Happy to hear no-one was hurt.

Last I heard Obama was the Commander in Chief.

An accident has no bearing on the election.

No elected officials nor political appointees were present on either ship.

Stay on point, OK?

I love your moniker-was a favorite show of mine before heading off to school when I was a kid!

There was another collision a few months ago. We heard about it at the shipyard where I used to work.

Gary - if on a training op for ASW, the Aegis missile boat would have been hunting the sub, our subs are very quiet and hard to detect, like wise the Aegis, which probably has some form of "masking" device, I think it is called prairie masker, kind of a stealth technology. So both ship can be hard to see if the sub is under water. If the sub is below the thermocline it gets even harder to "see" each other; still all in all somebody fouled up big time.

also using passive sonar means you have to listen for the other guy, this type of radar is usually what is used since active radar (pinging) will tell you where the bad guy is, but it also tells him where you are.

Depending on sea state and biologicals, the last 50 to 100 feet the sub is, essentially, blind.

thats why I asked what they were doing... Im an ex navy OS. Radar and navigation are my favorite things. I get Sonar active and passive. I dont see how they collided unless the sub surface undernearth or right next to the destroyer. if thats the case the sub needs a new commander.

Nuke subs are quiet except when surfacing and diving. the ballast tanks are quite loud. This just seems rreaaallllyyy odd.

Gary - sorry dude, I am sure you know more about the sonar thing than I do, I was responding with the thought that most folks have limited knowledge of naval ocean operations; I was Army, but have always been interested in military tactics.

BTW - thank you for your service to our country!

Gary, I was a conning officer and OOD. I had a Peruvian diesel boat surface right in front of me. JUST missed it. Talking to some of our bubble heads though, they said there is so much noise at the surface that they are essentially blind the last 100 ft or so. I doubt it's that much different for us surface guys. When you were active, were you able to locate and get bearings on surface vessels close to you, especially in heavy seas?

Being an ex Bubblehead my guess would be BOTH are removed from command.

Doesn't matter the reason most times in the NAVY.

" You denta my ship..I parka your ass"

Having been a Sonar Tech on Fast Attacks, I can tell you that if the sub was coming to Periscope Depth is the MOST stressful time. Doing searches around for contacts and sometimes heavy biologics ( normal ocean creature..shirmp etc... ) sounds can mask the sound of a contact, and there are always instances of surface ships dead in the water where only our freq detection equipment could pick up something ( or not ). It's not always black and white like some may think.

There will definitely be two more skippers looking for work very shortly.

Yep, they're both gone. It doesn't matter if you're the one at fault or not. Ships like these don't exactly turn on a dime, they take miles to turn sometimes depending on their speed. The USS Virgina hit a fishing boat that drove into it's path while pulling into Crete and was hit and nothing could be done to avoid it, but the skipper of the Virginia was still replaced.

Jeff N.-1053549

Thanks for your service, I was on Tin-Cans and offten served as targets for you guys. Ever been to Co-Co Beach Fl ? Ref-Tra was fun for us, not so much for you.

joethelib,

Been to Co-Co M-A-N-Y times. Was also born and raised ( till 12 ) in Florida. The fast attack I was on was referred to as a " hot runner ". We did not do much of the Ref-Tras. We always went places that they " could " have you sign pieces of paper beforehand that said you were no where's near where you just were...LOL.

Right back at ya with Thanks for your service!

There are only 2 types of ships in the world.

Submarines

and

Targets!

I don't get it! I don't get it! How many times have I read about the Navy involved in a collision! All of these hi-tech computer radar systems that I'm/we're paying for?! What ever happened to standing on the bridge with good-ole binoculars!! I'll donate my pair to the Navy! Just like in the old WWII movies! Get back to basics! Someone look starboard, someone look port, etc.. Sitting behind a computer screen isn't working and we need more eye's on the bridge!! Of course "pinging" from the sub would give away the location BUT did anybody think about staying still in the water and listening for sounds instead of listening to iTunes?!! I don't get it...

Both skippers may not necessarily get the boot. Many years ago, I was on a gator freighter. Our CO was a total dirt bag. He later went on to skipper the USS Constellation. During the middle of a fleet exercise a Russian sub surfaced in the middle of the battle group and the Connie almost ran over the sub! As I recall, the XO, Navigator, and Operations Officer were all relieved, not the Captain. He was later given a star. Retired as a 3 star. Had friends in high places I guess.

I've heard the Navy ain't too keen on Captain's who beach, strand, bump or put crinkles in the ships or subs (especially the subs) that they let them play with.

Maybe they were playing chicken (duck?), see who would blink first. I've been around a few Commanders who play some silly games some times...nothing as serious as this, but still - close enough to the edge to make you pucker.

They can probably find work with the Itallian cruise line industry. Best of luck to Captains McHale and Crunch ( God, after the accident wouldn't that be a perfect name). Scully get out of the cockpit, and into the crows nest !

Pilot error? C'mon. they are both "blind" and relying on their ears.

I kinda suspect both will be promoted....to the rank of "civilian".

I see an opening for the republican party to want to privatize the military. A private company can do it cheaper and better..

No. but we do need to beef up the manning and the size of the fleets. Overworked personnel tend to have more accidents.

Well, you see, Boromir, they already tried that one during the Shrub Admin--it was called Blackwater. Look how great that turned out...

"I feel safer already!"

I once left an M60-MG sitting out in the boonies around 15 miles from our garrison area. Pretty safe huh?

Well, actually "I" didn't leave it, but I WAS the Platoon Sergeant, so it was my gun. When the armorer couldn't make 3 machine guns equal 4, he was nice enough to pull me into a private corner & ask if I knew where it might be. After about 10 seconds of thought, I said, "Yep. I know right where she's at. Give me an hour." Was still pointing in the right direction, guarding the road I had assigned to it.

CID/FBI/ATF never found out about it. They're a mite strict about losing a machine gun. And I DID get promoted to Master Sergeant later on. The Spec. who actually left it there did okay too. One of those type things you don't want to make a big fuss about, just pretend it never happened. :) :)

Outstanding!

Actually,that would be sonar, not radar. But at least 2 someones weren't paying attention.

It is my understanding that submarines almost never use their active sonar, as sending the Ping reveals their own location to any ships in the area. In most cases they rely on passive listening to detect surface ships. If there was a lot of surface activity a submerged sub might have difficulty identifying and locating the various ships.

tomgnj--cell phones don't work in metal environments. cell phones don't work in areas where there aren't any cell phone towers. cell phones don't work underwater, along with radar. nukes...the navy can neither confirm nor deny the presence of any nuclear weapon aboard any naval vessel. now as the article stated, the reactor was never in danger.

Eric Bischoff! Well played. I also agree with Martin-1951020, the cruiser is not nuclear powered, she has turbines. The sub is powered by a reactor. Just glad both ships seem to be in condition to make it back to port, collisions are not good.

I looked thru 100 comments and you're the first person to say the first thing I thought of when I read the title. Although I did read something about using cell phones. What a dumb arse

Kane, they weren't just driving down the road together, the sub and the cruiser were hunting each other while both were running as quietly as possible. That's what they do 9 days a week for practice.

Whatever happened to the sailor who was supposed to cry out "Ship ahoy?" Was he on coffee break or something?

I would expect 100's of Millions of $ for each but I'd like to see the pics.

But there will be meetings, review, more reviews... evaluations, critiques simulations and more critiques. By the time its done, just a plain old A55 kicking - will start looking pretty good in comparison.

You got that right Beowulf.