On the face of it, this doesn't sound like a very sound or wise policy & operational move on the part of our Navy. It would seem that a fully active & up-to-date mine countermeasures command is a very necessary one that has worked well from past to present. So it would follow that this new technology would have been best utilized by this command; with personnel fully capable, up, & running with it. Anyway, just a thought on this issue....
[QUOTE]Originally posted by 11538325: RE: [URL=http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,158903,00.html]http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,158903,00.html[/URL
As a retired Chief Mineman {74} who had the pleasure of learning to walk on bulkheads aboard Long Beach CA. based MSO's in 1960, THE NAVY DOES NOT GO ANYWHERE WITHOUT MINESWEEPERS. The old saying WHERE THE FLEET GOES WE'VE BEEN still holds true today. The actual Mineman MN rate in the Mineforce is apparently being put on the back shelf. What a terrible mistake. PB
Originally posted by 8950331: On the face of it, this doesn't sound like a very sound or wise policy & operational move on the part of our Navy. It would seem that a fully active & up-to-date mine countermeasures command is a very necessary one that has worked well from past to present. So it would follow that this new technology would have been best utilized by this command; with personnel fully capable, up, & running with it. Anyway, just a thought on this issue....
Agreed, this doesn't sound like a very bright decision especially when you consider that nearly every potential trouble spot we could deploy a strike group to is in waters where mines could become a hazard very quickly and easily. USS SAMUEL B ROBERTS was broken in two and nearly sunk by a relatively cheap contact mine, USS PRINCETON became a mission kill during Desert Storm due to an influence mine and USS TRIPOLI, while deploying mine hunting helos and sleds swept a contact mine the hard way herself. All 3 of these in the relatively shallow and critically important waters of the Persian Gulf.
I have to wonder who the rocket surgeons were who took this decision.
As the Chief Mineman above said, the Mineforce is once again taking a back seat to everything else in the Navy. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but it seems that more damage has been done to Navy ships in the past 20 or so years by mines then any other means. Seems kind of foolish to me to use a Destroyer to sweep mines. I mean they leave/have a pretty damn big signature, and draw a he11 of lot more water then a Sweep would. But I'm sure the powers that be have this all figured out. Like they've had it figured out since Korea. Once again its Football 7 Monkey 0
