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This was a really well written article that really hits home for me.
I believe within the next 1.5 years or so, you won't be able to walk to the exchange and back without hearing the term "fleet sustainment" at least three times. There's a big convention in April about making the WHECs last indefinitely. I guess the service finally admitted what the sailors have known all along.
Meanwhile, our drydock that was scheduled for Summer 2008 was pushed back almost a year (or who knows how long) due to a lack of funding. Considering that there are places in our bilges where our sailors won't step for fear that they will puncture the hull, some of us feel a bit disappointed.
So we are halfway through TACT on a cutter that had been tied to the peir for an exhorbitant amount of time over the past 2.5 years due to several major mechanical problems causing the ship's force to pretty much rebuild both MDEs with parts from FUIRP (seperate issue; no comment). We just got back from a winter ALPAT where we saw seas that were definitely above eye level on the bridge on this ship, and the crew did exceptionally. We brought a ship that had hardly been underway at all, went through CART in Kodiak in January with Women's Bay frozen over halfway through our patrol, then rolled into TACT less than 3 weeks after returning from the deployment. But, since our ship isn't currently capable of doing full power trials, we don't have a shot at a Battle-E. Knowing how far we've come, and what we ask of our people on my ship, I have to look all of my sailors in the eyes every day, knowing that we have no shot at this award, knowing how far we've come and how much effort we've put into preparing for TACT - it's tough. To my knowledge, none of the PACAREA WHECs have gotten the E this year; but the sailors keep these old ships running with parts from the junkyard, and get through whatever is thrown at us.
We get the job done, and we have pride, because we know what we've done, and we know what we are capable of. From my perspective, though, outside of the lifelines of my ship, things are not the way they should be. That's why reading that article hits so close to home for me. I hate to say the word resentment. I'm honored to serve with my sailors and command, and I'm proud of what we do, but at the same time I'm truly sad and disappointed about where our service has ended up with our major cutters, and in a way, I feel like a fool for serving afloat for as much time as I have.
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