Beege Welborn

God almighty - it makes you sick.

BEEGE UPDATE: Alrighty - I see a certain amount of umbrage in the comments as if we were throwing "shade" at the sailors, and neither Konrad nor myself hadn't the first clue what we were talking about.

We both do, as those of you who read my military posts know already. You also know where such shade is always directed as well.

As does my dear friend Cdr Salamander, who has been on these issues incessantly and whose reXweet of this was how I first saw it.

You know who else had something to say about an ongoing rust problem?

“rust-free ships are critical for deterrence and naval readiness” @USNavyCNO April 2022https://t.co/jtJuHhWaL2

— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) August 12, 2023

The CNO in 2022 although it took former sailors and Naval Officers appalled at what they were seeing going ballistic to force a statement.

In an interview with the US Naval Institute, the US Chief Of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Mike Gilday, addressed the issue of US Navy ships returning to port covered in rust, saying that rust-free ships are critical for deterrence and naval readiness.

“On the appearance side, you have to be ready, you have to look like you mean business,” said the Vice Admiral Peter Daly of USNI. “Now that COVID has eased off and port calls are less restrictive, is there time to lay to and paint?”

The question comes after many photos of rust-worn American naval ships have hit the internet, with the latest being the USNS Alan Shepard, a Military Sealift Command supply ship named in honor of the first American in space, photographed in the Singapore Strait looking worn, tired, and streaked with rust.

Many have blamed COVID but the problem extends back before the coronavirus choked supply lines and squeezed US Navy operations. “The nonchalant attitude many are taking to the physical condition of the public-facing part of our Navy is, in a word, disgraceful,” said former surface warfare officer Commander Salamander back in 2019. “I’m not quite sure when our culture decided that doing less with worse was acceptable – where for your wants NOW, you will saddle future leaders who follow you with the Bondo, duct tape, and baling wire remediation you did to get by – but here we are.”

And Sal is not alone. Many articles have been written about a lack of attention to detail in the modern navy. “We have become the worst-looking Navy in the world — with no competition,” said longtime naval journalist and commentator Chris Cavas in a Tasked and Purpose article last year. “When you look at a ship from a European navy or the Chinese navy, for example, they will make that ship pristine before it deploys.”

...“This is part of readiness, it is part of (deterrence) absolutely,” said Admiral Gilday when asked about the rusty ship photos. “Appearance is important. I mean, you got to look sharp. We are the world’s premier Navy. We’ve got to look like it. This comes down to our, get real get better campaign for people to self assess and self-correct, for people to stand up and take action when they see stuff wrong, and not accept stuff that’s broken. Do what you can to fix it, if you can’t elevate it, the chain of command ought to be listening. They ought to be listening to your proposed solutions.”

“rust-free ships are critical for deterrence and naval readiness” @USNavyCNO April 2022https://t.co/jtJuHhWaL2

— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) August 12, 2023

Maybe the wokesters running the Navy will be finally forced to divert some DEI dollars into what best serves their sailors and supports their fleet maintenance as it should be supported.

MORE: The USS Greenbay was in port in Sasebo, Japan, this past July for a change of command... 

 Captain Aaron DeMeyer relieved Captain Severn Stevens as Commanding Officer of the forward-deployed Amphibious Transport Dock ship, USS Green Bay (LPD 20) during a change of command ceremony held onboard the ship while in port in Sasebo, Japan, on July 10th.

...and here she is in a video coming into Pearl four months later.

USS Green Bay (LPD 20) San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock coming into Pearl Harbor - November 22, 2024 #ussgreenbay #lpd20 pic.twitter.com/Y4e78XvEeS

— Ed Schaefer (@ES12071207) November 22, 2024