Sailor found not guilty of starting 2020 fire that destroyed a 41-ton U.S. Navy vesse

[Guno צְבִי]

The sailor accused of starting a fire that essentially destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, a 41-ton amphibious assault vessel, was found not guilty Friday of starting the blaze that burned for days.

U.S. Navy Capt. Derek Butler found deck seaman Ryan Sawyer Mays, 21, not guilty of aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel.

The Navy's Naval Criminal Investigative Service focused its probe on Mays, but a command investigation in 2021 also said 17 sailors and five admirals failed responsibilities that contributed to the blaze on July 12, 2020. Most were disciplined.

The ship was home to hazardous materials improperly stored, clutter and fire lines that were missing, the investigation found. Nearly 90% of its fire stations weren't working the morning of the fire, the agency said. Sailors weren't properly trained and ready for the calamity, it said.

The presence of contemporary tinder — lithium ion batteries near cardboard boxes — may have contributed to the fire's intensity and reach, investigators found. The total destruction was preventable, the command investigation concluded.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sa...4b59e894aaae3f

[Hawkeye10]

A 153 post thread on the sunject:

https://www.justplainpolitics.com/sh...nhomme+Richard

[Hawkeye10]

To sum up: a very important large ship burned at dock, it never should have happened, this was negligence, and there will be no accountability in part because the Navy could never figure out how the fire started.

This is yet another all around failure for the Navy.

[ThatOwlWoman]

A 153 post thread on the sunject:

https://www.justplainpolitics.com/sh...nhomme+Richard

From two years ago. As always, you're a day late and a dollar short.

Maybe we shouldn't be mocking Russia's military's performance in Ukraine when our defenses are kept in this poor of a condition, you think?

[Hawkeye10]

Just to make this more fun in spite of the fact that we heard at length what heros the sailors fighting the fire were the truth is that the effort was bungled from the start.

You might feel better that this lost of a ship that never should have happened embarrassed the Pentagon enough that they set up a task force to make sure that proper procedures are followed at port so that this never happens again, to include having people trained to put out a fire should one happen.

Years ago the Navy used to do this sort of thing as a matter of course, but things have slipped badly in our NAVY.

[Hawkeye10]

Members pointed to a February Government Accountability Office Report which found sailors patching together obsolete equipment, cannibalizing other ships for repair parts, and, serving on ships that are understaffed with personnel who are overworked or undertrained.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/ne...5-cf97b23d68d6

And the wrong officers have been promoted and the Navy has over the last 25 years shut down far too much shipyard capacity so they cant now keep stuff operating. We know also that the Navy keeps having trouble doing basic navigation, the USS Connecticut being the latest catastrophic navigation error. At least in that case the top three officers on the boat had their careers ruined.

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/artic...d-17293041.php

[SmarterthanYou]

To sum up: a very important large ship burned at dock, it never should have happened, this was negligence, and there will be no accountability in part because the Navy could never figure out how the fire started.

This is yet another all around failure for the Navy.

hooray for that efficient government accountability

[Hawkeye10]

hooray for that efficient government accountability

Hmmmm....there was some sort of accountability:

More than 20 sailors were punished for the four-day fire that led to the loss of the warship Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) in 2020, the Navy announced Friday.

The actions ordered by U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Samuel Paparo include letters of reprimand and forfeitures of pay for former commander Bonhomme Richard Capt. Gregory Thoroman and executive officer Capt. Michael Ray, as well as a punitive letter of reprimand for the ship’s Command Master Chief Jose Hernandez, according to a statement from the service provided to USNI News.

Paparo served as the consolidated decision authority to oversee accountability actions following the completion of former 3rd Fleet commander Vice Adm. Scott Conn’s command investigation into the fire, which was released in October. He determined the punishments in a series of admiral’s masts December through January, a Navy official told USNI News.

“The disposition decisions included six Nonjudicial Punishments (NJP) with guilty findings, two NJPs with Matter of Interest Filings (MIF) and a Letter of Instruction (LOI), two NJP dismissals with a warning, one additional MIF, five other LOIs, three Non-Punitive Letters of Caution (NPLOC), two letters to former sailors documenting substandard performance, and six no-action determinations,” according to a statement from the service.
“Paparo’s CDA accountability actions were primarily focused on USS Bonhomme Richard’s leadership and the fire response team

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/15/nav...ormer-swo-boss

I had missed this.

Seems rather weak though.

[Hawkeye10]

The initial response to the July 2020 fire that destroyed the multibillion-dollar amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard was uncoordinated and hampered by confusion as to which admiral should cobble together Navy and civilian firefighters, according to new information from the then-head of Naval Surface Forces.

The discombobulation in those early hours meant sailors may have missed a small window to contain the fire in a storage area. One admiral who said he lacked authority to issue an order pleaded with the ship’s commanding officer to get back on the ship and fight the fire, when the CO and his crew were waiting on the pier. And when that admiral — now-retired Vice Adm. Rich Brown — found the situation so dire that he called on other another command to intervene, it refused, Brown said in an interview.

Brown, who led Naval Surface Forces and Naval Surface Force Pacific from January 2018 to August 2020, told Defense News in June he set up an ad hoc chain of command to coordinate trying to save the ship that Sunday morning, after seeing lower-level leaders struggle to communicate or to fight the fire aggressively. The move came after the fleet’s operational chain of command declined to step in due to confusion over who had control over the ship.

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/20...of-three-star/

Our Navy.

[cancel2 2022]

A 153 post thread on the sunject:

https://www.justplainpolitics.com/sh...nhomme+Richard

Guano claims it's a 41 ton vessel!!

Sailor found not guilty of starting 2020 fire that destroyed a 41-ton U.S. Navy vessel

[cancel2 2022]

From two years ago. As always, you're a day late and a dollar short.

Maybe we shouldn't be mocking Russia's military's performance in Ukraine when our defenses are kept in this poor of a condition, you think?

Hawkeye started that thread two years ago, Madwitch!! No doubt you have at least one of your off-spring who is a high ranking officer in the Navy.

[ThatOwlWoman]

Hawkeye started that thread two years ago, Madwitch!! No doubt you have at least one of your off-spring who is a high ranking officer in the Navy.

My oldest son served as a lieutenant in the Navy aboard a sub for six years. He got out in 2009. Thanks for asking.

[Doc Dutch]

The sailor accused of starting a fire that essentially destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, a 41-ton amphibious assault vessel, was found not guilty Friday of starting the blaze that burned for days.

U.S. Navy Capt. Derek Butler found deck seaman Ryan Sawyer Mays, 21, not guilty of aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel.

The Navy's Naval Criminal Investigative Service focused its probe on Mays, but a command investigation in 2021 also said 17 sailors and five admirals failed responsibilities that contributed to the blaze on July 12, 2020. Most were disciplined.

The ship was home to hazardous materials improperly stored, clutter and fire lines that were missing, the investigation found. Nearly 90% of its fire stations weren't working the morning of the fire, the agency said. Sailors weren't properly trained and ready for the calamity, it said.

The presence of contemporary tinder — lithium ion batteries near cardboard boxes — may have contributed to the fire's intensity and reach, investigators found. The total destruction was preventable, the command investigation concluded.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sa...4b59e894aaae3f

A failure of leadership. Sad.

[Doc Dutch]

Guano claims it's a 41 ton vessel!!

It's a typo, dumbass.....or do you want me to hunt down all your typos for comparison, Tom? LOL

[cancel2 2022]

My oldest son served as a lieutenant in the Navy aboard a sub for six years. He got out in 2009. Thanks for asking.

Yes no doubt you have a general, an admiral and Captain America spring from your loins as well.