Served 4 years aboard an OHP FFG. Best and most fun tour I ever had. That ship is still in service in the Polish Navy. Was mindful of USS Roberts and USS Stark while aboard FFG-9. Had a shipmate who had gone the CWO (Elex-Tech) route as a former EWC about the time I went Op-Tech. He served on USS Stark as EMO for 3 years and retired just before it deployed in 1987. I saw him in Jacksonville in 1990. He owned a pet store at the time. We talked about USS Stark. The two Excocet missiles had struck Stark topside above IC Central. It was possible he'd have perished in that attack. I could tell by the conversation that he felt guilt about not being there with his shipmates when the attack occurred. Living on an FFG was like living in a small town. He knew all 30 sailors who died.
Both Roberts and Stark were saved by their crews by outstanding leadership and damage control. In the aftermath of it all, the outcome for several senior officers on Stark was severe, though mitigated somewhat by their bravery post-attack. Every time we read the Captain's Night Orders on FFG-9 we took it to heart, the lead-in: "Eternal vigilance is the price of victory".
This is a great book. It is very significant that the first CO appoiinted a full LT as the DCA instead of an Ensign or LT (jg). This LT took it very seriously and really drilled damage control into the crew. That paid big dividends later.
I had the deep pleasure of for working under Dave Walker at the Naval Academy until he was forced out by the little mafia at our command. He simply is an incredible human being. I also worked alot with one of the finest generator man I ever met, Robert Bent. He never told me he was on the Roberts with Dave during all this until he was retiring. I was in part of the Gulf-deployed minesweeper crews rotation from 1987 to 1991. I wasn't there for the Roberts or Trenton explosions.
Looking forward to this! For prep material, I suggest the USNA Museum's panel from August 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un01zw62n70
Served 4 years aboard an OHP FFG. Best and most fun tour I ever had. That ship is still in service in the Polish Navy. Was mindful of USS Roberts and USS Stark while aboard FFG-9. Had a shipmate who had gone the CWO (Elex-Tech) route as a former EWC about the time I went Op-Tech. He served on USS Stark as EMO for 3 years and retired just before it deployed in 1987. I saw him in Jacksonville in 1990. He owned a pet store at the time. We talked about USS Stark. The two Excocet missiles had struck Stark topside above IC Central. It was possible he'd have perished in that attack. I could tell by the conversation that he felt guilt about not being there with his shipmates when the attack occurred. Living on an FFG was like living in a small town. He knew all 30 sailors who died.
Both Roberts and Stark were saved by their crews by outstanding leadership and damage control. In the aftermath of it all, the outcome for several senior officers on Stark was severe, though mitigated somewhat by their bravery post-attack. Every time we read the Captain's Night Orders on FFG-9 we took it to heart, the lead-in: "Eternal vigilance is the price of victory".
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/07/28/two-officers-on-uss-stark-are-allowed-to-quit-by-navy/e09bee93-f1de-4a7d-a0de-af029cc9237a/
This is a great book. It is very significant that the first CO appoiinted a full LT as the DCA instead of an Ensign or LT (jg). This LT took it very seriously and really drilled damage control into the crew. That paid big dividends later.
I had the deep pleasure of for working under Dave Walker at the Naval Academy until he was forced out by the little mafia at our command. He simply is an incredible human being. I also worked alot with one of the finest generator man I ever met, Robert Bent. He never told me he was on the Roberts with Dave during all this until he was retiring. I was in part of the Gulf-deployed minesweeper crews rotation from 1987 to 1991. I wasn't there for the Roberts or Trenton explosions.
The "Paul X. Rinn" should be on the next list of ship names released by SECNAV. Either a Burke or maybe one of the new frigates.