Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!emory!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allan Bourdius) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Are Warships Over-Manned? Message-ID: <1990Nov30.023704.10452@cbnews.att.com> Date: 30 Nov 90 02:37:04 GMT References: <1990Nov29.004354.21100@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 42 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Allan Bourdius Warships are in no way overmanned. Surface ships operate four six-hour watches a day. Just in the CIC of an Ticonderoga class CG you'd have 15-20 men (Sonarmen, Radar Operators, Fire Control Techs, Telephone Talkers, Tactical Action Officer, CO, Plot and Threat Board Operators, etc.) on duty at any one time. Right there, you need anywhere from 60-80 men just to man CIC for normal sailing. Damage Control is the higest-priority activity (except fighting) on board a naval vessel. The DCO (Damage Control Officer) is usually the fourth to the sixth man in line for command. (CO, XO, Engineer, TAO, DCO usually) Controlling battle damage is not a job for 20 men, it is a job for 200 or more. If the USS Iowa hadn't had as effective damage control and crew response (about 1/4 of the crew, about 275 sailors), the consequences of the #2 turret explosion could have been a lot worse. If it wasn't for effective damage control on the part of the USS Stark's crew, those two Exocets would probably have sunk the ship. Same goes for the USS Samuel B. Roberts when she struck a mine. Both of those frigates are available for duty today because the entire crew effort for damage control saved the ships. How would you like to handle a Class Charlie fire in the engine room, flooding, potential magazine explosions, and crumbling bulkheads with 20 men??? The size of ships is governed by the fuel they need to carry, the size of the propulsion plant, the ordnance load, and the sea-state you want the ship to be maneuverable in. If you make ships smaller, you will reduce range, weapons load, and seaworthiness. Don't forget the need for crewmen who know how to operate all the weapons and detection systems but crewmen who know how to repair all the weapons and detection systems. They are different specialties. Allan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MIDN 3/C (PLC-JR) Allan Bourdius, Carnegie Mellon University NROTC "Come on you sons o'bitches, do you want to live forever?" ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu The opinons expressed in this letter/posting do not, nor are they intended to, reflect the official policies/positions of DOD, DON, USMC, USN, NROTC, or CMU. Any information in this posting was obtained using unclassified material and/or personal intuition, analysis, or extrapolation.