Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: nuchat!steve@uunet.UU.NET (Steve Nuchia) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Ship manning Message-ID: <1990Dec12.032239.11559@cbnews.att.com> Date: 12 Dec 90 03:22:39 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 55 Approved: military@att.att.com From: nuchat!steve@uunet.UU.NET (Steve Nuchia) The original question compared military manning levels with civilian cargo types. One point that hasn't been raised in response is that many, if not most, civilian shipping operates badly undermanned. Having been indoctrinated to the navy way of driving ships, the idea of tooling around the ocean with a teenager all alone at the wheel and everybody else asleep scares me silly. A fair number of accidents occur due to inadequate bridge watches, bad navigation, that sort of thing. There have even been some accidents in which the bridge watch of one of the vessels consisted of an autopilot. Economic pressures lead the ship's owners to take the gamble -- if the ship catches fire, or runs aground, or is involved in a collision, chances are they will be able to get help. If it suffers an engineering casualty they will be able to get a tow, or maybe fly a part and an expert out by helicopter. Or continue the "mission" with one engine, or without radar, or whatever. Such casualties aren't low-probablity contingencies for Naval vessels -- they are expected concommitants of doing their job. And as others have said, you can't very well call up the task force commander and say "Somebody shot at me! Please send over some firemen and a tow line!" One thing that those of you who have never been aboard a commissioned naval vessel may not appreciate is just how much junk there is inside the hull. From the outside you see some gun mounts, a few missile launchers, the bridge, and maybe a helo deck. Museum pieces fail to convey the real picture usually because so much has been removed or sealed off. The real picture is like one of those beef cutting charts -- every part of the three-dimensional interior is dedicated to some function, and each of those visible features on the exterior has a much larger volume dedicated to supporting it on the inside. Under the gun mount you have the magazine, amunition elevators, and the mechanisms that train and elevate the gun. Forward of the helo deck is a hanger, where the helo is serviced between missions. Even civilian helos require service every so many hours of flight. At sea that happens right there on the ship. Others have done a good job of explaining all the things you need people for, and I'll resist going on about it at more length. If anyone still has doubts though, do a little research. Find a good picture book cutaway of a warship and start counting equipment. Better yet, start counting up how many people it takes to keep your building or campus running -- don't forget the technicians who can come by on demand to fix computers, elevators, air conditoners ...