Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: PAISLEY%auvm.auvm.edu@VM1.gatech.edu Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: WHat happened to USS Stark (was Re: Anti-Balistic Missiles Now) Message-ID: <1990Dec18.015631.5431@cbnews.att.com> Date: 18 Dec 90 01:56:31 GMT References: <1990Dec7.011307.474@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: The American University - University Computing Center Lines: 34 Approved: military@att.att.com From: In article <1990Dec15.012050.13269@cbnews.att.com>, jtchew@csa2.lbl.gov (JOSEPH T CHEW) says: > >As I understand it, there are basically three parts to this question: > >* Why didn't the ship respond more aggressively to the first sign of > threat -- an incoming aircraft? The Gulf is a very busy environment, air-traffic wise, everybody has planes going everywhere, so one more contact could easily be overlooked, plus, Stark doesn't have Aegis, all contacts have to be tracked in a more de-centralized manner, allowing for more human error. >* Why didn't the threat warning receiver acquire and warn of the missile? I don't know the capabilities of this piece of equipment, so I can't comment. It is possible that it was not operating for some reason. >* Why didn't the CIWS acquire and fire on the missile? CIWS is a great system, sometimes too great. Its radar sometimes makes mistakes from being too sensitive. Because of all the other non-threat traffic in the Gulf area, CIWS was turned off to avoid shooting a good guy or innocent passer-by. Since no threat was imminent, there was no reason to have it on. Of course, in retrospect, it is easy for armchair admirals to say it should have been on full auto, but that's hindsight. I hope this sheds some light on why the tragedy happened. It is all too easy to look back and say what should have been done, but without know- ing the circumstances, any 'should-haves' are pointless. --- L. GORDON PAISLEY, PAISLEY@AUVM.AUVM.EDU THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON, DC USA