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Incident in Kodiak

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by GhostriderIII, Dec 7, 2019.

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  1. GhostriderIII, Dec 7, 2019
    #1
    GhostriderIII

    GhostriderIII Senior Member

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    Six Coast Guard service members and three U.S. Navy sailors were transported by emergency medical services personnel and hospitalized in Kodiak on Wednesday evening after a Coast Guard and Navy vessel collision, the Coast Guard said.The collision occurred around 7:30 p.m in Women's Bay, according to Coast Guard Public Affairs Lt. Comm. Scott McCann.McCann, who is based in Juneau, confirmed that the two vessels were Coast Guard and Navy "small boats." The Coast Guard small boat was a 38 ft. special purpose training boat. All six servicemembers aboard the the Coast Guard vessel were transported to the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center with apparently fairly minor injuries."The injuries were to the extent that our Coast Guard members were released from the hospital last night," McCann said.The injured Navy personnel are in stable condition, according to Naval Special Warfare Command Lt. Matthew Stroup.McCann confirmed the collision damaged both boats, but details around the cause of the collision remain unclear."We will be doing an investigation into who was at fault and why it happened and what type of damage was sustained to both boats," he said, adding that such investigations can take weeks to months to complete.Both the Coast Guard and Navy vessels involved are now moored at the Kodiak Coast Guard base, but it's also unclear how they made it back to port.According to McCann, the Coast Guard small boat was coming back from performing hoisting exercises with a Coast Guard helicopter, a part of routine search and rescue training.The Navy boat was a Naval Special Warfare (NSW) combatant craft, according to an emailed statement from Stroup."An investigation is underway into the cause of the collision during routine training operations," he wrote.
  2. GhostriderIII, Dec 7, 2019
    #2
    GhostriderIII

    GhostriderIII Senior Member

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  3. PacBlue, Dec 7, 2019
    #3
    PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Very unfortunate. The Navy Seal boat was a high speed model, assuming the USCG was a fast RBM as well, so speed may be a factor.

    I am noticing that the US Navy has grown so much that they are overlapping traditional Coast Guard territory and “sharing” duties, not so sure if this is the best value proposition for us taxpayers.

    Hope they can receive treatment and all recover.
  4. Scott W, Dec 8, 2019
    #4
    Scott W

    Scott W Senior Member

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    FWIW, the SEALs weren't 'operating' in the same territory nor were they 'sharing duties,' as both would be precluded under US statutory law known as the Posse Comitatus Act. My understanding is that it was a joint training exercise.

    Training between the five branches of service and even other federal agencies is not uncommon at all. Not only is it productive, but it's oftentimes more cost-effective by leveraging cross-institutional knowledge and assets to improve mission readiness.
  5. PacBlue, Dec 8, 2019
    #5
    PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Joint training , overlap, call it what you want.

    For example, LCS Navy ships conducting high seas drug interdictions on the USCG blue water turf is a definite overlap and miss use of Naval assets as one branch already fulfills that mission, the US Navy is in need of a revamp with a new command, which is thankfully now underway.

    Cost effective and the military do not fit in the same sentence imo .
  6. Oscarvan, Dec 8, 2019
    #6
    Oscarvan

    Oscarvan Senior Member

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    Buddy of mine is a former coastie, I sent him the link and his response regarding this "training" was, paraphrased: "Lotsa details missing, but yeah we used to play cat and mouse games with them (SEAL units) on the Mississippi in the dark, got pretty hairy at times....." The coasties being the mouse.....

    You may now return to your speculations and opinions of our defense forces. :D
  7. Seasmaster, Dec 12, 2019
    #7
    Seasmaster

    Seasmaster Senior Member

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    Although I spent 4 years in the 1970's USN, and hold a great deal of respect for my "Tin Can" brethren, after 23 years in the US Merchant Marine as a deck officer, including MASTER, and having reviewed the most recent USN mishaps [a minesweeper, a cruiser, and 2 DDG's], this collision is the result of the navy! At least the coasties know COLREGS.
  8. Oscarvan, Dec 13, 2019
    #8
    Oscarvan

    Oscarvan Senior Member

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    I don't think COLREGS come into play when you're playing war games.
  9. Seasmaster, Dec 13, 2019
    #9
    Seasmaster

    Seasmaster Senior Member

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    I participated in RIMPAC as Master, and in USW games in the Med. In both events, SAFETY & COLREGS were mentioned in the pre-brief.