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It started in Reactor Department. Alright, guys I need y& #39;all to buckle in because Miss Wooster is going full ET1(SW) Reactor Operator on this. I don& #39;t want anyone left in any doubt as to why what Capt Crozier did was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. /1 #click=https://t.co/OVKmW5nvkP">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/us/politics/coronavirus-roosevelt-carrier-crozier.html #click=https://t.co/OVKmW5nvkP">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/1...
First off, you need to know a few things:
Only two rates are allowed to stand watch on a Naval Nuclear Reactor- when it& #39;s operating an enlisted ET who is qualified Reactor Operator & that can take 6-18 mos. depending on your ship. /2
Only two rates are allowed to stand watch on a Naval Nuclear Reactor- when it& #39;s operating an enlisted ET who is qualified Reactor Operator & that can take 6-18 mos. depending on your ship. /2
If it& #39;s shutdown- then either an ET or an EM who is qualified Shutdown Reactor Operator can stand the watch. Now for us ETs we usually qualify RO/SRO simultaneously. EMs qualify SRO only, but again this can take up to 18 mos depending on what your ship is doing. /3
There are anywhere between 4-7 extra watchstations & auxiliiary duties that Reactor ETs & EMs will qualify BEFORE their RO/SRO qual. It& #39;s their Senior-in-Rate. That& #39;s not negotiable. Sea-returnees qualify PPWS/SDWS and maintain RO/SRO proficiency. /4
Why am I taking you thru this boring ass journey of Rx Dept Manning? Because Crozier would have seen this. You can& #39;t just Omni Domni new guys into RO/SRO. It& #39;s not as simple as "flying replacement bodies" out. AND HE WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT. That was his urgency. /5
To give as much lead time as possible to NAVSEA and others to be able come up with a solution if they needed one. Even if you could find enough former TR sailors at NPTU & NNPTC to fly back to watch a shutdown/cold-iron plant, you still have to make damn sure they& #39;re proficient.
And beyond proficient, you need to keep what Rx & Eng Dept you have "healthy" for a turnover. You CANNOT walk into a plant blind. Material condition, equip status, all of this matters heavily. Not to mention where the plant gremlins are. GODDAMNIT I AM STEAMED OVER THIS!
Full disclosure: I was an RO/SRO on the USS Enterprise. That big steamy bitch had 8 Reactors & was an absolute monster to keep running. The TR has 2 RXs & is 30 yrs newer but the principles are always the same for Nukes- Safety, Procedural Compliance, Watchstanding Principles.
Capt. Crozier had to go through Nuclear Training before taking an XO position on a CVN. He would have stood watches with us, watched our maintenance, & had to qualify at NPTU through his own program. He already would have known this.
But Modly wouldn& #39;t have.
But Modly wouldn& #39;t have.
And all I& #39;m saying is that Modly needed to put his ego aside & understand that Crozier was atop the Intel pile on this one. He understood the criticality (pun intended) of the situation. Backing Crozier would have been the smart (& right) thing to do.
What I don& #39;t know right now is the situation with Rx Dept on the TR currently or what NAVSEA& #39;s plan for relief for them is. We did A LOT of what& #39;s called 6/6 on the Big E bc we were short on watchstanders. That& #39;s 6 on/6 off (repeat forever). And it wears on you.
Because you still have to do maintenance (yep, even in a crisis) bc the Rx still has to work. And you& #39;re never getting a full night& #39;s sleep. I hope the Navy already has a plan in motion & isn& #39;t just hoping on Rx Dept& #39;s history of "Do more with less".
Anyway, it& #39;s why I& #39;ve been asking, every chance I& #39;ve had if the TR had released the Departments affected. Because this was my worry. Reactor Dept. never matters to anyone until we& #39;re gone. Because you can& #39;t just replace us instantly.
I don& #39;t know if the TR has River City set, but on the off-chance they don& #39;t and any of the Nukes see this. I& #39;m so sorry, guys. We always get the longest shaft in the Navy. Hold tight to each other & hang some gremlin fighters for all of us. It gets better after ORSE.
Clarification 1: Any Nimitz-class Nuke would be familiar with the Rx/Eng setup aboard the TR. My tweet about former TR nukes is just that if you HAD to do a rapid turnover you want ppl who recently operated that specific plant. Gremlin-specific and all that.
