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It started in Reactor Department. Alright, guys I need y'all to buckle in because Miss Wooster is going full ET1(SW) Reactor Operator on this. I don't want anyone left in any doubt as to why what Capt Crozier did was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. /1 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/us/politics/coronavirus-roosevelt-carrier-crozier.html#click=https://t.co/OVKmW5nvkP
First off, you need to know a few things:
Only two rates are allowed to stand watch on a Naval Nuclear Reactor- when it'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's operating an enlisted ET who is qualified Reactor Operator & that can take 6-18 mos. depending on your ship. /2
If it'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's their Senior-in-Rate. That'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't just Omni Domni new guys into RO/SRO. It'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'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't have.
But Modly wouldn't have.
And all I'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't know right now is the situation with Rx Dept on the TR currently or what NAVSEA's plan for relief for them is. We did A LOT of what's called 6/6 on the Big E bc we were short on watchstanders. That'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're never getting a full night's sleep. I hope the Navy already has a plan in motion & isn't just hoping on Rx Dept's history of "Do more with less".
Anyway, it's why I've been asking, every chance I've had if the TR had released the Departments affected. Because this was my worry. Reactor Dept. never matters to anyone until we're gone. Because you can't just replace us instantly.
I don't know if the TR has River City set, but on the off-chance they don't and any of the Nukes see this. I'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.
*Obviously these tweets are my own opinions, with some facts about the Navy's nuclear power program included, but I don't speak for the crew of the Theodore Roosevelt.
