From the article:
What is not answered in any detail are the following questions:
► What were all the players thinking, and why were they thinking those things?
► How is it possible that the bridge team members on the Fitzgerald were unable to employ a radar effectively?
► How is it possible on the John S. McCain that no one in the pilothouse seemed to understand the functions associated with the helm and lee helm?
How is it that there are not multiple crew members present in the wheelhouse at least conversant enough with the systems to perform gross maneuvers of the ship? In a combat situation it is possible that any or all of these personnel present could be incapacitated. If there is only one person present who can operate the helm, that lack of redundancy places the ship at risk. If no one can, the result is no surprise, only a probability (especially in 'crowded' waters) approaching certainty that there will be such an accident.
The navy has been in this rat trap before. Fires on the Oriskany and Forestall indicated a fundamental weakness in the training of only specialized fire response crews on the vessel, in both cases resulting in damage and loss of life beyond that which would be expected under similar circumstances with a crew where every person had some firefighting training. The Navy corrected that problem, by requiring everyone on the vessel to learn the basics.
Here, again a critical weakness resulting from overspecialization has been exposed. Bridge crew should be cross trained in at least the fundamentals of maneuvering the ship (including collision avoidance equipment such as radars) to at least have the opportunity to prevent such accidents in the future.
If, in the quest to cut costs or for whatever reason, these vessels are undermanned, then that needs to be addressed. In a force which has been shrinking, one would think there would be available personnel who could adapt to a new vessel more readily, with at least an understanding of fundamentals, requiring only training in upgrades and new systems.
Just my civilian $0.02