A Navy warship burned while commanders argued over who was in charge
Jeff Schogol - Yesterday 8:54 AM
The U.S. Navy is expected to play a leading role in winning a war against China, but a chain of command breakdown during a ship fire in 2020 shows how Navy leadership’s bias towards inaction can render the sea service totally impotent during a crisis.
Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays has been charged with arson and other offenses in connection with a fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard that burned for five days in July 2020 and caused more than $3 billion in damage, prompting the Navy to scrap the ship rather than try to repair it.
Yet precious time was lost in the first hours of firefighting efforts because the chain of command was so confusing that commanders refused to take charge in the emergency, retired Vice Adm. Rich Brown told Defense News reporter Megan Eckstein.
At the time of the fire, Brown was commander of Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, known as SURFPAC. He told Defense News that he was unsure whether SURFPAC or 3rd Fleet had operational command of the Bonhomme Richard because the ship was undergoing maintenance.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-navy-warship-burned-while-commanders-argued-over-who-was-in-charge/ar-AARRZzz?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=50797118eb25441eba28ef028ba039e7
