Distracted, Woke US Navy Can’t Launch A Ship Without Breaking It
By John Hughes
April 23, 2023
On April 14, 2023, the US Navy launched its newest vessel in its fleet. The USS Cleveland, LCS-31, is a Freedom Class littoral combat ship. At 388 feet, it weighs in at 3,410 metric tons and can exceed 46mph on the water. Ordinarily, a ship launch is a publicized event with local coverage but rarely rises to the level of national attention. This event, however, was different and not in a good way.
Since its founding in October 1775, the US Navy has proudly and effectively served the nation in peacetime and wartime. As a maritime branch of service, it is intuitive that part of its essential existence involves building and launching ships. After 248 years, it would seem that the Navy has had time to perfect the process of putting a newly built ship made with taxpayers dollars into the water without mishap. During the mass ship building in World War 2, the Navy managed to coordinate the construction of over 5,500 ships and launch them without problems. Even 1000+ foot long aircraft carriers seem to be put to sea with routine ease, as should be expected after over 2 centuries of practice.
On 14 April 2023, the US Navy launched the USS Cleveland, the 4th ship to proudly bear that name. During the launch, the ship slid into the water and crashed into a tugboat, damaging the brand new ship that cost between $600M and $800M dollars. The launch was on time and performed in front of a planned publicly attended event. Admittedly, I am a former Army officer and not a sailor, but it would seem obvious that you don’t park a tiny tugboat at the base of a ramp where a ship larger than a football field will hurtle down a ramp and crash into the water. Numerous YouTube videos document the debacle. Here is one:
https://armedforces.press/distracted-woke-us-navy-cant-launch-a-ship-without-breaking-it/
