Let me start off by saying that I’ve never served in any branch of the military and the most I have been out to sea is a whale watch trip over thirty years ago.  So yeah, I don’t know jack all about operating a naval warship.

Having said all of that, I still think it is fair of me to say that there is something wrong with the US Navy, especially in the Pacific. Let us review some highlights from 2017 so far:

• 1/31/2017 USS Antietam runs aground in Tokyo Bay
• 5/9/2017 USS Lake Champlain collides with a South Korean fishing boat
• 6/17/2017 USS Fitzgerald collides with a container ship, 7 sailors lost their lives
• 8/21/2017 USS John S. McCain collides with a tanker,  10 sailors missing at the time of this writing

According to the Washington Post, the Navy has ordered a “fleetwide review of seamanship and training.”  Well, duh!  I should hope so.  Right now the Navy in the Pacific looks more like F Troop Goes to Sea than the competent, seasoned professionals they are supposed to be.

I don’t know what the problems are, but I hope they successfully address them quickly.