Caroline Carter-Inadequate training leads to deadly collisions in US Navy ships

   
     http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/11/politics/navy-ships-training-expired/index.html

     In recent years, the US Navy has been falling behind in terms of the quality of the training of its sailors and their ability to keep its ships' training records up to date. In the past, sailors would receive hours of instruction in a classroom designed to prepare them for anything they may encounter behind the wheel of a warship. However, to cut back on the cost of this extensive training, new recruits were given stacks of CD's starting in the 2000's. It soon became evident that under this new program, sailors were significantly less prepared for service at sea than their predecessors. In addition to this, many ships' training certifications are expired, and have been for at least 5 months. This summer, the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain collided with cargo ships in busy ports, killing 17 people total. Investigations have proven that both ships held expired warfare training certifications for ballistic missile defense, air warfare, fire support, and many more. According to data gathered by the Navy, around 73% of American warships in the Pacific are in the same situation. The Navy is currently in the process of revising its certification process and making sure all ships currently deployed have fully competent crews in order to ensure that more deadly collisions like this do not happen in the future.