Destroyers, LSDs to undergo inspections

[unhappycamper]

Board of Inspection and Survey inspector Lt. Cmdr. Michael Kalinski evaluates the material condition of the amphibious command ship Blue Ridge combat systems equipment as Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Joshua Pacheco and Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Gill Hysons demo a .50-cal machine gun on the main deck of the amphibious flagship during the week-long INSURV inspection conducted every five years. Blue Ridge is the flagship for Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet.


Destroyers, LSDs to undergo inspections
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 14, 2009 5:52:01 EST

The head of the Navy’s surface forces has ordered technical inspections of dozens of warships to see “exactly what their lifespan is” through assessments of their material readiness.

First up are Harper’s Ferry and Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships, said Vice Adm. D.C. Curtis, and followed by Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The Navy’s steam-powered gators are getting old, Curtis told Navy Times. “We may think a ship is 14 years old,” he said, but with a high operational tempo, “is it really 17 years old?”

Under the Naval Surface Force pilot program, inspectors from Naval Sea Systems Command and the Board of Inspection and Survey will assess the warships’ readiness and expected lifespan. The Navy’s goal of reaching a minimum 313-ship fleet means that every ship has to serve as long as possible, Curtis said, and to plan accordingly, he wants the best information he can get about the condition of the force.

Curtis said there wasn’t a specific ship or inspection that led him to ask for joint NavSea and InSurv inspections, although his announcement came less than a week after the firings of the captain and executive officer of the Japan-based dock landing ship Tortuga.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/navy_SNA_readiness_011309w/%2e