{"id":31889,"date":"2022-08-09T18:03:20","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T18:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/09\/how-one-navy-warship-is-taking-busting-rust-to-a-whole-new-level\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:28:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:28:26","slug":"how-one-navy-warship-is-taking-busting-rust-to-a-whole-new-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2022\/08\/09\/how-one-navy-warship-is-taking-busting-rust-to-a-whole-new-level\/","title":{"rendered":"How one Navy warship is taking \u2018busting rust\u2019 to a whole new level"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Warship rust is a perennial point of debate among active-duty and veteran surface fleet sailors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some argue that a bit of rust following a long underway reflects the hard work that the vessel and its crew undertook, while others think rusty gray hulls are \u201cunsat\u201d by their very nature and project a shabby version of U.S. military might.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out in the West Pacific waters of U.S. 7th Fleet, the Japan-based guided-missile destroyer Benfold has taken a novel approach to the problem by standing up a team of sailors devoted exclusively to busting rust, priming and painting the ship six-days-a-week, even as it operates in some of the globe\u2019s hottest waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Benfold Restoration Team was started roughly two years ago, and today, team members protect the ship from the rusting ravages of saltwater to keep the destroyer looking good and to ensure it can serve for years to come, according to a recent Navy release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of these efforts, \u201cwe have the best-preserved and best-looking ship in all of the U.S. Navy\u2019s Pacific Fleet,\u201d Benfold\u2019s corrosion control officer, Lt. Geoffrey Polinder, said in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing up the restoration team allows sailors to continuously preserve and maintain the ship while deploying and operating.<\/p>\n\n\n\t