{"id":36511,"date":"2018-04-12T17:08:05","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T17:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/12\/rebuilding-7th-fleet-the-navys-most-scrutinized-sailors-correct-course\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:44:49","slug":"rebuilding-7th-fleet-the-navys-most-scrutinized-sailors-correct-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/04\/12\/rebuilding-7th-fleet-the-navys-most-scrutinized-sailors-correct-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding 7th Fleet: The Navy\u2019s most scrutinized sailors correct course"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The waterfront here is smaller than you might imagine. For its outsized impact on the world stage, the Navy\u2019s 7th Fleet cruiser and destroyer flotilla numbers only 11 ships, meaning the total number of \u201cCRUDES\u201d sailors here is less than the population of most large high schools in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sailors here regularly cross-deck while their ships are in deep maintenance to fill billets for ships going on patrol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Yokosuka<\/a>, everyone seems to know someone on any of the other ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when first the Fitzgerald<\/a> and then the McCain<\/a> collisions claimed the lives of 17 sailors, it affected everyone on the waterfront in a personal way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was tough,\u201d said Cmdr. David Huljack, commanding officer of the destroyer Barry. \u201cThere is a connection here in Yokosuka. You can see it\u2019s a small waterfront. There\u2019s not 60 ships like there is in Norfolk. There is 10 of us and we all know each other. So there were members of our crew who knew sailors on Fitzgerald\u2026and on McCain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom an emotional, crew standpoint, it was difficult. It was difficult to get on the 1MC and talk to the crew in August about the John S. McCain tragedy knowing what was going on back in Yokosuka, knowing what our shipmates were going through on McCain and we were stuck out in the ocean. It was tough. But the crew did well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being underway at the time helped the crew focus on their mission, but they also found other ways to deal with the grief and emotion in the wake of the dual tragedies that struck last summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe focused very hard on training, we focused very hard on rigor, and coming up with complex [damage control] scenarios,\u201d Huljack said. \u201cNot to suggest for a second that we weren\u2019t before, but that became our outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe heard wonderful stories about the damage control effort on Fitzgerald and on John S. McCain. We could apply that energy to our own damage control and really create some challenging scenarios that were very helpful. That also, at the same time, provided an outlet for the crew that I think was productive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That instinct to respond to tragedy with rededication to the basics was demonstrated all over the fleet in the wake of the fatal accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But beyond doubling down on fundamentals, life in 7th Fleet for sailors and their leaders has changed in small but important ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sailors who spoke to Defense News said that in the wake of the accidents, watch and work schedules have shifted to allow more sleep for tired crew members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commanding officers, meanwhile, are being given more time in port for dedicated training time so that they are not juggling certifications with operational commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What may seem like small things from the outside add up to a substantially different working environment on the waterfront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Airman Alex Rogers stands in the hangar bay of the Japan-based carrier Ronald Reagan. Sailors like Rogers used hard work and a rededication to the basics to cope with 7th Fleet tragedies, one officer said. (MC3 Ryan McFarlane\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CHANGES ON THE DECK PLATES<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sailors at all levels, but particularly in leadership positions, have begun to focus even harder on the basics, but also on managing sailors\u2019 time in the demanding operational environment of 7th Fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom a chief perspective, we\u2019re making sure we\u2019re not overworking our sailors \u2013 making sure we are managing their time and ours properly,\u201d said Chief Intelligence Specialist Christopher Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that we\u2019re doing on Chancellorsville \u2014 we\u2019re on the deckplates with sailors so we have a good idea of what their capabilities and limitations are \u2014 is instead of sending everyone out for freshwater wash-down, we can have a few sleep and have a few support freshwater wash-down,\u201d Smith said. \u201cSo, we\u2019re more conscious of that; that we are managing our sailors\u2019 time more effectively. At least I hope I am\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy has attempted to tackle the problem of weary sailors head-on. In September, then-Surface Warfare Boss Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden ordered all his commanding officers to implement watch bills that align with natural sleep cycles, or the so-called circadian rhythms.<\/p>\n\n\n\t