Compass Points - John Bobo & the B52
A ship worthy of the name.
Compass Points - John Bobo & the B52
A ship worthy of the name.
April 18, 2024
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As reported previously in Compass Points the amphibious ship, USS Boxer after several delays in getting it ready to deploy, finally steamed from San Diego. Sadly, after only a few days, the USS Boxer turned around and headed back to San Diego for more maintenance.
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Now, the Navy is reporting another ship sailing out on a mission has turned around and is steaming back to port.
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A Navy ship on its way to Gaza with parts for the temporary pier returned home after experiencing a fire, the Navy said Wednesday. USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK-3008) experienced a fire in its engine room on Thursday, April 11, while it was on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with equipment and personnel for the humanitarian efforts planned via a temporary pier in Gaza.
-- USNI News
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Is there any hope for Navy ship maintenance? There is some hope. The Navy's surface warfare division is expanding its advanced predictive maintenance program to improve readiness.
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We have 73 destroyers in the fleet today. We've been building this program for four years; we've been modernizing these ships for over three decades. So there's a ton of data out there. But the question is, do we have it in the right format so we can actually leverage that data? And that's something we're working on.”
--Defense News quoting Rear Adm. Fred Pyle
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Another source of hope for Navy ship maintenance comes from a strange source, the US Air Force. The foundation of the Air Force's strategic bomber force is the venerable B-52. The very last B-52 was manufactured in 1968. Exactly zero new B-52s have been built since. The Air Force expects to build zero new B-52s in the future. However, the Air Force continues to upgrade and maintain the 76 B52s it has now to such a high level that it plans to keep those 76 bombers flying beyond 2060 -- more than 100 years of service.
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If the Air Force has a maintenance program that can keep the same bombers flying 100 years, the Navy can straighten out ship maintenance, up the readiness rate, and keep the fleet on patrol. Despite the long line of ships needing urgent repairs, the modest USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK-3008) should go to the head of the line. Why should that ship go first? Because it is named after 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo.
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John Bobo was a 24-year-old Marine Lieutenant when he found himself in Vietnam in the fight of his short life. At one point in the fighting. the enemy blew off his leg. This might have been a setback to many people, but Lieutenant Bobo was made of sterner stuff, and he kept fighting.
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The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to
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SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN P. BOBO
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
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for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Weapons Platoon Commander, Company I, Third Battalion, Ninth Marines, Third Marine Division, in Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, on 30 March 1967. Company I was establishing night ambush sites when the command group was attacked by a reinforced North Vietnamese company supported by heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire. Lieutenant Bobo immediately organized a hasty defense and moved from position to position encouraging the outnumbered Marines despite the murderous enemy fire. Recovering a rocket launcher from among the friendly casualties, he organized a new launcher team and directed its fire into the enemy machine gun position. When an exploding enemy mortar round severed Lieutenant Bobo's right leg below the knee, he refused to be evacuated and insisted upon being placed in a firing position to cover the movement of the command group to a better location.
With a web belt around his leg serving as tourniquet and with his leg jammed into the dirt to curtail the bleeding, he remained in this position and delivered devastating fire into the ranks of the enemy attempting to overrun the Marines. Lieutenant Bobo was mortally wounded while firing his weapon into the mainpoint of the enemy attack but his valiant spirit inspired his men to heroic efforts, and his tenacious stand enabled the command group to gain a protective position where it repulsed the enemy onslaught. Lieutenant Bobo's superb leadership, dauntless courage, and bold initiative reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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The Nation needs the reliable, global crisis response power of the Navy and Marine Corps team. The Navy must make some leap ahead improvements to Navy ship maintenance. In addition, the Navy should be preparing, even now, to work around the clock to repair the damage to the USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK-3008) and get it back in the water. Any ship named for 2nd Lt. John Bobo should be treated with utmost respect. On hard days when the Navy struggles to upgrade ship maintenance and on hard days when the Marine Corps struggles to upgrade the MAGTF, both services need to recall the heroic example of 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo and keep fighting.
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USNI News - 04/17/2024
Navy Transport With Equipment, Personnel for Gaza Pier Back Home After Engine Fire
By Heather Mongilio
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Military.com – 04/17/2024
Navy Ship Slated to Help Build Gaza Aid Pier Forced to Return to Port as Experts Warn of Other Delays
By Konstantin Toropin
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Defense News - 02/12/2024
The new B-52: How the Air Force is prepping to fly century-old bombers
By Stephen Losey
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Military Hall of Honor
SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN P. BOBO
https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=899
Since Fleet maintenance/readiness appears to be a problem, and production is behind schedule, do we need to build a new class of ship? We are short of our L Class ships. It's time, now, to cancel the Landing Ship Medium program for FD. This will become another naval boondoggle like the Littoral Combat Ship program was.
What happened to all of the equipment in the Norwegian Cave Storage!