Crews say minesweepers in disrepair

[unhappycamper]

The mine countermeasures ship Avenger arrived in Sasebo, Japan, aboard the heavy-lift vessel Ocean Force in July.


Crews say minesweepers in disrepair
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 7, 2009 5:23:40 EST

Last spring, two minesweepers began an “extended deployment” to the Western Pacific with the promise of exotic Asian port visits, but instead of adventure, the ships got delays, confusion and lots of requests for spare parts.

Now, the mine countermeasures ships Avenger and Defender are stuck in bureaucratic limbo, their sailors told Navy Times, because Navy, U.S. and Japanese officials haven’t decided where the ships will be permanently based. They’re both in Sasebo, Japan, but some of the crews’ families are in Ingleside, Texas — site of their former home port — while others are scattered across the country, waiting to learn where the ships will finally end up.

The ships, their crews and families have waited months without a decision, and in the meantime, the sailors haven’t been home to the U.S. or seen their loved ones. They’ve been given no end date for their deployment, and their ships are falling apart while they wait. The situation is unsatisfactory, one sailor told Navy Times.

“I have done deployments before, so my family and I were prepared for a deployment, but not being able to tell my wife where she will be living, or the fact that I may be moving to Japan and she cannot come, is unsat,” he said.

The sailors who spoke with Navy Times asked not to be identified because they feared command repercussions for discussing the ships’ plight.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/navy_mineships_120609w/