Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

What not to do when seeing a big ship in your path while entering the Persian Gulf

A couple of things struck me from this audio from the bridge of the minutes leading up to the USS Porter‘s collision with a Japanese tanker back in 2012. First, it sounds like no one is in charge. Second, when the skipper asks someone a question, it is taken as an order. Third, I wonder ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy

A couple of things struck me from this audio from the bridge of the minutes leading up to the USS Porter's collision with a Japanese tanker back in 2012. First, it sounds like no one is in charge. Second, when the skipper asks someone a question, it is taken as an order. Third, I wonder why during four minutes there is no attempt to contact the other ship in ways besides the horn -- say, radio, flashing lights, and flares.

A couple of things struck me from this audio from the bridge of the minutes leading up to the USS Porter‘s collision with a Japanese tanker back in 2012. First, it sounds like no one is in charge. Second, when the skipper asks someone a question, it is taken as an order. Third, I wonder why during four minutes there is no attempt to contact the other ship in ways besides the horn — say, radio, flashing lights, and flares.

"Bridge communications were atrocious," commented retired Navy Capt. John Byron after listening to the audio. "A good skipper wants a quiet bridge and a good OOD insists on it."

Speaking of the Navy, here is a good story about the difficult decisions facing an F-18 pilot after a refueling mishap.

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.