22 hours ago, temuFarang said:

Please share your experiences with rust on a ship's hull during combat operations.

I’m not really up for discussing maintenance on naval ships, other vessels at sea, or fixed oil platforms. I have worked on boats, floating platforms and fixed oil platforms, and what they all have in common is that maintenance is ongoing. If it isn’t, you end up with the Russian syndrome.

US Navy has its own maintenance manual with sections for “underway painting” and touch-up painting by the ship’s crew. They even run corrosion-control programs onboard where sailors clean, prime, paint, needle-gun and sand topside while the ship is operating.

So how long has she actually been deployed? And haven’t there also been periods of ceasefire and reduced combat during the last 4–5 months? Or does rust maintenance only count when absolutely nothing else is happening?

U.S. Navy Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual covers underway painting, Ship’s Force touch-up painting and corrosion control, and also specifically addresses maintenance requirements that must be accomplished during deployment. In other words, deployment does not mean maintenance stops.

U.S. Navy Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual⁠

https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/SUBMEPP/Volume%20VI.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

34 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I’m not really up for discussing maintenance on naval ships, other vessels at sea, or fixed oil platforms. I have worked on boats, floating platforms and fixed oil platforms, and what they all have in common is that maintenance is ongoing. If it isn’t, you end up with the Russian syndrome.

US Navy has its own maintenance manual with sections for “underway painting” and touch-up painting by the ship’s crew. They even run corrosion-control programs onboard where sailors clean, prime, paint, needle-gun and sand topside while the ship is operating.

So how long has she actually been deployed? And haven’t there also been periods of ceasefire and reduced combat during the last 4–5 months? Or does rust maintenance only count when absolutely nothing else is happening?

U.S. Navy Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual covers underway painting, Ship’s Force touch-up painting and corrosion control, and also specifically addresses maintenance requirements that must be accomplished during deployment. In other words, deployment does not mean maintenance stops.

U.S. Navy Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual⁠

https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/SUBMEPP/Volume%20VI.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Guess, the USN should look into hiring Filipino nationals to do the grunt work like the Norwegian shipping companies do. Today's Navy don't have huge deck dept. personnel doing seaman like things. I agree they should as they've lost their seamanship.

Most of what the Navy supply ships do today was done by USN sailors not that many years ago. To be a competent Bos'n Mate meant something. Those days are gone.

The rust that we see on the sides of the carrier couldn't be gotten to from the ship, most of it couldn't. You'd have to be pierside for camels (paint floats) or cherry pickers to be used.

7 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

That's bad news.

Publicity in the Guardian of Navy guys "going wild in the world's largest red light district".

Now all the NGOs will come out of the woodwork to try to shut Pattaya down.

Wouldn't be going wild with her on the right, perhaps it was 'Buy one, get one free' promotion 🤔🤔

3 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Wouldn't be going wild with her on the right, perhaps it was 'Buy one, get one free' promotion 🤔🤔

The bloke on the left isn't much better.

18 hours ago, roo860 said:

Wouldn't be going wild with her on the right, perhaps it was 'Buy one, get one free' promotion 🤔🤔

Aw man, there goes lunch . . .

There should be a rule about warning labels or something.

While underway on extended deployment without port visits for upkeep (Subic Bay, Singapore, Surabaya) rust will occur.

Nothing new.

Once back in San Diego she’ll look pretty again.

Sanctioned Ivan (our local Russian "spy') got the scoop.

How to lure sailors to spill the beans?

Pokoman Cards!

On 9/1/2026 at 11:32 PM, HappyExpat57 said:

I lived on the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) for four years, and sailed to multiple ports in the Western Pacific, so yeah. dotard, that makes me a bit of an expert.

Did my 4 yrs on the USS Long Beach (CGN-9) Caught the ship in Subic, did 3 West-Pacs.

On 9/3/2026 at 3:16 PM, scottiejohn said:

You have obviously never been to sea!

It is not always all "sea waves crashing, and the deck pitching"! Ships have been known to do "hands to bathe" in the middle of the ocean, especially when "crossing the line"!

USA call it a swim call.

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Did my 4 yrs on the USS Long Beach (CGN-9) Caught the ship in Subic, did 3 West-Pacs.

THAT brings back memories of Magsaysay Drive. Any small chance you ever went hiking on the base to see that waterfall that no one had ever touched the bottom for being so deep? In the forest were fruit bats with wing spans of at least 2 meters. Absolutely frightening sight even though they weren't technically harmful.

Oh, and the "virgins" standing in the boats on sh!t river crying "Throw me a peso, I show you my tits?" Good times.

Edited Sunday at 04:16 AM5 days by HappyExpat57

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

USA call it a swim call.

About the scariest moment in my life was becoming a Shellback on the ENTERPRISE. Halfway through the torture, we were led to a hangar bay flight elevator on our hands and knees. The elevator started to rise to the flight deck where dozens of sailors awaited us, beating the deck with those goddamned "shillelaghs" - and this is back in the days where they were actual sections of canvas-covered firehose, not those wimpy foam rubber jokes they use today. Really got my ass beat that day.

The final insult to injury - we had to wear a pair of skivvies outside our dungarees while this transition occurred, and when were were done, I went to the very end of the flight deck bow, tore those skivvies off, threw them off the ship, and the wind whipped them right back into my face! Something I can never forget for at least the next three lifetimes.

11 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

About the scariest moment in my life was becoming a Shellback on the ENTERPRISE. Halfway through the torture, we were led to a hangar bay flight elevator on our hands and knees. The elevator started to rise to the flight deck where dozens of sailors awaited us, beating the deck with those goddamned "shillelaghs" - and this is back in the days where they were actual sections of canvas-covered firehose, not those wimpy foam rubber jokes they use today. Really got my ass beat that day.

The final insult to injury - we had to wear a pair of skivvies outside our dungarees while this transition occurred, and when were were done, I went to the very end of the flight deck bow, tore those skivvies off, threw them off the ship, and the wind whipped them right back into my face! Something I can never forget for at least the next three lifetimes.

I guess a sailor would under stand your post, I did not.

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1 hour ago, HappyExpat57 said:

THAT brings back memories of Magsaysay Drive. Any small chance you ever went hiking on the base to see that waterfall that no one had ever touched the bottom for being so deep? In the forest were fruit bats with wing spans of at least 2 meters. Absolutely frightening sight even though they weren't technically harmful.

Oh, and the "virgins" standing in the boats on sh!t river crying "Throw me a peso, I show you my tits?" Good times.

No hiking done there. I absolutely remember the girls in boats all dolled up and the little urchins in the water ready to dive for coins.

You know, it was kind of sad when I returned to Subic on a Merchant ship and all the old landmarks abandoned and in ruins. Magsaysay of the old days is gone. Now It's Barrio Berretto for some girly action.

But the old base has alot of nice waterfront restaurants and hotels.

4 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

No hiking done there. I absolutely remember the girls in boats all dolled up and the little urchins in the water ready to dive for coins.

You know, it was kind of sad when I returned to Subic on a Merchant ship and all the old landmarks abandoned and in ruins. Magsaysay of the old days is gone. Now It's Barrio Berretto for some girly action.

But the old base has alot of nice waterfront restaurants and hotels.

I have a friend who was at Subic Bay Base when they shut it down. The Navy destroyed the infrastructure in senseless ways like taking the overhead telephone lines, tying them to the back of pickup trucks and running the trucks down the street.