DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY VICE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, WASHINGTON DC 20350-2000 August 24, 2017 MEMORANDUM FOR COMMANDER, U.S. FLEET FORCES COMMAND Subj: COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF RECENT SURFACE FLEET INCIDENTS. 1. During the last 69 days, the USS FITZGERALD (DDG 62) and the USS JOHN S. MCCAIN (DDG 56) were involved in two separate major collisions with commercial vessels while operating in the SEVENTH Fleet AOR. Recent events indicate these tragic incidents are not ied occurrences but part of a disturbing trend of mishaps involving U.S. warships in the AOR ~ including the grounding of the USS ANTIETAM (CG 54) in January and a collision between the USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN (CG 57) and a South Korean fishing vessel in May. 2. You are directed to lead a Comprehensive Review of surface fleet operations and incidents at sea that have occurred over the past decade with emphasis on SEVENTH Fleet operational employment to inform improvements Navy-wide. This review should address the following areas: a. Individual training and professional development, to include seamanship, navigation, voyage planning, leadership development, officer and enlisted tactical training in formal schools and on the job; . Unit level training and operational performance, to include manning, personnel management, watchbill management, bridge (and CIC) team resource Management, contact management, contact avoidance, leadership oversight and risk assessment/mitigation at all levels of the chain of command: c. Development and certification of deployed operational and mission standards (Force Generation) with particular emphasis on Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF), to include validation of required certification standards, gaps between required standards and actual employment practices, effectiveness of leadership and oversight at all levels of the administrative and operational chains of command, maintaining and enforcing standards throughout FDNF assignment including self-assessment practices, external inspection reinforcement, and remedial action mitigation plans; 4. Deployed Operational Employment and Risk Management (Force Employment), to include Combatant Commander mission requirements, theater security cooperation requirements, maintenance impacts, other competing priorities (fleet experimentation, concept development), and their corresponding impact to operational tempo (OPTEMPO) and fundamental mariner and seamanship proficiency;€. Material Readiness of electronic systems to include navigation equipment (e.g. AIS, radars, ECDIS, VMS, WSNS), propulsion and machinery to include steering systems, combat system modernization, and material availability: f. Practical Utility of current navigation equipment and combat systems including sensors, tracking systems, displays, and internal communications networks to evaluate their effectiveness at integrating tactical data and providing situational awareness to our people. 3. As part of this review, request you make detailed recommendations with respect to corrective actions necessary to ensure the safety of our people, safe operations at sea, and the readiness of ‘our forces. In the conduct of the review, you will seek input and insights from other services, industry, and highly qualified experts outside the services in order to ensure the widest possible Perspective as we drive to the heart of the underlying issues and attack the root causes for these mishaps, 4. ‘The final results of the review will be provided to me within 60 days, unless an extension is requested and granted, ‘W. F. MORAN Copy to: COMPACEFLT.