Overview
- The USS Benfold reported an engineering casualty involving its generators on July 24, which left the Arleigh Burke–class destroyer without shipboard power for four days.
- Loss of power disrupted potable water, galley services, toilets and air conditioning aboard the ship but the Navy reported no injuries to the roughly 300 sailors on board.
- Ships in the George Washington carrier strike group, including the cruiser USS Robert Smalls, provided meals and support and contracted tugs towed Benfold into Subic Bay for repairs.
- Ship power was restored by July 30, repairs were completed in early August, and the destroyer departed Subic Bay on Aug. 8 and was later reported at Yokosuka.
- The Navy is investigating the generator failure while lawmakers and analysts cite the episode alongside other recent destroyer electrical problems and extended carrier deployments as evidence of strain on maintenance, logistics and sailor welfare.