Toilet troubles add to sailors' deployment stress on carrier

It may seem like a trivial inconvenience in the scheme of things, but it's become routine enough that some sailors aboard the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush say it's affecting their morale, their health and their job performance: Since the ship left for its maiden combat deployment in May, its toilet system has suffered outages so frequently that crew members sometimes can't find a single working commode.

Over the weekend, the mother of one Bush sailor became so upset by her son's repeated reports of widespread toilet outages that she blasted a news release about it to reporters across the country.

"The sailors aboard the USS George H.W. Bush have already endured nearly six months with an unhealthy 'inconvenience' that most civilians would not tolerate for six hours," Mary Brotherton wrote. "The taxpayers are outraged over the living conditions of the men and women onboard."

Brotherton's son, Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Frakes, said in an email interview that on some occasions he's searched almost an hour to find a working head, the Navy's term for a toilet.

"It definitely affects my morale," said Frakes, an aviation mechanic. "When I was unable to relieve myself for two days, I was irate to say the least."

The wife of another Bush sailor - she asked not to be named for fear that her husband would be punished - said her husband began telling her about the outages months ago.

"It sounds like a nightmare - having to run all around the ship to find a working toilet," she said. "He's told me it's made it one of the hardest cruises he's done."

Other Bush sailors told the publication Navy Times that they've resorted to urinating in showers, sinks and bottles, and that some crew members have developed infections after resisting urges to use the bathroom.

One sailor was recently disciplined after urinating in a place he wasn't supposed to, the Navy said.

Brotherton said she decided to issue her news release after her son told her he was limiting his food and water intake so he would need the bathroom less often. In the heat of the Arabian Gulf, where the Bush is deployed, sailors who don't drink enough water run the risk of dehydration.

Frakes said the head closest to his sleeping area was once out of order for eight days. "It is never up for more than a few days before it is down again."

He said the problem recently worsened when coded locks were placed on the doors to some heads, further limiting sailors' access to working toilets. The codes apparently were meant to keep out sailors not assigned to that division or sleeping area, thereby promoting a sense of ownership for individual heads and discouraging those with access from flushing improper materials.

Frakes said the commanding officer, Capt. Brian Luther, has said he'll get rid of the codes.

"It's absurd," Brotherton said. "This is our most modern aircraft carrier."

The problem lies with the vacuum system that pulls waste through the ship's 250 miles of pipe. The Bush is the first aircraft carrier to be outfitted with a vacuum system, similar to those on commercial airplanes and cruise ships.

The Bush's system is divided into two sections, forward and aft. When a section loses vacuum pressure, all of the toilets on that half of the carrier become inoperable. Sometimes clogs can cause a loss of vacuum. Sometimes disconnected vacuum hoses are to blame.

What seems to set the toilet problems on the Bush apart from those on other carriers is that if one clog disrupts the vacuum, it can cause half the ship's toilets to fail at once.

In written responses to questions from The Virginian-Pilot, the Navy command that oversees Atlantic-based aircraft carriers said the majority of the outages - and those that usually take the longest to repair - have been caused by sailors flushing "inappropriate material or items" down the ship's toilets.

The Bush has experienced toilet breakdowns since it was commissioned two years ago, the Navy said, but the service does not view the issue as a construction flaw.

"When used properly, the system works as designed," the Navy said. "Ongoing education is a key part of the solution, ensuring that all hands understand the appropriate use of the system."

The Navy's statement said sailors have spent more than 10,000 hours maintaining the vacuum system since the Bush left Norfolk - the equivalent of 10 sailors spending 40 hours a week doing nothing but working on the toilets for the entire deployment.

Most problems are fixed within 24 hours of being reported, the Navy said.

But on one occasion, a clog caused a shutdown of all the toilets on the forward half of the ship and then, without warning, the rear half also failed, according to an article in the ship's newsletter. The hull technicians charged with keeping the system running worked around the clock for more than 30 hours to fix the problem.

Frakes, who has served 16 years, said he understands that new ships and new systems often come with hiccups. He said he only decided to speak publicly about the problem after months of frustration, when he became convinced that it wasn't being taken seriously.

"I think that the (vacuum) system was installed with all good intentions," he said, "but not designed soundly enough to be placed onboard an aircraft carrier."

Corinne Reilly, (757) 446-2949, corinne.reilly@pilotonline.com