The reason why we've been raped so hard over the last four days is we had a major inspection, the last one that really determines whether or not we're ready to put to sea. We passed; there were some hits, as there always are, but it proved again that as painful and asinine as the modus operandi is on Memphis, it generally works. This is in stark contrast to the routine on the cruiser Chosin and the destroyer Stout, both of which failed INSURV inspections last month (TSSBP) (Navy Times). These two ships are now precluded from getting underway. It's a simple rule of the Navy - and of life in general - that if you don't take care of the little things, they will come back to bite you in the ass. Whether it's simple neglect (as seems to be the case here), or intentional deceit (such as that discovered onboard Hampton six months ago), an operational ship locked down in homeport is an asset wasted.
Another source of the "man, at least it's not that bad here" line of thought is FEWL.net, a blog written by a Sailor on USS Shiloh, forward deployed in Japan. A