USS Fitzgerald Collision (and another: USS McCain)

[KTR03]

I am not advocating the death penalty for the skippers. I said it was a death penalty eligible case.

I think they should be court-martialed, and do time.

If you read my earlier posts in the thread, I also think that their food chain should have adjoining cells. Go ahead and open up a wing in the brig, make plenty of room.

Because I was taught that you do not always wear your rank, you sometimes bet it as well. Was their a gun put to their head, forcing them to assume command of their vessel? Sounds harsh, right?

But as someone who has folded over a dozen flags and handed them to widows and next of kin, I can tell you that's even more harsh.

Do they need to fundamentally restructure what they are doing? Yes.

Do they need to burn the Admirals involved? You bet.

No one is going to hang at the end of a rope for this. But when they send kids to the brig for a few years for stealing a case of beer from the PX, then I have no problem sending an Admiral away for a decade (or two) when a bunch of Sailors are killed.

Just my dos not very shiny centavos.

My old man spent 32 years as a naval officer, including major commands at sea and VietNam. He is losing his mind over this stuff. "You can delegate responsibility but not accountability".

[T2C]

My old man spent 32 years as a naval officer, including major commands at sea and VietNam. He is losing his mind over this stuff. "You can delegate responsibility but not accountability".

Great post. I worked for some damn fine officers and this statement sums them up.

[flenna]

I am currently reading "Neptune's Inferno" about our Navy's engagements around the Solomon Islands in the very early part of WW2. Very brutal and gives me a new respect for those sailors. I don't know if we will ever be involved in large ship to ship battles again but those guys were every bit the warriors.

[chuckman]

These are politically-motivated charges that will get most assuredly reduced. I would bet good money there's no jail time. It was systematic in the 7th Fleet, but not systematic throughout THE fleet. If it were, ships would be grounding themselves and running into ships all over the world, all the time. And yes, ALL the officers involved in the chain of command should share culpability.

[lowprone]

Nothing surprises me anymore, knew it had to be something like this.

http://theothermccain.com/2018/06/17...ank-navy-ship/

Tip: Pentagon Covering Up Fact That Female Officers Nearly Sank Navy Ship

An anonymous email came in over the transom this morning:

Hi, Stacy.
During the early weeks after the USS Fitzgerald was speared by a lumbering Philippine container ship, it was noteworthy that the captain and a couple of admirals were publically named, but not the actual officer in charge, the officer of the deck. (OOD) The other person who should have kept the Fitz out of trouble is the person in charge of the combat information center, the Tactical Action Officer. That individual is supposed to be monitoring the combat radar, which can detect a swimmer at a distance of two miles.
Not until a year later, when the final reports are made public and the guilty parties have been court-martialed, does the truth come out. The OOD was named Sarah, and the Tactical Action Officer was named Natalie, and they weren’t speaking to each other!!! The Tactical Action Officer would normally be in near constant communication with the OOD, but there is no record of any communication between them that entire shift!
Another fun fact: In the Navy that won WWII, the damage control officers were usually some of the biggest and strongest men aboard, able to close hatches, shore up damaged areas with timbers, etc. The Fitz’s damage control officer was also a woman, and she never left the bridge. She handled the aftermath of the accident remotely, without lifting a finger herself!

Look it up: The OOD was Sarah Coppock, Tactical Action Officer was Natalie Combs. . . .

When I noticed last year that they were doing all they could to keep the OOD’s name out of the headlines, I speculated to my son that it was a she. Turns out all the key people (except one officer in the CIC) were female!

[26 Inf]

Nothing surprises me anymore, knew it had to be something like this.

http://theothermccain.com/2018/06/17...ank-navy-ship/

Your story is dated 06/17/2018.

This story was in Star and Stripes a month earlier:

https://www.stripes.com/fitzgerald-o...rtial-1.525888

Combs is going before a court-martial:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/...collision.html

As far as this:

When I noticed last year that they were doing all they could to keep the OOD’s name out of the headlines, I speculated to my son that it was a she. Turns out all the key people (except one officer in the CIC) were female!

They were doing an investigation, the officers and enlisted personnel were referred to by their duty/watch stations. Perhaps to avoid stigmatizing folks until they are adjudicated.

Here is the report, notice the only names in the report are the names of the dead sailors.

https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...in-Report.html

Some cover-up!

[Ned Christiansen]

Not reading the whole thread, but I just ran across this:
https://features.propublica.org/navy...crash-crystal/

Maybe it has already been mentioned and linked. I link it because it is a very interesting reporting format with integrated illustrations and animations. It is very long and yet every paragraph is full of relevant info. This is my first exposure to Propublica, I will be looking into them more.

[AKDoug]

Not reading the whole thread, but I just ran across this:
https://features.propublica.org/navy...crash-crystal/

Maybe it has already been mentioned and linked. I link it because it is a very interesting reporting format with integrated illustrations and animations. It is very long and yet every paragraph is full of relevant info. This is my first exposure to Propublica, I will be looking into them more.

Thanks Ned. That was an excellent read. I agree, I will be looking at ProPublica in the future.

[titsonritz]

Not reading the whole thread, but I just ran across this:
https://features.propublica.org/navy...crash-crystal/

Maybe it has already been mentioned and linked. I link it because it is a very interesting reporting format with integrated illustrations and animations. It is very long and yet every paragraph is full of relevant info. This is my first exposure to Propublica, I will be looking into them more.

Great article.

[WillBrink]

Not reading the whole thread, but I just ran across this:
https://features.propublica.org/navy...crash-crystal/

Maybe it has already been mentioned and linked. I link it because it is a very interesting reporting format with integrated illustrations and animations. It is very long and yet every paragraph is full of relevant info. This is my first exposure to Propublica, I will be looking into them more.

"The Fitzgerald’s captain selected an untested team to steer the ship at night. He ordered the crew to speed through shipping lanes filled with cargo ships and fishing vessels to free up time to train his sailors the next day. At the time of the collision, he was asleep in his cabin."

What could possibly go wrong?! Complacency kills