Investigation Reveals Navy At Fault For Massive USS Fitzgerald Collision

dailycaller.com ^ | 7/21/2017 | Jonah Bennett

[rktman]

A preliminary investigation into the collision of the USS Fitzgerald and a Philippine cargo ship in June has revealed that the U.S. Navy is at fault.

According to two defense officials who spoke with CNN, the crew aboard the USS Fitzgerald made numerous abysmal mistakes which led to the collision with the ACX Crystal in an area known for commercial shipping.

The investigation is likely to result in recommendations for possible punishment, making the review “dual purpose.”

“They did nothing until the last second,” one official said, speaking of the crew on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. “A slew of things went wrong.”

The second official stated that the crash “will wind up being our fault.”

Initial findings suggest that the Fitzgerald crew not only did not acknowledge the ship was approaching, but sailors also failed to perform their duties in order to stop the impact, which left a large gash in the side of the destroyer measuring about 200 feet.

The collision on June 17, which occurred 56 miles off the coast of Japan, resulted in the deaths of seven U.S. Navy sailors.

The findings up to this point will be sent to 7th Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin for review.

Aucoin has already stated the day after the collision that the damage to the Fitzgerald is major.

“The ship suffered severe damage rapidly flooding three large compartments that included one machine room and two berthing areas for 116 crew, ” Aucoin said. “The commanding officer’s cabin was also directly hit, trapping the CO inside.”

The Fitzgerald has undergone extensive repairs since the incident, but will have to return to a U.S. shipyard for full repairs. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift is looking for a ship to take over the work of the Fitzgerald in the meantime.

[Eddie01]

You’re right. I get it.

Is there a greater case of Dereliction of Duty in the Navy?

[dangerdoc]

Well that’s not good. I wonder if they will let command simply leave the military or if someone will do brig time?

[Grampa Dave]

2 Unnamed officials and CNN! Really, lets wait until the final report comes out.

What are the names of these “officials?”

12 posted on 7/21/2017, 10:59:17 AM by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the Occupation Media and Shariah Socialism.)

To: rktman
Better to wait until the actual findings are released. Remember, this is CNN.

13 posted on 7/21/2017, 10:59:55 AM by Gideon7

[mountainlion]

Is there a credible source for this?

[freedumb2003]

>>Better to wait until the actual findings are released. Remember, this is CNN.<<

If cfnn said it was going to be a sunny day I would take an umbrella with me.

This is more hopeful fantasy that the USA was in the wrong.

[Eddie01]

7 dead? Someone’s got to go to prison Ben...

[Yosemitest]

We need better sources to get the whole story.

Something is fishy about USS Fitzgerald story we are getting from the media

Retired rear admiral John Kirby describes for CNN the extent of the chaos unleashed:

First, we know the crew fought heroically to save their ship and the lives of their shipmates. We know that from early reports by Navy officials but also from the images that flashed across our screens, our tablets and our phones after the incident happened early Saturday.

One look at the crushed, twisted starboard side, the hoses flaked about, the water being discharged, the frantic work being done tells you all you need to know about the stuff you can't see in those same images: a fiercely brave crew working together to staunch the flooding, to rescue their shipmates and to save their ship.

You can be certain they ended up drenched, exhausted, scraped and bruised -- but not broken. They kept that ship from foundering for 16 brutal hours. And they brought her back into port.

We received an email from a Navy mother that raises serious questions.  We will redact her name, while the rumors (and that's how they must be categorized for now) reported by her son aboard the Fitzgerald are checked out.  Here is what she wrote to us:

My son is assigned to the USS Fitzgerald. I am unable to share his rate with you.

The information is short and not so sweet. The implications are disturbing.

The ship is registered in the Philippines. We do not know who the owner is. The container ship neither had its running lights or transponder on. That is an action taken willfully. Furthermore, for the container ship to strike with such accuracy is troublesome. Given what some have done with cars in Europe, what a feather in the cap it would be to sink a U.S. Navy warship. Think on that.

My son missed being washed out to sea by the blink of an eye. He was on his way to one of the berthing areas that was rammed.

Yes, language is important. "Rammed" is the perfect word.

Loving and Concerned Navy Mother

If there is any substance to this – that the ACX Crystal disabled protective systems and rammed the Fitzgerald at high speed aimed at critical facilities (evident from the damage)...





...we have to consider the possibility of an asymmetric warfare attack designed to disable the missile defense of a carrier strike group, as North Korea demonstrates the ability to make exactly such attacks on a multibillion-dollar warship carrying thousands of sailors.

[Ace's Dad]

What are the names of these “officials?”

Maybe names won't matter. What matters is that the second military official used the word "our fault" which indicates that he or she is Navy; which leads me to believe the story, even from CNN. I've always thought that somebody on the ship was culpable. BTW I served, at sea, on seven Navy ships, with some CIC (radar) experience.

[Big Red Badger]

Wholey Mackeral!

[crazy scenario]

" Persons were it seems asleep at the helm."

OR the girls (WAVEs) on the bridge were busy putting on their makeup........they could also have been busy comparing the crank size of their on board seamen.

[Cementjungle]

has revealed that the U.S. Navy is at fault.

The whole Navy was at fault? They can't narrow it down a little further than that?

[fishtank]

Thanks for the post.

Michael Savage was adamant this is a possibility....

BUT BUT BUT where was the Fitz’s radar????

[sarge83]

Possibly on the bridge, CIC etc... It will be interesting to see if any junior officers are brought up on charges. Were there female sailors present in any of these critical areas and what were they doing?

This is not a slam on them or singling them out but all sailors if they were horsing around and ignoring their duties. If so they are guilty of manslaughter at a minimum and should spend some time in Leavenworth.

[IronJack]

It looks to me like all the damage to the container ship was high up on its bow. Where did the waterline damage to the Fitz come from? Is the civilian vessel a bottlenose hull?

[fortheDeclaration]

The PC effect on the military is slowly starting to show.

[CedarDave]

It has been 35+ years since I stood OOD watch. I was also the Ship's CIC Officer.

If this report is correct, there is going to be a mountain of crap rolling downhill. The CO, OOD, CICWO, are pretty much toast. Depending on the exact circumstances the JOOD, XO, Ops Boss, and even some enlisted watchstanders may get tarred as well. If it is found that anyone was doing their job and reports were ignored then it will get worse for the involved individuals.

This is the way it is and it is that way for a reason. COs are given great responsibility, they are given the means (the ship & crew) to accomplish that responsibility, and they must be held accountable for any failures that are within their capacity to prevent. This was certainly preventable.

It's been longer than that for me, but it's the same. You have multiple watchstanders on the bridge and in CIC, and for none of them to detect and take action on a ship approaching on a collision course seems impossible. When a target of that size appears on radar and appears to be closing on your future position, all watchstanders need to be informed or reminded as they are your actual eyes at sea. If the OOD is hesitant as to the proper action to take, he needs to have the captain come to the bridge at once to take charge (those instructions are always in the night orders). With the redundancy available on the bridge and CIC to not protect the ship is dereliction of duty.

[FreedomNotSafety]

So what is being said by what you post is that a naval ship was attacked and the ship was so utterly unprepared and unaware that it did not prevent it. That there are countries that mean to destroy our navy is no surprise. That our navy seems unprepared to prevent its own destruction is horrific.

[NonValueAdded]

Even if a deliberate attempt, the crew fouled up bigly before the crash. Kudos to the damage control team. This didn’t have to happen.

[exit82]

Yes, huge bulbous nose on the freighter under the waterline.

Pictures of the freighter show the symbol for the bulb nose, on the bow by the depth markings.

[piytar]

That’s the thing I don’t get.