Free Republic

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD – The former commander of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) has pleaded not guilty to charges he committed criminal acts leading up to the collision of the guided-missile destroyer, in a Tuesday arraignment.Cmdr. Bryce Benson is now set to face a general court-martial on charges of negligence and hazarding a vessel, after entering his plea during a brief hearing before a military judge today. The trial is set for Jan. 28.Benson was in his stateroom asleep when merchant ship ACX Crystal collided with Fitzgerald on June 17, 2017, off the coast of Japan. The collision resulted in the...

The sailors who were manning the combat nerve center of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) did not know they were on a collision course with a ship almost three times their size until about one minute before impact, according to new information revealed in the preliminary hearing for two junior officers accused of negligent homicide for their role in the collision that resulted in the death of seven sailors. Lt. Natalie Combs, the tactical action officer, and Lt. Irian Woodley, the surface warfare coordinator, were both on duty in the windowless combat information in the belly of the guided-missile destroyer on early...

WASHINGTON — The junior lieutenant in charge of navigating the USS Fitzgerald when it collided with a commercial vessel pleaded guilty Tuesday to dereliction of duty and acknowledged her role in the deaths of seven sailors last year. Lt. j.g. Sarah Coppock cried during her court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard. She was sentenced to forfeit half of her pay for three months – an additional month on top of the two she forfeited as her nonjudicial punishment. She also received a letter of reprimand. “Not a day goes by where I haven’t thought about what I could have done...

Fired FBI Director James Comey has reportedly hired former US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to be one of his personal lawyers. Fired FBI Director James Comey has retained former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as one of his personal attorneys, bringing in a heavy-hitting former prosecutor, close friend and longtime colleague to help him navigate his dramatic role as a potential witness in the investigation of President Trump’s campaign and potential obstruction of justice. Two Capitol Hill sources independently confirmed to TPM that Fitzgerald was serving as a lawyer for Comey. Comey and Patrick Fitzgerald go back decades as buddies.

Monday, 18, December, 2006 (28, Dhul Qa`dah, 1427)   Mail Article   |     Print Article   |     Comment on Article   US Court Throws Out Case Against Saleh KamelBarbara Ferguson, Arab News   Saleh Kamel   WASHINGTON, 18 December 2006 — A significant decision by a New York judge last Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Saleh Kamel and Albaraka Investment Bank.The accusations alleged they had been involved in support of the Al-Qaeda group suspected of backing the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Khaled Al-Nahdi, assistant to CEO of Dallah Albaraka Group, said in a statement on Friday that Judge Richard Conway Casey, of the Federal...

<p>CHICAGO (AP) &#8212; A Muslim charity leader linked by prosecutors to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network was sentenced yesterday to more than 11 years in federal prison for defrauding donors.</p> <p>Enaam Arnaout, 41, a Syrian-born U.S. citizen who said he has met bin Laden but opposes terrorism, was calm as the sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Suzanne B. Conlon.</p>

Trump knows the Deep State, and he is not George W. Bush WARNING: The following is, necessarily, somewhat extensive reading because the web of deceit it outlines is itself complex. Media speculation over the meaning of President Trump’s pardon of Lewis “Scooter” Libby is predictable and wrong. Three examples:

Mark R. Levin ‏ @marklevinshow 2h2 hours ago Good for President Trump. He’s going to pardon Scooter Libby, which George W. Bush, for whom he worked, refused to do. The prosecutor, Fitzgerald, was appointed by Comey and he's friends with Comey.

NOTE: Excerpting does not do the article justice. Read the whole thing. # SNIPPET: "He was a fundraiser for a group convicted of providing material support to Hamas, yet Kifah Mustapha recently received tours of secure FBI facilities in and around Washington. Mustapha's two-day trip earlier this month was arranged by the FBI's Chicago office, whose officials escorted Mustapha and about two dozen others on tours of the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI facility in Quantico, Virginia and FBI headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover Building. A news report noted that Mustapha "asked some of the most pointed questions" during...

On July 14, 2003, a Robert Novak column in The Washington Post outed the CIA-agent wife of vociferous Bush administration critic, Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson. Thus was born the "Plame Affair" which quickly became a morality tale of how an out of control Bush Administration would do anything to justify its war in Iraq. A mere three days later, journalist David Corn, summarized the allegations that would color reporting on the Iraq War for the next three years and eventually lead to the indictment of a top aide to the vice president for lying to a grand jury: ((((THE OLD...

Poor decisions and lax standards made by the crews of the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain contributed to the deadly collisions last summer that killed 17 sailors, according to a new Navy investigation. "The collisions were avoidable," said Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, in the executive summary to the report. "Both of these accidents were preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watchstanders that contributed to the incidents," he added in a statement accompanying the report's release. "We must do better." On June 17, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a...

this report plus other sources show incredible lack of training. in the case of the McCain collision, the crew on deck, with the Captain present became confused on how to helm the ship and veered into a commercial vessel. in the case of the Fitzgerald, the Officers on the bridge became confused with identified oncoming commercial vessels and had multiple near collisions before colliding with the container ship. it appears the Navy is unprepared to fight a war, and has trouble merely driving the ships. then there is this one liner: Navy will now limit work week to less than...

On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy's top officer said that post-accident investigations have turned up no evidence of a cyberattack in the collisions involving the USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald. The two collisions each involved an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and a merchant vessel, and the similarity of the circumstances led many to speculate that the casualties might have been caused by hacking. In an address to Navy staff, chief of naval operations Adm. John S. Richardson moved to dispel these rumors. He said that the accident investigators have given cyber factors "an amazing amount of attention," but so far...

The discussion regarding the recent collisions of the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and the John S. McCain (DDG-56) has moved beyond “how could this have happened” asked at a micro-level to the same question at a macro-level. Concerned perhaps with public perception, the Navy has leaped forward in drawing conclusions in a way that would, under other circumstances, be considered unseemly. Already a fleet commander has been relieved. Two investigations and two operational pauses have been ordered. This furious activity is taking place while the investigation into what happened in the John S. McCain is barely started and before the Fitzgerald...

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral John Richardson has ordered an “operational pause.” Fleet commanders will meet with their respective commands to ensure “we’re taking all appropriate actions to ensure safe and effective operations around the world.” An “operational pause” is understood by all in the fleet to be a “stand-down,” which is viewed, with cynicism by the Fleet. Stand-downs are Band-Aids, at best, regardless of their intent. More interestingly, the CNO has also directed Admiral Phil Davidson, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, to take charge of an investigation intended to examine the process by which the Navy trains and...

On the bridge of the Fitz, the OOD was in charge. OODs on duty receive exact, timely, information from the ship’s sensors, including Combat Information Center (CIC) about the location, course, speed, and trajectory of all objects on, above, or below the surface. the Fitz’s OOD had precise warning, perhaps 45 minutes before the collision happened, that he was on a collision course. The OOD either removes the problem by changing course by one or two degrees on his own authority, or, notifies the captain who then makes the course adjustment. Surely, this OOD did none of the above. we...

Link only (Reuters)

tales of heroism, but still no coherent explanation of what happened. I can't imagine how a US combat vessel did not see and avoid a container ship. terribly sad loss of life, as usual the crew responded with heroism.

Investigators Believe USS Fitzgerald Crew Fought Flooding For An Hour Before Distress Call Reached Help By: Sam LaGrone The crew of the guided-missile destroyer that was struck by a merchant ship on Friday off the coast of Japan fought to save the ship for an hour before the first calls went out for help, Japanese investigators now believe. According to the current operational theory of Japanese investigators, the deadly collision between USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and the Philippine-flagged merchant ship ACX Crystal knocked out the destroyer’s communications for an hour, while the four-times-larger merchant ship was unaware of what it hit...

It is a big ocean. Until you have been far into it, it is really hard to appreciate just how big. Bringing a ship back from Japan to Hawaii, I once went ten days without seeing another ship, either by eye or radar. That is a long time to be alone in the world, especially if you are moving in a straight line and at good speed. On the other hand, you would be surprised at how crowded the ocean can get in certain places. The Strait of Malacca, for instance, divides the island of Sumatra from Malaysia. Not only...