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

The Other McCain ^ | 17 June 2018 | Roibert Stacy McCain

[Rummyfan]

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!

Indeed, I did some searching, and Lt. Coppock pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty. Lt. Combs faced a hearing last month:

In an 11-hour hearing, prosecutors painted a picture of Lt. Irian Woodley, the ship’s surface warfare coordinator, and Lt. Natalie Combs, the tactical action officer, as failing at their jobs, not using the tools at their disposal properly and not communicating adequately. They became complacent with faulty equipment and did not seek to get it fixed, and they failed to communicate with the bridge, the prosecution argued. Had they done those things, the government contended, they would have been able to avert the collision. That two of the officers — Coppock and Combs — involved in this fatal incident were female suggests that discipline and training standards have been lowered for the sake of “gender integration,” which was a major policy push at the Pentagon during the Obama administration. It could be that senior officers, knowing their promotions may hinge on enthusiastic support for “gender integration,” are reluctant to enforce standards for the women under their command.

This was the story of Kara Hultgreen, the Navy pilot who died in a 1994 F-14 crash. Investigation showed that Hultgreen had been allowed to proceed in her training after errors that would have meant a washout for any male pilot. But the Clinton administration was pushing for female fighter pilots, which resulted in a competition between the Navy and Air Force to put women into these combat roles. It is not necessary to believe that (a) women shouldn’t be fighter pilots, in order to believe (b) lowering standards for the sake of quotas is a bad idea. Of course, you may believe both (a) and (b), but it is (b) that gets people killed.

It seems obvious that the Pentagon (and the liberal media) sought to suppress full knowledge of what happened to the Fitzgerald in the immediate aftermath of the June 2017 incident that killed seven sailors, in the same way the details of Kara Hultgreen’s death were suppressed. It took investigative reporters like Rowan Scarborough of the Washington Times a lot of hard work to find out what actually happened to Hultgreen. Let’s hope other reporters will dig into what’s happening in our military with the “gender intergration” agenda at the Pentagon now.

[DivineMomentsOfTruth]

Agree 100%!

[dsc]

“women will have to pick up the slack and do the jobs men used to do.”

Then we’re all dead, because they can’t.

I often read about our war heroes and wonder where the heirs of those men are today. Did that one day while watching a college football game, and was somewhat reassured.

[DivineMomentsOfTruth]

Yep.. if the Leftists continue to rule popular culture, education, government agencies, Hollywood, etc. We are basically toast as a society.
Most of the older men are still men.. The generations coming up seem to be an army of Soy Boys ruled by PC.
God help us in 20 yrs.. I am So Glad I’m in the final stretch of life!

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

A compliment to the lady.

[DivineMomentsOfTruth]

Thank you!

[DoodleDawg]

I didn’t see where people who screwed up were identified by sex or rank. The CO, of course, is ultimately responsible, but the report didn’t identify the OOD, JOOD, helm, lee helm, or any of the snipes.

I read the report, too. The captain, a guy, was on the bridge and in charge of the ship. The executive officer, a guy, was also on the bridge. The OOD was on the bridge but not in charge. The captain, a guy, ignored the recommendation of the executive officer, the navigator, and the senior watch officer to set the sea and anchor detail, which I assume would put more people on duty to help out in a congested sea lane. So where are the moans and groans about how the Pentagon is covering up the fact that male officers nearly sank a Navy ship?

[petitfour]

The captain is named Alfredo Sanchez. The helmsman is male and was 18 at the time of the collision. I’m pretty sure the XO at time of collision is an African American male.

[petitfour]

I was wrong. XO is Jessie or Jesse Sanchez.

[poconopundit]

Thanks for your lengthy and interesting comment. Yeah, your wife is the kind of RN I can appreciate when times get tough.

I think you're right that "calm in a storm" is so important, and it's certainly one of the wonderful trainings you get in the military -- or in the hospital's emergency room.

I suspect that quality is missing from most analyses of leadership. But it was pretty obvious when I think back on my Navy days and as a small boat sailor as a teenager.

Yes indeed, Master and Commander is a favorite. So is Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen. Sayonara, Bridge over the River Kwai.

Anyway I can never measure up at home because my wife is from Japan and she is expecting samurai-style calm in battle. Bwahaha!

[DoodleDawg]

Both guys. Both Hispanics. I suppose now there will be blogs about how Hispanics should not be on Navy ships?

[petitfour]

The Master Chief was African American.

[DoodleDawg]

The Master Chief was African American.

So? Ban African Americans from Navy ships now?

[poconopundit]

One more thing. Here's a graphic I produced in 2016 for a vanity I never completed (someday...).

There's something special about the word intrepid... Here are go:

[petitfour]

No idea.

[poconopundit]

You are correct Andrew Jackson. And I would add that in dangerous-to-navigate waters, I think the captain must be on deck. It’s because a younger officer may not have experience in the hazards of navigating such waters.

[Boiler Plate]

It is still one of the funniest movies ever and yet so underrated.

[rlmorel]

Love the Sand Pebbles too...the depiction of duty in China, the old swabbies, the way life was...sigh.

I never got to wear the Crackerjacks...had to wear Zumwalt’s Ice Cream vendor uniform!

I think of how it is now, and how it was then...I too was a small boat sailor beginning at age 10 in Yokosuka, Japan...just take a little dinghy out all by myself...

Good times!

[poconopundit]

Interesting. I met my wife in Sasebo where I was stationed ashore for 3 years. Had the time of my life in Nippon.

[dsc]

“So where are the moans and groans about how the Pentagon is covering up the fact that male officers nearly sank a Navy ship?”

When the agenda is qualifying as many women as possible, there’s no reason for covering up a screw-up by a man as there is for a woman. As a matter of fact, trumpeting screw-ups by men supports the agenda.

Why in the world would anybody think that the Pentagon would try to cover up mistakes by a man?

However, they would—and do—make every attempt to downplay failures by women.

[rlmorel]

I lived there for 2 1/2 years...some of the most memorable of my life.

I really liked the country, and I liked the Japanese. It was culture shock for a kid my age!

The smell of salt water...sewage...fish...diesel exhaust...I know it must sound strange, but nearly any combination of those things can bring me right back there.

Good times...I was lucky. I had it so good as a kid.