Posted on 05/27/2018 10:36:52 AM PDT by BBell
A former commander of the USS John S. McCain pleaded guilty Friday to dereliction of duty when the destroyer collided with a commercial tanker, killing 10 sailors and injuring five in the Straits of Singapore last August.
Cmdr. Alfredo Sanchez, who has served in the Navy for more than 20 years, testified during a special court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard, Stars and Stripes reported.
“I am ultimately responsible and stand accountable,” Sanchez said. “I will forever question my decisions that contributed to this tragic event.”
Per disciplinary proceedings, Sanchez agreed to retire from service, forfeit $6,000 in wages, and was issued a letter of reprimand.
Sanchez claimed responsibility for the deadly collision. He said had failed to put a well-rested, well-trained crew in place to steer the destroyer into the Straits.
The former commander, who was immediately reassigned after the collision, initially faced negligent homicide charges, CBS News reported.
According to Sanchez, an 18-year-old undertrained helmsman had been navigating the destroyer, known as "Big Bad John," leading up to the collision.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Unfortunately, the Navy doesn’t give commanders quality people. They give them AA hires who have more liberal training than technical training.
A Letter of Reprimand? I think I got one of those for failing a room inspection.
Does he keep his pension?
Does he keep his pension?
Unfortunately, the Navy doesn’t give commanders quality people.
—
The Navy also no longer provides ship handling classes for prospective skippers; it OJT or nothing.
The Captain is responsible for the training of his crew and for their performance of duty. Whatever shortcomings may have been present from Big Navy, the Fleet, etc. the Captain remains on the blame line. When a ship is underway and comes in contact with the bottom, the shore, or other ships, the Captain is going to be held accountable. Persons not willing to take on this responsibility should go into politics.
An 18 year old navigating????!
The bum should have had his pension yanked. Many dead because of his bad judgment.
So an 18 year old was at the Helm... WHO was the Officer of the Deck (OOD) giving the young person orders????
Steering; I think.
.
I suspect not.
This was likely a “plea deal” to resign to avoid spending what’s left of his good years in prison.
The OOD of USS Fitzgerald pled guilty at her court martial, I don’t know what happened to the McCain’s OOD.
I don’t think bringing the helmsman into this serves any useful purpose. He doesn’t maneuver on his own authority and has no real idea of what the proximity of the various contacts is - that’s the OOD’s job. He steers when and where he’s told, and not otherwise.
I though I learned that the helmsman just took steering direction from the OOD and navigation team downstairs.
Did the helmsman steer where told? Or did the helmsman make a mistake? I can’t remember which of the ships was going really fast. Was it this one? Regardless, it was a disaster that should never have happened.
No clue - that's not testimony they've released. My impression of what they have released is that the bridge team froze, but that's on such little data that I probably shouldn't even speculate in that direction.
Never having run afoul of the UCMJ I could be wrong here but if this piece was accurately researched and written I'd bet that he did.First,it wasn't a General Court Martial,second:he was only fined $6000 which for an O-5 with 20 years in is certainly no more than a month's pay.,and probably less
IIRC there's at least one former JAG officer who sometimes responds to court martial threads...maybe he/she will weigh in on this.
https://news.usni.org/2018/05/25/former-co-uss-john-s-mccain-pleads-guilty-negligence-collision-case
Better information.
Nice that you were not forced to retire, and pay a $6,000 dollar fine.
Most people take these command jobs because someone has to do them. That sort of duty comes with the career. Someone has to be in command. A few Captains and Commanders desire the job, but very large numbers take it and do it because someone has to, and the vast majority do it pretty well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.