Support Free Republic, Folks!
Posted on 01/16/2018 4:49:47 PM PST by jazusamo
Two Navy commanders will face negligent homicide charges related to the deadly crashes of two ships off Asia last year, the Navy announced Tuesday.
The decision to file charges against service members of the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain were decided by Adm. Frank Caldwell, who was given the authority and examined the evidence of what caused the collisions, according to Navy spokesman Capt. Greg Hicks.
Former Cmdr. Bryce Benson of the USS Fitzgerald and former Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez of the USS John S. McCain are among those charged...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Shocking
With no knowledge of the military justice system, I ask is this somewhat routine given the circumstances or is this extraordinary (is the Navy sending a message)?
Am I right that in each case there were no sailors outside on deck with binoculars to keep a watch? Are we so reliant on gadgets and gizmos that people don’t “look out the window” anymore?
Now that’s just stupid...
Looks like PDJT has ordered a top to bottom purge, as any good CEO needs to do in such connected cases that show rot emanating from the top. Anybody who’s ever run. a boat at night in clear weather knows those collisions were inexcusable.
Who were the OODs?
As the Captain, you’re responsible for everything that happens in your command. A simple collision would be enough to cashier a Captain. Sailors asleep in their bunks were killed as a result of these failures. Negligent homocide sounds severe, but if discipline and training were lax, I’d say it fits.
Where are the negligent homicide charges against Hillary over Benghazi? The bad guys were siphoning highly classified information from her insecure and illegal private server and that alone is probably what LED THEM TO ATTACK OUR CONSULATE IN BENGHAZI.
Support Free Republic, Folks!
Bump!
Check back four decades for the most similar example I can think of. The USS Kennedy and USS Belknap collided in the Mediterranean with some serious damage and loss of life.
https://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/broadcasts/244856
Those trials should be interesting.
Having read the Oct 2017 report, it appears reasonable to charge homicidal negligence.
17 guys are dead because officers and crew were not doing their job.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/CHINFO/USS+Fitzgerald+and+USS+John+S+McCain+Collision+Reports.pdf
The thing that concerns me is that we are, at the moment, facing two ultra serious potential wars, North Korea and Iran, and what do we have? A military that’s been hollowed out equipment-wise by the past 8, now 9, years, and an officers corps who are more concerned with “integrating” a bunch of sexual misfit into their ranks than building their services into cohesive fighting units. We should hope that the Ragheads and Rocket Man give us a little more time. I shudder when I think what Trump must know about our military preparedness that we can only imagine.
NOT surprising to me, and old SWO, at all.
The Captain can delegate authority to the Officers below him, but he cannot delegate the responsibility for the safety of the ship.
Will this look bad on their record?
“Those trials should be interesting.”
Have a feeling they won’t be too interesting for the CO’s...they obviously failed their responsibility for the crew’s safety.
The trials of the more junior officers and sailors? Those may cause some sparks if you will. Inadequate training? Ordered to a post they were uncomfortable with? Did the CO hate being called/notified at night despite the standing orders to do so? Toxic work environment?
What record? :)
Having a ‘record’ is usually bad for your ‘record’ if you will :)
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.