“But is homicide of any sort (even negligent) an appropriate charge here?”
It appears that we don’t yet know what the officers were actually DOING, but if men died because of their negligence, I have no problem with the charges.
IMO - to treat these “accidents” with any less seriousness would only serve to compound the negligence.
“””It appears that we don’t yet know what the officers were actually DOING,”””
The Oct 2017 report is quite complete-—
http://s3.amazonaws.com/CHINFO/USS+Fitzgerald+and+USS+John+S+McCain+Collision+Reports.pdf
In the case of the McCain, the CO was on the bridge and helped make a mess.
In the case of the Fitzgerald, the CO was in his ‘in port’ cabin and not in his ‘at sea’ cabin.