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Pentagon sends stern message to White House over USS John McCain debacle
The Blaze ^ | June 2nd 2019 | Chris Enloe

Posted on 06/02/2019 1:46:13 PM PDT by Ennis85

The Pentagon sent a stern message to the White House over the weekend after it was confirmed officials directed the United States Navy to minimize the presence of the USS John McCain during President Donald Trump's recent visit to Japan.

What did the Pentagon say?

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan directed his staff over the weekend to reaffirm that the U.S. military will not be "politicized," Reuters reported.

"Secretary Shanahan directed his chief of staff to speak with the White House military office and reaffirm his mandate that the Department of Defense will not be politicized," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Colonel Joe Buccino said. "The chief of staff reported that he did reinforce this message."

While traveling to Seoul on Sunday, Shanahan reaffirmed his message to reporters accompanying him on the trip.

"There is no room for politicizing the military," Shanahan said.

What is the background?

On Saturday, the U.S. Navy confirmed the White House requested the USS John McCain be moved during Trump's visit to Japan, NBC News reported.

"A request was made to the U.S. Navy to minimize the visibility of USS John S. McCain, however, all ships remained in their normal configuration during the President's visit," Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, chief of information, told NBC.

According to Reuters, the request originated in the White House military office. Apparently, staffers believed the optics would not be good for the president since McCain was one of his biggest political rivals.

However, as Brown confirmed, senior Navy leadership refused comply with the request.

What is the White House saying?

On Sunday, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney downplayed the incident, calling the request "not ... unreasonable."

https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1135176786873081857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1135176786873081857%7Ctwgr%5E393039363b636f6e74726f6c&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblaze.com%2Fres%2Fcommunity%2Ftwitter_embed%2F%3Fiframe_id%3Dtwitter-embed-1135176786873081857%26created_ts%3D1559482211.0%26screen_name%3DMeetThePress%26text%3DWATCH%253A%2BActing%2BWhite%2BHouse%2BChief%2Bof%2BStaff%2BMick%2BMulvaney%2Btells%2BChuck%2BTodd%2Bthat%2Bmoving%2Ba%2BNavy%2Bship%2Bout%2Bof%2Bsight%2Bfrom%2Bt%25E2%2580%25A6%2Bhttps%253A%252F%252Ft.co%252FW5ZvDSw0DM%26id%3D1135176786873081857%26name%3DMeet%2Bthe%2BPress


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: fake; johnmccain; navy; pentagon; trump
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To: Ennis85

Pretty sure the Commander In Chief can deploy any asset anywhere at anytime for any reason. Refusal to obey such orders would be insubordination and punishable. Grandstanding like this IS politizing the situation.


61 posted on 06/02/2019 2:38:26 PM PDT by wizwor
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To: Ennis85

Deep state assholes. They can STFU and do their jobs, and not make public political accusations. Which dike general leaked this?


62 posted on 06/02/2019 2:39:19 PM PDT by King Moonracer (Bad lighting and cheap fabric, that's how you sell clothing.)
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To: King Moonracer

Dyke.


63 posted on 06/02/2019 2:40:50 PM PDT by King Moonracer (Bad lighting and cheap fabric, that's how you sell clothing.)
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To: Ennis85

USS John S. McCain Collision, A Year Later
By: Ben Werner
August 21, 2018 4:03 PM

https://news.usni.org/2018/08/21/35947

Last year, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) collided with a merchant ship while approaching Singapore, an incident that resulted in the death of 10 sailors and prompted the Navy to take a hard look at how it operates and trains crews on forward-deployed ships.

McCain was the second deadly collision to occur last summer, and the fourth in a series of U.S. warship collisions and groundings to occur in 2017. On June 17, USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) collided with a merchant ship, killing seven sailors.

A year later, McCain is undergoing extensive repairs, the Navy has completed two reviews of how it trains crews and operates ships in its surface warfare community, the Navy has taken actions to hold people accountable for the collision, and the Navy added a namesake to the ship.
Ship Repair Efforts

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) departs Subic Bay, Philippines aboard heavy lift transport vessel MV Treasure, Nov. 28. Treasure will transport McCain to Fleet Activities Yokosuka to undergo repairs.

When McCain collided with a civilian tanker, the merchant ship’s bulbous bow struck the port side of McCain, causing extensive flooding below the waterline, and crumpling berthing and some mechanical areas. The damage was severe, but the flooding did not damage many of McCain’s electronic components. The Navy determined McCain could moved from Singapore, where it pulled into port following the collision, and repaired in Japan.

However, a crack developed in McCain’s hull while being transported to Japan on a heavy lift transport. Due to the 4-inch crack amidship on McCain’s starboard side and bad weather from a Typhoon, McCain’s transit to Japan took a detour to the Philippines.

In December, McCain arrived in Japan to begin an estimated year-long, $223-million repair job to make the ship seaworthy again. This project will be one of the largest to occur at U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center, according to the Navy.

Legislative Fallout
Meanwhile, Congress acted to create some reforms to help prevent such incidents from occurring again. The recently approved Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act put into law several recommendations made by two internal Navy studies the service initiated following the death McCain and Fitzgerald collisions.

The bill limits how long ships can remain forward-deployed, requires readiness reviews, requires ships to always meet minimum staffing and establishes a new logbook policy for officers on watch.

Legal Actions

Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez. US Navy Photo
The Navy has also acted to hold crew members and leaders accountable for the collision. The Navy conducted a series of non-judicial punishment hearings for several members of the crews of both McCain and Fitzgerald.

In September, U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Philip Sawyer removed Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 70, and Capt. Jeffery Bennett, commodore of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, from their positions due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command. DESRON 15 includes command over both Fitzgerald and McCain, and CTF- 70.

In February, Cmdr. Jessie L. Sanchez, former executive officer of McCain, was found guilty of violating Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice during a non-judicial punishment hearing in Washington, D.C. Sanchez received a punitive letter of reprimand in the hearing overseen by Adm. James Caldwell, who is serving as the consolidated decision authority for all punitive actions related to the two destroyer collisions.

In May, former McCain commander Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez pleaded guilty to a single charge of negligence for his role in the incident that killed 10 sailors. Sanchez admitted to not setting the proper watch team for the busy shipping lane the ship was entering, or taking proper action when the bridge crew lost control of the ship due to a poor understanding of the helm controls.

Sanchez was sentenced to a punitive letter of reprimand and forfeiture of $6,000 in pay. He also requested to retire as part of the agreement. Sanchez also has a federal misdemeanor on his record as a result of the court-martial.
Also in May, McCain Chief Boatswain’s Mate Jeffery Butler entered a guilty plea to one count of dereliction of duty and was reduced in rank to E-6.
McCain Namesake

Adm. John S. McCain Sr., Adm. John S. McCain Jr., Sen. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.)

In July, Sen. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.) had his name added to USS John S. McCain (DDG-56). When commissioned in 1994, the ship was named for the senior senator from Arizona’s grandfather, Adm. John S. McCain Sr., who served as a carrier task force commander during World War II; and his father, Adm. John S. McCain Jr., who served as U.S. Pacific Command commander from 1968 to 1972. Sen. McCain himself was a naval aviator who was shot down during the Vietnam War and held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years, including the entire span of his father’s tenure as PACOM.

Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced the new name added to McCain while visiting the destroyer, which is currently being repaired at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.


64 posted on 06/02/2019 2:41:50 PM PDT by seowulf
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To: Ennis85

When did the military brass become apolitical?


65 posted on 06/02/2019 2:45:20 PM PDT by TheConservativeBanker
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To: Ennis85

McCain was not just a political rival.. He attempted to OVERTHROW A SITTING PRESIDENT BY PARTICIPATING IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. Yeesh.


66 posted on 06/02/2019 2:46:13 PM PDT by Hildy (Don't get bitter, get better.)
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To: Ennis85

Naming a major ship of the line the “John McCain” is not politicizing the Armed Forces?

The Navy coulda chosen better.

[Yah, I know it was named for two other, related blokes.]


67 posted on 06/02/2019 2:47:05 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: skimbell
The US military has been among the leading components of political/social experimentation for most of the past 60 years.

That is true, but not as it wished. During those 60 years it has served as the house pet of some politically radical administrations who had little or no idea of how to best use the world's most capable military.

68 posted on 06/02/2019 2:47:26 PM PDT by frog in a pot (The U.S. Constitution - "Use it or Lose it.")
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To: bigbob

The ship was originally named after John S. McCain, Sr., and John S. McCain, Jr., both admirals in the US Navy. But I guess that since the hero songbird has the same name, he got included somehow, after the fact.


69 posted on 06/02/2019 2:53:50 PM PDT by Chuckster (Probably not...)
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To: TigersEye

Well, it is you buying into the idea that I follow the media spin. I should have written my reply, “President Trump would not be off base.....” Satisfied?
I have an extreme bias against the small man, named John McCain, small in stature and small in character. As an aviator, I would have been fired after the first “mishap” in which McCain was involved. He had a few more and was still promoted and then sent into combat. A disaster! Being the descendant of Admirals is the only reason he was allowed to succeed/progress. And, yes, I voted for him because the alternative, the Kenyan, was not suitable to hold office.


70 posted on 06/02/2019 2:55:10 PM PDT by BatGuano (Ya don't think I'd go into combat with loose change in my pocket, do Ya?)
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To: Ennis85
I call bullsh!t on this.

There is no way the President would disrespect sailors and Marines on a US naval vessel, no matter what the name.

As Mick Mulvaney pointed out on NBC, this entire affair is probably due to a minor decision of some overzealous junior WH advance team staffer.

In other words, fuggedabaddit.

71 posted on 06/02/2019 2:55:20 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
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To: Ennis85

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. You could starve.


72 posted on 06/02/2019 2:55:49 PM PDT by McGruff
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To: Ennis85

I’d fire someone for doing such a stunt without my permission. NO ONE in the whitehut has the right to make military orders except the president.


73 posted on 06/02/2019 2:56:41 PM PDT by CodeToad ( Hating on Trump is hating on me and Americans!.)
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To: BatGuano
I have an extreme bias against the small man, named John McCain, small in stature and small in character.

Really? This extreme?

74 posted on 06/02/2019 3:00:29 PM PDT by TigersEye (This is the age of the death of reason.)
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To: Ennis85

Big nothing burger. Over analyzed....breathlessly


75 posted on 06/02/2019 3:03:43 PM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: Ennis85

You’d think griper would be more worried about the party that wants to decimate the military.


76 posted on 06/02/2019 3:10:13 PM PDT by SaxxonWoods (The internet has driven the world mad.)
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To: Ennis85
Just find out who made the original request.

No one seems to want to do that.

Everyone is talking back and forth and no one seems interested in finding out who started this.

77 posted on 06/02/2019 3:12:15 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: Afterguard

Seems like they “changed the name” of this vessel recently when they added the third John McCain.


78 posted on 06/02/2019 3:15:01 PM PDT by SaxxonWoods (The internet has driven the world mad.)
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To: momincombatboots

I know that too, but in the age of revisionist history and news media that lies whenever it serves their purposes, you have to wonder how long it will be before the truth has been replaced with the convenient fiction that the ship was in fact named after the Songbird, aka McTurd.

I was being facetious and it would create bad optics for no real purpose, but just wait and see if McTurd isn’t “grandfathered” in as one who is honored by the ship named after his grandfather (or father).


79 posted on 06/02/2019 3:19:17 PM PDT by bigbob (Trust Trump. Trust the Plan.)
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To: rawcatslyentist

The USS JOHN S. MCCAIN is certainly not named after the traitor Senator. It is named after his father and grandfather. III can rot in hell for eternity.

https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg56/Pages/History.aspx


80 posted on 06/02/2019 3:24:46 PM PDT by New Jersey Realist ( Be kind to your children. They will determine where you live when you get old.)
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