USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain trial results

[cougar14]

A while back a thread was started regarding the collisions at sea. Here's the results of the trial of the two officers deemed responsible for the incidents. The first was the OOD on the Fitzgerald. The CO was asleep at the time of collision. He retired after pleading not guilty. The second one was the CO of the McCain. Two separate incidences.

1. At a Special Court-Martial in Washington, DC, LTJG Sarah Coppock, USN, pled guilty pursuant to a pretrial agreement to dereliction of duty contributing to the death of seven sailors. On 8 May 2018, the military judge sentenced her to a reprimand and to forfeit two-thirds pay per month for three months. The pretrial agreement had no effect on the sentence.

2. At a Special Court-Martial in Washington, DC, CDR Alfredo Sanchez, USN, pled guilty pursuant to a pretrial agreement to dereliction of duty contributing to the death of 10 sailors. On 25 May 2018, the military judge sentenced him to a reprimand and to forfeit $2,000 per month for three months. The pretrial agreement had no effect on the sentence

 

[bill2000]

Speechless.

 

[ameridaddy]

From the court martial investigation on the USS Fitzgerald collision:
Ltjg. Sarah Coppock was the OOD, ignored her Captain's order to wake him whenever another vessel was nearby.

Lt. Natalie Combs was the Tactical Action Officer in the CIC, did not once contact the bridge as the huge commercial vessel approached. She had at her disposal a radar system that can spot a swimmer in the water at two miles.

The damage control officer was also a woman; she never left the bridge to go and take charge of rescue and flooding control at the collision site.

The male officers responsible for the McCain collision were named early on. The fact that the Fitzgerald info did not come out openly early on, with names, says to me the Navy is bending over backwards to promote PC over competence.
Very bad for morale and performance.
IMHO, that both the incidents killed sailors through negligence should have resulted in the officers, male and female, being cashiered out of the Navy.

 

[LVSteve]

Guy here at work recently left the navy. I asked him about the Fitzgerald and McCain incidents and he gave a scary reply.

Paraphrasing: "The navy is currently over committed leading to everyone being overworked and definitely underpaid. Morale is poor, but the Fitzgerald had a reputation of being a particularly unhappy ship. It was only a matter of time".

All I could say to that was "Yeowch".

 

[Ματθιας]

Yet, another example of the application of PC over competence, and merit the resulting consequences/punishments.

 

[walkin jack]

In case anyone ever wondered just what was meant by the term, " a slap on the wrist", well, this is the best example you'll ever see.

A flagrant and shameful example of the Navy covering their own bee-hinds. I'm sure the friends and families of the victims of all this gross negligence are outraged. A period of time in the "gray bar hotel" would not have been unreasonable considering that the negligence resulted on SO MANY deaths.

 

[LVSteve]

Lt. Natalie Combs was the Tactical Action Officer in the CIC, did not once contact the bridge as the huge commercial vessel approached. She had at her disposal a radar system that can spot a swimmer in the water at two miles.

When it's set to operate properly. AN/SPS-67 - Wikipedia I find it mind boggling that the CIC has no direct control of the various radar modes.

Woodley and Coppock had very different pictures of what was happening around the ship, and it would have taken communication to reconcile the differences. While the bridge had almost 200 contacts on its SPS-73 radar, the CIC’s SPS-67 radar had an only a handful due to an overall “poor radar picture,” Operations Specialist Second Class Matthew H. Stawecki said at the hearing.

“There was a lot of clutter,” he said.

Part of the reason the picture was muddy was the radar had been set to a long-range so-called “long pulse” mode that made contacts close to the ship difficult to see. The setting couldn’t be directly adjusted from CIC, and Fort’s investigation found there was no effort to contact the ship’s electronics technicians to adjust the radar picture.

Quoted from the following:
USS Fitzgerald Combat Team Unaware of Approaching Merchant Ship Until Seconds Before Fatal Collision - USNI News

The comments made by a former officer of the Fitzgerald beggar belief. The 7th Fleet simply doesn't want to admit that it cannot operate according to the rules at the current operational tempo. Sending ships to sea in peacetime with multiple redline items simply doesn't fly for me.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My uncle was a Sea Going Marine in the 50's and early 60's. As a NCO aboard the USS Wasp, he had brig time and more severe fines for drunk and disorderly! and nobody died!!!

Ivan

 

[LVSteve]

My uncle was a Sea Going Marine in the 50's and early 60's. As a NCO aboard the USS Wasp, he had brig time and more severe fines for drunk and disorderly! and nobody died!!!

Ivan

...probably because following up on the causes of his crimes wouldn't lead all the way to the office of the secretary for the navy.

The Navy is playing a well known game here. Get some middle/lower officers to plead guilty, hand out BS punishments then call the case closed while carefully not looking at the underlying causes, at least in public. It's gone on in every branch of the military all over the world since the first stick was waved and rock thrown.

 

[LVSteve]

At a Special Court-Martial in Washington, DC, CDR Alfredo Sanchez, USN, pled guilty pursuant to a pretrial agreement to dereliction of duty contributing to the death of 10 sailors. On 25 May 2018, the military judge sentenced him to a reprimand and to forfeit $2,000 per month for three months. The pretrial agreement had no effect on the sentence

Sanchez took the full fall on 25 May.

Former USS John S. McCain commander pleads guilty in plea deal, will retire - Stripes

 

[cougar14]

I edited my OP to reflect these were two separate incidences, not just the USS Fitzgerald. It's obvious on several posts that some knew this, but I just wanted to clarify it. I wanted to edit the thread header to add "and McCain" to it, but I couldn't figure it out. Maybe a mod can do it.

 

[soFlaNative]

This guy in a crow's nest may have been better...

Sympathies to the families of the deceased.

 

[M29since14]

Speechless.

^^^ But not surprised.

 

[rwsmith]

Maybe the slap on the wrist....

This would normally not happen. Duty is duty regardless of pay or moral. But since things are not 'normal' at all, maybe the US Navy is admitting that the conditions they've subjected their people to will eventually lead to an unnecessary incident(s).

In 'normal' times, reduction of rank/and loss of command would be called for.

 

[LVSteve]

I edited my OP to reflect these were two separate incidences, not just the USS Fitzgerald. It's obvious on several posts that some knew this, but I just wanted to clarify it. I wanted to edit the thread header to add "and McCain" to it, but I couldn't figure it out. Maybe a mod can do it.

When you open your post using the Edit button, there is a Go Advanced button under your message. If you click on that you can edit your title.

 

[ShivasIrons]

As an Aegis sailor, These accidents are inexcusable. Hell, a competent bridge watch with lookouts and a basic surface search radar should be able to stay out of the way of other ships.

Speechless... BS punishments... etc... So glad I got out before all of this stuff started to turn into a problem.

 

[cougar14]

When you open your post using the Edit button, there is a Go Advanced button under your message. If you click on that you can edit your title.

Thanks! It's fixed, and I feel better.

 

[STCM(SW)]

"These accidents are inexcusable. Hell, a competent bridge watch with lookouts and a basic surface search radar should be able to stay out of the way of other ships.

Speechless... BS punishments... etc... So glad I got out before all of this stuff started to turn into a problem."


Just the way I feel and I have been in some close ones on several ships with out any collisions...

 

[OMCHamlin]

This would normally not happen. Duty is duty regardless of pay or moral. But since things are not 'normal' at all, maybe the US Navy is admitting that the conditions they've subjected their people to will eventually lead to an unnecessary incident(s).

In 'normal' times, reduction of rank/and loss of command would be called for.

I would respectfully counter that the Navy is admitting to nothing, rather engaging in a typical (in these times) cover-up and will absolutely engage hours of additional training... for sexual assault, diversity, cultural awareness, anything BUT basic seamanship and warfighting...