U.S. Navy fires two commanders after Asia sea accidents

Daily Mail

The U.S. Navy dismissed two senior officers, an admiral and a captain, on Monday after a series of collisions involving Seventh Fleet warships in Asia, citing a loss of confidence in their ability to command.

Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, and Captain Jeffrey Bennett, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, were fired by Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer, the Navy said.

In August, Sawyer replaced fleet commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, who was fired after the accidents.  

‘Both reliefs were due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command,’ the Navy statement said.

The shakeup in the Seventh Fleet command followed a pre-dawn collision between guided-missile destroyer USS McCain and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia on August 21, which killed 10 sailors and was the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet this year.

Chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson, said he wanted to conduct a ‘comprehensive review’ of recent US Navy collisions, according to CNN.

He doesn’t necessarily believe the incidents are a result of cyberintrusion or sabotage, however, he is considering all options.

‘We are looking at every possibility so we are not leaving anything to chance there,’ he stated.

Additionally, in June, another destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a Philippine cargo ship, killing seven U.S. sailors.

An unnamed US defense official said: ‘The way it looks now, it seems that the crew on the (USS) Fitzgerald is going to be at fault,’ according to The Guardian.

He added: ‘They are certainly going to be held accountable in some way for their actions.’

Senior US Navy officer, William Moran, told a congressional oversight panel in early September that the hectic pace of military operations and a constrained military budget don’t excuse these two warship accidents that killed 17 American sailors.

‘No matter how tough our operating environment, or how strained our budget, we shouldn’t be and cannot be colliding with other ships and running aground,’ Admiral William Moran, the vice chief of naval operations, told members of the House Armed Services Committee.

‘We have allowed standards to drop as the number of certifications has grown,’ he added.

‘That is not about resourcing; it is about safety and it is about leadership at sea.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4895392/U-S-Navy-fires-two-commanders-Asia-sea-accidents.html#ixzz4t334ciPn
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4 thoughts on “U.S. Navy fires two commanders after Asia sea accidents

  1. Yep. Firing those two should fix everything. It’s obvious they were completely incompetent.
    Actually, it sounds more like the Navy is so busy conducting sensitivity training for the faggots and the tranny’s that they don’t have time for any actual Navy training. Like how to steer a f–king boat.
    The BGD123LLCOOLJ’s strike again.

  2. “An unnamed US defense official said: ‘The way it looks now, it seems that the crew on the (USS) Fitzgerald is going to be at fault,’ ”

    NAWWWWWW… HAD to be the ship’s fault. 🙄

  3. Just how do you drive a ship that big into a ship that’s how many football flieds long . Something else is going on here that not being told

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