THE captain of a US warship that lost seven sailors in a collision with a commercial container ship will be relieved of command and more than a dozen others face punishment.
Admiral William Moran, the vice chief of naval operations, said the senior leaders on the USS Fitzgerald, which was badly damaged in the collision off the coast of Japan in June, will be removed from duty aboard the ship.
They are the commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson, the executive officer, Commander Sean Babbitt, and Master Chief Petty Officer Brice Baldwin, who as the destroyer’s command master chief is its most senior enlisted sailor.
The actions are being taken by Rear Admiral Joseph Aucoin, commander of the navy’s 7th Fleet, based at Yokosuka, Japan, because he lost confidence in the three, Admiral Moran said.
In addition, nearly a dozen face non-judicial punishment that has yet to be determined, he said.
Admiral Moran said the actions would be taken shortly, although the investigation into how and why the USS Fitzgerald collided with the container ship in June has not yet been completed. “Serious mistakes were made by members of the crew,” he said.
He said “the bridge team,” or the sailors responsible for keeping watch, had “lost situational awareness,” which left them unable to respond quickly enough to avoid the disaster once the oncoming container ship was spotted.
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