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US Navy sacks commander, crew after nuclear submarine rams seabed off Italy
AFP ^ | 11-12-03

Posted on 11/13/2003, 12:47:30 AM by Brian S

CATANIA, Sicily, Nov 12 (AFP) - Two senior US navy officers aboard a nuclear submarine damaged when it hit the sea bottom off Italy have been relieved of their command and six other crew charged with "dereliction of duty, " the US Navy's Sixth Fleet said Wednesday.

The incident alarmed Italy's Environment Minister Altero Matteoli, who described it as "serious" and said he had alerted Italy's environmental protection agency immediately on being informed of the incident, which happened October 25.

"Luckily, the first reports reaching us are that there has been no environmental consequences," Matteoli told reporters on the sidelines of a UN conference on protecting the Mediterranean here.

Captain Greg Parker and Commander Christopher Van Meter "were both relieved of their command," a Sixth Fleet spokeswoman told AFP. She would neither confirm nor deny that the sub was carrying nuclear weapons.

"Attack submarines do not generally deploy with nuclear weapons," she said.

Van Meter was captain of the nuclear-powered Los Angeles class sub when it grounded near the island of Caprera, north of Sardinia in circumstances which the navy said were still being investigated.

Parker was commander of the US navy's Submarine Squad 22 based in La Maddallena, Italy, and was on board the vessel at the time.

The disciplinary measures were decided after an investigation by the commander of the US Navy's submarine group based in Naples, the spokeswoman, Commander Kate Meuller, told AFP by telephone from Naples.

She said Admiral Stephen Stanley took the decision "after he lost confidence in their ability to command," said Meuller.

Meuller said three other officers from the submarine and three enlisted men were charged with dereliction of duty and disciplined in a "non-judicial proceeding," she said.

The sub suffered damage to the rudder and scrapes along its bottom, but Mueller insisted "there was no danger from the submarine to anyone or to the environment. There was no effect on the (nuclear) propulsion system at all."

"We were very certain from immediately that there was no breach of the sub's watertight integrity," she added.

db/ps/rm

Italy-US-submarine


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: derelictionofduty; italy; submarine; usn
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1 posted on 11/13/2003, 12:47:31 AM by Brian S
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To: Brian S
Whats This Mean?

Meuller said three other officers from the submarine and three enlisted men were charged with dereliction of duty
2 posted on 11/13/2003, 12:50:32 AM by cmsgop ( "Love For Sale",.."Yummy Appetizing Love For Sale")
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To: cmsgop
Detachment For Cause (DFC), or firing, is the routine response of Commanders for subordinates involved in a collision at sea. The CO, XO, bridge officers on duty, perhaps the training officer...

Not unheard of for enlisted men in positions of responsibility to suffer the same fate.

"Dereliction of Duty" comes from the fact that had they been doing their duty, a collision would not have occurred. BTW, a "collision" refers to a mishap involving another ship, running aground, and other mishaps.

3 posted on 11/13/2003, 12:55:00 AM by TontoKowalski
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To: Brian S
There's not much information here to go by. Generally speaking, the commander of a vessel is responsible when bad things happen to his ship no matter what he was doing at the time--if only because he trusted the wrong people to make decisions.

Presumably the other officers and enlisted men were more directly involved in the screwup.
4 posted on 11/13/2003, 12:57:03 AM by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: cmsgop
It means they were goofing off, and not minding the chart, or the depth gauge, or both. They could have been doing angles and dangles where there wasn't enought water. In any event, they really screwed up, and had a bad attitude about it, or this action wouldn't have been taken.
5 posted on 11/13/2003, 12:57:03 AM by SubMareener
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To: cmsgop
Running aground is always a guaranteed career-ender in the Navy for everyone remotely involved. Response to this seems fairly routine.

You can throw away 20 years of incredibly hard work in a few seconds. Everyone knows it too.
6 posted on 11/13/2003, 12:57:16 AM by John H K
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To: Brian S
Meuller said three other officers from the submarine and three enlisted men were charged with dereliction of duty and disciplined in a "non-judicial proceeding," she said.

I bet the three officers were, XO, Navigator, and Officer of the Deck.

The three enlisted were probably the Chief of the Boat (COB), Helmsman, and Planesman.

Too bad, since the enlisted were probably just following commands given by the OOD.

7 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:00:14 AM by Pern ("It's good to know who hates you, and it's good to be hated by the right people." - Johnny Cash)
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To: Pern
"All hands on deck to witness punishment." (Oops, that's the Royal Navy in Admiral Nelson's days.)

I'll be in the theater Fri Nov. 14 to see "Master & Commander". Hoo-ah!

8 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:04:41 AM by Ciexyz
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To: Brian S
What boat was it???
9 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:05:22 AM by Snickersnee (Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket???)
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To: Pern
Helsman and Planesman would be unlikely culprits. More likely suspects include the QMOW, CQM, and Sonar/Nav plotter. Officers: XO, NAV, and OOD, and possibly the Conning Officer.
10 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:05:27 AM by BlueNgold (Feed the Tree .....)
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To: Ciexyz
When I was Legal O onboard an unnamed ship in an unnamed location the CO directed me to announce all hands on deck for a public Captain's Mast, Uniform of the Day, in the Hangar. Podium, Chaplain, XO, etc 5 mins before a long awaited liberty call. He was making an example of a hard case, and the point went well noticed!
11 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:08:00 AM by BlueNgold (Feed the Tree .....)
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To: Pern
Unless the COB was on watch at the time I think not. But most probably thoes you mentioned and the BCP operator (chief of the watch) and the Diving Officer (usally a chief) and not the Helmsmen or Planesman. But it would depend on the circumstances to a large extent.
12 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:11:38 AM by WHBates
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To: Snickersnee
It's the USS Hartford.

Story on the USS Hartford from the Stamford Advocate

13 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:14:05 AM by Severa (Wife of Freeper Hostel, USN STS3(SS) currently on 6 month deployment)
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To: Snickersnee
The USS Hartford
14 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:14:58 AM by Brian S
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To: Brian S
Run your ship (or sub) aground and kiss your Navy career goodbye.

This the Navy will NOT excuse or ignore.

15 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:16:21 AM by LibKill ("He who has foolish enemies possesses the Mandate of Heaven.")
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To: Brian S
Who cares what the Italians think. How come they even know about this?
16 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:16:47 AM by Sam Cree (democrats are herd animals)
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To: Sam Cree
Who cares what the Italians think. How come they even know about this?

Aren't the Italians helping us in Iraq? Didn't they lose something like eleven men today? If that's the case we ought to care what they think.

17 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:35:47 AM by KevinB
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To: LibKill
Don't know how they handle things these days, but I have ridden on two boats which were involved in "incidents" and never heard any public (or in service for that matter) repercussions. Read "Blind Man's Bluff" for description of one of those incidents.
18 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:39:21 AM by harrym
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To: Brian S
Environment Minister?

Was an environmental crime committed? Did they wreck some coral?

What a friggin' joke. Europe has lost its collective mind.
19 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:39:33 AM by Finalapproach29er ("Don't shoot Mongo, you'll only make him mad.")
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To: KevinB
"Aren't the Italians helping us in Iraq? Didn't they lose something like eleven men today? If that's the case we ought to care what they think."

I'm sure he is refering to the fact that this isn't a unique situation and why would anyone outside the Navy even know about this.
20 posted on 11/13/2003, 1:40:15 AM by WHBates
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