Navy drops criminal cases against USS Fitzgerald officers charged in 2017 fatal collision

I understand many are going to be angered by this outcome, and I'm not going to try and judge that reaction-people died here. Neither will I try and detail some milk-toast sob story about OPTEMPO, etc, etc.

What I do want to do, for the sake of honesty, clarity, and prevention... is provide some perspective. This is anything but a "slap on the wrist"; these two officers' careers, personal lives, and prospects are toast. We're not talking about admirals with three decades of service getting a "golden parachute" either... no retirement, no cushy DOD job, no high-level "consultant" spots in the private sector... they're just not that senior, or that well-connected. My experience, such as it was, is that once you screw up like this, the Navy tries to forget you ever existed.

I don't know either of them personally, and I never served an hour on the Fitz, so all I've got is the official story. None of what led to this sounds "criminal"... it sounds like a total soup-sandwich caused by the same SNAFUs that have been getting folks killed in and out of combat since forever.

I agree they are responsible; that's why they are given command, paid well, and treated differently. I also know (and so does everyone else) that while tradition dictates an outcome, the reality is that a crew is a team, and there are many moving parts that can "breakdown" on any team. If the "correct" outcome is that an O-3 and and O-5 get hard time for bad judgement and lax practices... then we probably ought to scrap the whole notion of how we create officers, because if those are the stakes, then those standing the watch need the experience and knowledge only time can provide... much more time than one builds in the current pipeline.

I think both of these persons will be haunted for the rest of their lives-they failed their Sailors, their Ship, their Service, and themselves. For the CO, it's a tragic and unceremonious end to a job he undoubtedly fought hard for, and invested much in. It sounds like he was initially chosen for this post because he was considered anything but a "NOLO". For the LT, who was actually on the bridge that night? Well, I'm glad I don't have to carry that burden. I made lots of calls on the bridge that worked out... they very well may not have. I don't think any of 'em worked out because I was "better", perhaps just more fortunate/blessed.

The only outcome that would've angered me (above the anger I feel for the fact it happened at all) would've been no outcome at all. No punishment can bring back the dead, or make their families feel "ok" about their loss, but this demanded consequences. Now that this is concluded, the real challenge is how do we prevent it from happening again? Passing around the body bag at TAPS during officer candidate training, and telling everyone, "this is where they put your mistakes" obviously isn't an answer in and of itself.

Most Likely The Guys In The Engine Rooms Fault... They Cant Trash A Fellow Officer When An EM Is Available...

So I guess they will blame it on the enlisted watches.