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Drawing by Jacqueline Chun, Special to the Star-Bulletin
In this artist's reproduction of the court of inquiry at
Pearl Harbor, Cmdr. Scott Waddle is at right. Above
his head is Adm. Isamu Ozawa. The court opens today
and is investigating three officers of the USS Greeneville,
including Waddle.

Skipper ready to accept
responsibility, his attorney says

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Blessings for missing 'I cannot stay home' The parties

In a small courtroom in Pearl Harbor -- with media from all over the world and the families of nine people still missing watching -- the Navy this morning began an investigative hearing to find out why a nuclear submarine sank a Japanese fisheries training vessel.

"The tragic consequences of the collision have impacted the lives of both Japanese and American families," Vice Adm. John B. Nathman said in opening remarks. Nathman is overseeing the court of inquiry with two other Navy admirals who will recommend whether the officers of the USS Greeneville should face disciplinary action ranging from a reprimand to court-martial.

"While this inquiry cannot change what has happened, a more thorough understanding of what occurred can serve to prevent a reoccurrence, " he continued.

Nathman, commander of the Pacific Fleet's Naval Air Forces in San Diego and former commander of the seven-ship Nimitz Battle Group, said he first learned of the Feb. 9 incident on the news.

"One thing I was thinking about was, first, this is a really tough day for the U.S. Navy because there was a loss of life. ...

"It was going to be a tough day for the captain. This captain is going to have to ask a lot of questions, and this is going to keep a lot of people busy."

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Cmdr. Scott Waddle, who captained the Greeneville
submarine, holds hands with his wife, Jill, this
morning as he heads toward a courtroom at Pearl
Harbor to face a Navy court of inquiry.

Cmdr. Scott Waddle, 41, the skipper of the USS Greeneville, who gave the order to perform the emergency surfacing drill that led to the collision with the Ehime Maru, arrived at the courtroom at about 7 :15 a.m., holding hands with his wife, Jill.

Nine people -- four 17-year-old students, two of their teachers and three crew members of the Ehime Maru --are still missing and presumed dead after the Greeneville rammed and sank the training ship during the drill.

At 7:35 a.m. the families of the nine missing crew members arrived on a tour bus. They were seated in the courtroom in the second row behind Cmdr. Waddle.

All were impassive, but three -- Kazuo Nakata, Ryosuke Tarada and Kazuteru Segawa -- were taking notes, and three others were watching the proceedings.

Waddle entered the courtroom at 7:52 a.m. and sat at one of three tables set aside for the three officers of the Greeneville under scrutiny.

The court of inquiry will examine the actions of Waddle, his second-in-command, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer, and the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael Coen.

By FL Morris, Star-Bulletin
Japanese family members of the nine missing from
the Ehime Maru arrive at Pearl Harbor for the
beginning of the court of inquiry into the incident.

Charles Gittins, Waddle's civilian attorney, was the only one wearing a dark blue business suit among a sea of Navy dress whites.

In an email to the Associated Press, Gittins said Waddle is ready to accept responsibility for the accident.

"As a commanding officer of a naval warship, Cmdr. (Scott) Waddle is ultimately responsible for everything the ship does and fails to do," Gittins said. "However, this accident was the result of a number of factors. Good people sometimes make honest mistakes; responsibility does not necessarily equate to criminal liability."

Gittins told the Star-Bulletin this morning that the Navy still has not ruled on a request for testimonial immunity, which would prevent the military from using anything Waddle says in court against him. However, Waddle still could be prosecuted based on the testimony of others.

Challenges and questioning

A similar request has been made by Lt. j.g. Coen.

Nathman said the court has four duties:

Inquire into all the facts and circumstances connected with the collision, resulting in the deaths and injuries to the Japanese passengers and crew of the Ehime Maru and any fault, neglect or responsibility for the incident.

Examine the polices and practices of Rear Adm. Al Konetzi, Submarine Forces commander, in implementing the Navy's distinguished-visitors program. Under that program, 16 civilians were passengers on the Greeneville on Feb. 9.

Examine the propriety of the assigned location of the Greeneville's operations on Feb. 9, nine miles south of Oahu, where the accident occurred.

The role Capt. Robert Brandhuber, Konetzi's chief of staff, might have played on Feb. 9

All the morning session was taken up by challenges and questioning by the attorneys of the three Greeneville officers.

Under questioning by Lt. Cmdr. Kimberlie Young, one of Waddle's three attorneys, Nathman said that based on his experience as a ship's commanding officer, he knows that Waddle, like himself, realizes that as a captain of a U.S. warship, he bears responsibility for what happens.

Nathman said his role as president of the fact-finding body was to guide the panel of U.S. admirals and "find the root causes and facts."

In addition to the three U.S. admirals, Rear Adm. Isamu Ozawa, representing the Japanese government, is sitting in on the panel.

Although Ozawa can ask questions during the proceedings, he will not be able to vote on the panel's final recommendations.

Behind the panel of admirals are the three counsels to the court who cannot be advocates for one side or the other. Their job is to help the court get through the fact-finding process.

All the witnesses, including the Ehime Maru's captain and Brandhuber, chief of staff for the Pacific Fleet's Submarine Force, will be isolated outside the courtroom until it is their turn to be called.

In the courtroom, a soundproof booth has been erected so Japanese translators can give simultaneous translations of the court proceedings to family members and other dignitaries from Japan. The translations will be beamed by radio signals to anyone who has an earpiece.

More than 240 journalists, many of them from Japan, have been accredited to cover the proceedings. But with seating at a premium in the Pearl Harbor courtroom, only 17 will be allowed in at one time. The rest of the media will view the court of inquiry via a closed-circuit remote television system from an office building that once was an enlisted sailors nightclub.

The inquiry is expected to last at least three weeks.

Expected to testify today is Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths, who prepared a preliminary investigative report on the collision.

Earlier last month, Griffiths' preliminary report indicated that the Greeneville's passive sonar system detected the Ehime Maru 71 minutes before the 1:43 p.m. collision. It was designated Sierra 13 as the 13th sonar reading taken that day.

The NTSB on Friday reported that the Ehime Maru was pointing directly at the Greeneville when Waddle came to periscope depth of about 60 feet and scanned the horizon for surface vessels. That would have meant that its profile was reduced significantly at the time.

Waddle then took the Greeneville up another three feet before he submerged to 405 feet, where he began the emergency main ballast blow that sent the 6,000-ton submarine to the surface like a rocket. That entire maneuver from periscope depth to the time of impact lasted just 3 minutes and 20 seconds.

Fargo also has asked the panel to determine whether the civilian visitors had any effect on the Greeneville's operations that day.

Sixteen civilians, including a Hawaii Kai couple, were guests of Waddle on the 360-foot Greeneville when the collision occurred.

Two of the civilians were at key control stations on the Greeneville when Waddle ordered a demonstration of an emergency surfacing maneuver. But the Navy has maintained that they were always closely supervised.

Did visitors have a bearing?

Since then, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ordered the military to prohibit civilians from operating any military equipment until a review has been completed. Rumsfeld also has said he does not believe the civilians on the Greeneville contributed to the accident.

In a related National Transportation Safety Board investigation, a Greeneville crew member said that 16 civilians in the crowded submarine did cause a problem and prevented him from updating a paper chart located on a bulkhead in front of the officer of the deck's watch station. That chart displayed all the surface contacts the Greeneville was tracking that day.

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Court of inquiry gets facts,
recommends actions

A Navy court of inquiry is a formal board of investigation charged with examining an incident and making opinions and recommendations, which can lead to further disciplinary action such as a court-martial or to policy changes.

The USS Greeneville officers who are the subjects of the inquiry are Cmdr. Scott Waddle, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer and Lt. j.g. Michael Coen. Three admirals were designated as members of the court. During the procedure:

Testimony is given under oath.

The board may order military witnesses and subpoena civilian witnesses to testify.

A party in the inquiry may, but is not required, to testify. Parties retain their rights against self-incrimination.

The court proceeds much like a judicial proceeding: Witnesses will be questioned, then cross-examined. If necessary, further direct and cross-examination will follow, then questioning by the court members. Witnesses are allowed to add anything they believe is relevant.

The court itself has its own counsel, who presents evidence and does the direct examination of witnesses except those called by one of the parties. His role is to disclose facts in an impartial manner.

The court members then deliberate privately and produce a report of findings of fact, opinions and recommendations. The report is forwarded to the officer who convened the court for final action.

Court of inquiry members:

President -- Vice Adm. John Nathman, commander, Naval Air Forces United States Pacific Fleet
Rear Adm. Paul F. Sullivan, director for plans and policy at the U.S. Strategic Command
Rear Adm. David M. Stone, commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group Five, and commander, USS Nimitz Battle Group
Rear Adm. Isamu Ozawa, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, chief of staff, commandant
Maizuru District, acting as an advisor and nonvoting member to the court of inquiry
Counsel for the Court: Capt. Bruce E. MacDonald, Judge Advocate General Corps.
Assistant counsels for the court: Cmdr. Michael I. Quinn, USN, JAGC, and Lt. Cmdr. Barry Harrison, USN, JAGC

Parties to the court:

Cmdr. Scott D. Waddle, former commanding officer, USS Greeneville (SSN 772)
Lt. Cmdr. Gerald K. Pfeifer, executive officer, USS Greeneville
Lt. j.g. Michael J. Coen, officer of the deck at the time of the incident

Counsels for the Parties:

Waddle
Cmdr. Jennifer S. Herold
Lt. Cmdr. Kimberlie Young
Charles Gittins, civilian counsel

Pfeifer
Lt. Cmdr. Timothy D. Stone

Coen
Lt. Cmdr. Brent Filbert and Lt. Marcus N. Fulton

Technical Advisors for the Parties:

Cmdr. Mark D. Patten, for Waddle
Cmdr. Japhet D. Woolston, for Pfeifer
Lt. Cmdr. William J. Breitfelder, for Coen