Pearl skipper The Pearl Harbor-based destroyer USS Hopper left on its third six-month Pacific deployment yesterday with its skipper facing a drunken driving charge.
faces DUI charge
The commander was cited before
his ship's scheduled departureBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comPolice arrested Cmdr. Ken Auten, who assumed command of the 504-foot warship March 1, shortly after midnight Friday and charged him with driving under the influence after he crashed his car into a tree at Heleconia Place and Moanalua Road in Aiea.
Pearl City police said no one else was in the car at the time of the accident and Auten, 40, posted $500 bail and was released. He is expected to appear in Pearl City District Court within the next month to answer the DUI charge.
Capt. Greg Smith, Pacific Fleet spokesman, said that depending on the severity of the crime, civilian courts have allowed sailors to postpone their court appearances until after their deployments are over.
He said Auten has contacted the Hawaii Armed Services Police, which serves as a liaison between the military and the judiciary and will have representation when his case is called.
"Historically, this group has been able to work an agreement with the courts which allows the service member to appear at a later date after his deployment is over," Smith said.
But the Navy and the Marine Corps do not tolerate drinking and driving. Six years ago Navy Secretary John Dalton ordered that all proven cases of DUI offenses be recorded in a service member's personal folder and used as part of the evaluation in "assessing leadership potential" and fitness to serve.
Smith said Navy officials "will take the appropriate action after all the factors have been presented in the civil court."
Auten replaced Cmdr. John Sorce as skipper of the 6-year-old destroyer, which has a crew of 23 officers and 302 enlisted men and women.
Pearl Harbor officials won't say exactly where the Hopper will be during the next six months. However, other Navy officials say the destroyer will eventually become part of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk battle group.
The Kitty Hawk is currently in its home port in Japan preparing for another extended period with Operation Enduring Freedom. It will be the second deployment for the carrier, which returned to Japan on Dec. 23 after spending more than three months in the Arabian Sea supporting U.S. efforts in the war on terrorism.
The Hopper, commissioned in 1996, is named after former Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, whose development of the first computer compiler and the first computer programming language helped revolutionize the world of computers.
In 1998, the Hopper was part of the flotilla of warships that struck Iraq with Tomahawk missiles in the continuing Middle East campaign.
Star-Bulletin reporter Nelson Daranciang contributed to this report.