Sub inquiry
presses Waddle
on safety lapses
Admirals review a long list of
By Gregg K. Kakesako
system failures that led to the
deaths of 9 aboard a Japanese
fishing vessel last month
Star-BulletinFacing three major offenses, including negligent homicide, Navy Cmdr. Scott Waddle is in a battle to defend his actions, which led to the collision of his submarine with a Japanese fishing vessel last month, leading to the death of nine people.
Waddle did his best, lawyer says
Waddle, commander of the nuclear attack submarine USS Greeneville, was repeatedly asked yesterday by three admirals investigating the collision why he seemed to violate the tenets of his command: "Safety, efficiency and backup."
There was a broken sonar monitor in the control room with no compensation for its loss, one-third of the crew left pierside, abbreviated sonar analysis and time at periscope depth and an improperly prepared work schedule, or watch bill.
Also at issue is why Waddle, a 19-year Navy veteran, would risk the safety of the 16 civilians on board that day to take the nuclear sub to its test depth, which is beyond 800 feet and classified, and then perform an emergency main ballast tank blow.
Waddle's answers to both questions was that he wanted to demonstrate to both his crew and the civilians how a sub operates. During his 5 1/2 hours on the witness stand, Waddle would take notes as the three admirals questioned him.
Vice Adm. John Nathman, president of the court of inquiry, at one point seemed to be frustrated with the answers given by Waddle when the sub commander said he didn't recall being told that a critical sonar monitor was broken. "This makes me wonder about standards on Greeneville as a whole," Nathman said.
Nathman even wondered if Waddle performed the rapid surfacing maneuver to give the civilians an "e-ticket" Disneyland ride, since Waddle at one point acknowledged that riding in a windowless sub is as exciting as "watching grass grow."
Despite past statements saying he bears full responsibility for the Feb. 9 accident, Waddle indicated several times that his crew let him down.
Although the practice of allowing a sonar trainee to be on duty without supervision is wrong, Waddle said he wasn't aware of it since taking command of the Greeneville on March 19, 1999. "Had it been brought to my attention, the attention of the executive officer and the attention of the weapons officer, who clearly said under testimony, he would have rectified that."
Waddle said he was never in a hurry to return to Pearl Harbor by midafternoon Feb. 9 and the only reason he told Coen to get to periscope in five minutes rather than standard, which is twice that time, was a test -- one he didn't actually believe Coen could pass.
Waddle's command style has been criticized as not delegating enough authority to Coen, leaving the junior office only to parrot his instructions.
Yesterday, Waddle said he never took "the conn" from Coen and just gave him instructions, which he said was common practice on the Greeneville.
At one point, Waddle turned to Coen and said: "When a commanding officer takes the conn away from the office of the deck, that causes embarrassment. I have only done that once ... I gave him an artificial time limit. If I hadn't, we wouldn't be here today."
One of the major criticisms raised over the past 12 days of testimony by Rear Adm. Albert Konetzni, Pacific Fleet Submarine Forces commander, was that Waddle was too "informal" and was acting "too fast" for his crew, not allowing them to keep up with him.
Waddle said he was surprised by Konetzni's remarks since he considered the admiral as his mentor.
Asked what he was aware of before the accident occurred at 1:43 p.m., Waddle said he was told by the sonar supervisor that there were two sonar contacts -- one being the Ehime Maru -- and was located 15,000 yards to the northeast.
There was another sonar contact to the northwest and was a smaller vessel, Waddle said. The sub commander said he was told that the "two contacts were distant."
Waddle said that while at periscope, he looked at the two quadrants of the two known contacts and "saw nothing. In my mind, I was confident there was nothing ... I don't know why I didn't see the Ehime Maru, but I didn't."
But the court members questioned Waddle's defense that said there was teamwork on the Greeneville that day. Rear Adm. Paul Sullivan said he didn't understand why Lt. j.g. Michael Coen, as the officer of the deck, did not maneuver the Greeneville to get a more accurate picture of what was above the sub.
Waddle also faces the possibility of being charged with dereliction of duty and handling a vessel in an unsafe manner. It will be up to the panel of three admirals to determine what type of action Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander, might take. A decision is expected in two months.
Despite that, Waddle chose to take the witness stand after his request for immunity was denied.
Waddle said he sought immunity so he could take "reasonable precautions in the event the international and political environment dictated that I be sacrificed to an unwarranted court-martial."
Giving Waddle immunity would have set a bad precedent in that a "commanding officer would not provide full accounting unless granted immunity," Nathman said.
Following his appearance, Waddle told reporters that he was fulfilling a promise he made to Japanese families who lost loved ones in the collision to help them understand what occurred and to achieve closure.
Tatsuyoshi Mizuguchi, father of missing 17-year-old Takeshi, said: "I am glad that I could hear Waddle testify, although I don't think it was sufficient. The family members of the nine victims, as well as the survivors, have not yet come to terms with what happened. I hope commander Waddle will come to our town to apologize to all of us, including the students and crew members."
After 12 days of testimony, the fate of at least three crewmen of the USS Greeneville now lies with three senior U.S. admirals conducting the investigation of the sub's collision with the Ehime Maru. Waddle did his
best while in
command, lawyer saysThe actions of at least 4 other
By Gregg K. Kakesako
officers have come into question
Star-BulletinIt may take at least two months before a decision on their fates and those of other Navy personnel involved in the accident, which claimed the lives of nine people, is announced by Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander. Thirty-three witnesses appeared before a rare Navy court of inquiry.
In closing arguments, Charles Gittins, attorney for Cmdr. Scott Waddle, said the collision between Waddle's submarine and the Japanese fishing training vessel on Feb. 9 was an "unfortunate accident."
"You could not replicate this accident today," Gittins said.
Gittins added that Waddle, captain of the Greeneville since March 1999, always had "the responsibility for the safe operation of the USS Greeneville."
"There is no question that Waddle was in command and is responsible," Gittins added. "I ask you to be reasonable."
In closing, Gittins said Waddle did his "level best and it may have fallen short, but it was not criminal," referring to one of the possible charges against Waddle which is criminal negligence.
Besides Waddle, two other Greeneville officers -- Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer, Greeneville's executive officer, and Lt. j.g. Michael Coen, the officer of the deck when the accident occurred -- were named as parties in the court of inquiry.
But testimony over the past 2 1/2 weeks has raised questions over the actions of several other Navy personnel.
However, unless these men are required to face a court-martial, it may be hard to find what kind of disciplinary action will be taken against them because of privacy issues. There also is the possibility that Waddle could approach Fargo with a plea bargain.
Questions were raised about the performances of:
>> Petty Officer Patrick Seacrest, Greeneville's fire control technician, who failed to warn Waddle that a sonar contact later identified as the Ehime Maru was 4,000 yards north of the sub, contrary to Waddle's standing orders.
>> Master Chief Douglas Coffman, Greeneville's chief of the boat, who was responsible for overseeing the training of the sub's enlisted sailors and who prepared the Feb. 9 work schedule, which had nine of 13 sailors improperly designated.
>> Petty Officer Edward McGiboney, Greeneville's sonar supervisor; Lt. Ryan Mahoney, sonar division leader; and Lt. Mark Van Winkle, weapons officer. They all could be held accountable for allowing the Greeneville to allow a sonar trainee to work without supervision.
>> Capt. Robert Brandhuber, chief of staff for the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force, who was escorting 16 civilians visiting the sub on Feb. 9 and thought that Waddle was rushing and cutting corners, but failed to step in.
Lt. Cmdr. Tim Stone, Pfeifer's attorney, said that Pfeifer provided the "forceful backup" as the Navy requires a second-in-command to provide.
"To provide backup," Stone said, "requires you to put yourself in position to be effective ... to be in a position in the ship where he can do the best."
Lt. Cmdr. Brent Filbert, attorney for Coen, placed the blame for the collision on Waddle, saying "the commander rushed himself and rushed his crew. He got ahead of his crew, and they couldn't catch up."
Filbert said the crew under Waddle wasn't in any position to back up Waddle and, in the end, Waddle's action led to everything falling down like dominos and "Lt. Coen was one of the dominos."
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said he was amazed at how such a terrible accident could happen in such a beautiful cobalt sea. Mori visits site
where trawler sankThe Japanese leader says he
By Nelson Daranciang
wants the fishing boat raised
Star-BulletinMori yesterday accompanied relatives of two missing teachers and a student to the spot where the Japanese training fishing vessel Ehime Maru went down in waters 10 miles south of Diamond Head on Feb. 9.
Nine people are believed to have died when the Ehime Maru sank after colliding with the nuclear submarine USS Greeneville. Their bodies have not been found.
Mitsunori Nomoto, father of 17-year-old student Katsuya Nomoto; Hiroko Kiriyama, mother-in-law of teacher Hiroshi Makizawa; and Kazuo and Mikie Nakata, parents of teacher Jun Nakata, traveled aboard the Navatek 1 tour boat to the site.
Mori stood with them on the bow of the Navatek 1 as the relatives dropped flowers wrapped in ti leaves as hoo-kupu, or traditional Hawaiian offering, into the ocean.
Ehime Province Deputy Gov. Mizue Maeda also tossed flowers into the ocean.
In a statement released through a representative, Mori said he was overwhelmed with the beauty of the sea, which reminded him of the sorrow of the families of the missing.
Mori said he reaffirmed to the families his desire to raise the Ehime Maru.
Mori said he told the families of his summit with President Bush on Monday. He said he sought to confirm the U.S. government's commitment to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident, raise the Ehime Maru, and pay compensation.
Mori said Bush responded that he would do everything for the bereaved families.
Mori is expected to step down as prime minister as early as next month because of his government's failure to deal with Japan's economic slowdown, and because of gaffes, including his decision to complete a round of golf after being informed of the Ehime Maru accident.
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) - Japanese relatives of the Ehime Maru victims urged the Navy investigators to clarify the unanswered questions of who and what exactly caused the accident as a Navy court of inquiry ended Tuesday. Japanese families
By Mari Yamaguchi
urge Navy to clarify
cause and responsibility
Associated Press Writer"The inquiry is over, but we cannot put this behind us unless Navy officials make clear the causes and responsibility for the accident," said Ryosuke Terata, whose 17-year-old son Yusuke was among the nine people who were never found after the Feb. 9 collision.
"We want explanation to all of our questions that remain unanswered," he said.
Terata, who went back to his hometown of Uwajima, southwestern Japan, after attending the first week of the inquiry, returned to Hawaii Tuesday morning fearing the inquiry would end without testimony by the sub's captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle.
Relatives of the Japanese families have long demanded Waddle take the stand because they believed his testimony was crucial in finding out what went wrong on his submarine when it slammed into the Ehime Maru.
To their surprise, Tuesday's final session started with Waddle's sworn testimony. Terata and three other relatives, who rushed to the court straight from the airport after their redeye flight from Japan, said it was at least good news.
"It was worth the long trip," said Tatsuyoshi Mizuguchi, father of Takeshi, 17, who never was found.
Waddle's testimony was a surprise because his attorney had indicated he would not testify without immunity, which the Navy rejected.
"This court and the families need to hear from me," Waddle said, turning to face some of the victims' relatives. As a recess was called after his testimony, two widows of fisheries high school teachers stood and sobbed.
The admirals are expected to take three weeks to report on their findings and to recommend whether the officers should be punished. The report goes to Adm. Thomas Fargo, head of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, who has up to 30 days to review it and take final action.
Terata said the families welcomed Waddle's testimony as "keeping his promise that he made to us when he apologized."
Waddle's nuclear-powered sub smashed into the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru while demonstrating a rapid-surfacing drill for 16 civilians. Nine Japanese, including four teen-age boys, were killed.
Waddle said he was "truly sorry for the loss of life and the incalculable grief."
Family members, who have accepted their long-awaited apology from Waddle, said the sub captain should now take another step forward.
"Someone should take responsibility for what happened," Terata said. "The families of the victims and the survivors were both forced into unimaginable suffering. It's only natural they make amends."
