The U.S. Navy dismissed two senior officers, an admiral and a captain, on Monday after a series of collisions involving Seventh Fleet warships in Asia, citing a loss of confidence in their ability to command.
Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, and Captain Jeffrey Bennett, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, were fired by Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer, the Navy said.
In August, Sawyer replaced fleet commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, who was fired after the accidents.
Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, (L) and Captain Jeffrey Bennett, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, (R) were fired the Navy said
‘Both reliefs were due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command,’ the Navy statement said.
The shakeup in the Seventh Fleet command followed a pre-dawn collision between guided-missile destroyer USS McCain and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia on August 21, which killed 10 sailors and was the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet this year.
Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer was the one to fire the admiral and the captain ‘due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command’
Chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson, said he wanted to conduct a ‘comprehensive review’ of recent US Navy collisions, according to CNN.
He doesn’t necessarily believe the incidents are a result of cyberintrusion or sabotage, however, he is considering all options.
‘We are looking at every possibility so we are not leaving anything to chance there,’ he stated.
Additionally, in June, another destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a Philippine cargo ship, killing seven U.S. sailors.
An unnamed US defense official said: ‘The way it looks now, it seems that the crew on the (USS) Fitzgerald is going to be at fault,’ according to The Guardian.
He added: ‘They are certainly going to be held accountable in some way for their actions.’
Damage to the portside is visible as the Guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) steers towards Changi Naval Base, Republic of Singapore, following a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on August 21
Significant damage was done to the hull resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery, and communications rooms
Senior US Navy officer, William Moran, told a congressional oversight panel in early September that the hectic pace of military operations and a constrained military budget don’t excuse these two warship accidents that killed 17 American sailors.
‘No matter how tough our operating environment, or how strained our budget, we shouldn’t be and cannot be colliding with other ships and running aground,’ Admiral William Moran, the vice chief of naval operations, told members of the House Armed Services Committee.
‘We have allowed standards to drop as the number of certifications has grown,’ he added.
‘That is not about resourcing; it is about safety and it is about leadership at sea.’
U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships steam in formation at the conclusion of Keen Sword
US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald arrives at its mother port US Naval Yokosuka Base, Kanagawa prefecture on June 17 this year
In this released U.S. Navy handout, The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) sits in Dry Dock 4 at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan