The Incident

 Note that is one is not in order relative to the other posts. This one takes place while Captain A was in charge. It happened while prepping to go to the Med. Note that there will some graphic content discussed.

Before the issue can be further discussed and analyzed, the stage must be set. For this, we go back a few days when the group was in Puerto Rico. We were anchored just off the base and had to run small boats to the base. We were allowed full use of the base but since we were only planning to be there for only a couple of day, we were not allowed off the base. In the group were five ships, LPH (helo carrier), LKA (amphib repair ship), LSD (my ship, medium troop carrier with a helo deck and well deck), LPD (larger troop carrier similar to LSD but has a helo hangar), and LST (flat bottomed troop carrier designed to go on the beach, let vehicles roll off the top, then pull themselves off).

As I was coming on watch, on the bridge since we're running boats and not tied to a pier, I caught the middle of a discussion. The officer I was relieving filled me in. Apparently the commodore was asking the captain of the LKA to do something illegal and he was refusing. As a captain, you do have the right to refuse an order of a higher authority, especially if it's illegal. Things were heating up with the commodore pressuring him when he surprised everyone on the circuit with, "That's it, I resign my commission, effective immediately!"

The commodore tried to calm him down and back out a little bit but LKA wasn't having any of it. He basically cussed out the commodore and all never forget his last words, "You're attitude is going to get someone killed! <LKA> Out!" While I was on watch, we kept an eye out and saw him walk off the ship in his dress whites carrying the big green duffel bag everyone in the Navy gets issued. I still have mine, somewhere.

Now this caused a dilemma. Since the ship was at anchor it couldn't get underway without a captain. While the XO was still there, he had not yet gone to Commanding Officer School - yes, there really is a commanding officer school, there's a school for everything in the military - and couldn't take command. The only person in Puerto Rico who could take command was the former Comphibron 2. He was a captain by rank and only there because he was waiting out his retirement. He didn't want anything to do with commanding a ship, much less be in a squad of ships where the commodore was junior to him. While he and the commodore were the same rank, "2", as I will call him. had been in the Navy longer and was considered senior to the commodore. However, the "needs of the Navy" took over and he was designated the captain. A day later the squad got underway. 2 was pissed! He didn't want to be bothered with anything, including the CIWS (Close In Weapons System) shoot the commodore had planned for us on our way back to Virginia. 

The CIWS is an automatic Gatling gun that fires 20mm expended uranium rounds. A round is dense and about the size of your thumb but twice the width. It's designed to take out a target several miles away before it gets close enough to the ship to hurt it by putting up a wall of bullets and destroying anything that flies into it.

The shoot was part of the quals all the ships had to go through in order to get ready for our Med Deployment. This was also Captain A's swansong. He had made captain by rank and was going to be relieved a few months after the deployment, during Operation Desert Shield but before Desert Storm.

Basically what was supposed to happen is all of the ships line up in formation, with the distance between each ship being the horizon, on average 11 miles. A jet, towing a drone behind it, would fly by. When the jet flew by, the designated ship would turn on its CIWS. As the drone came into range, simulating a missile attack, the CIWS would lock on and fire, destroying the drone. This would complete the test and qualify the ship. 

What happened though was a bit different. The ships were only 2000 yards (1 nautical mile) apart. Several captains, including ours complained about this. The commodore told them, "I want to get this in before dark. We don't have time to space out the formation and we can't get the jet later. Now shut the <redacted> up and get your asses in formation." Part of the reason we were getting to the shoot late had to do with getting the new captain for the LKA. That cluster delayed our early morning departure to early afternoon. The commodore had been trying to push 2 to move faster but 2's ire at the situation became evident he effectively told him, "I'm senior to you, you little <redacted>. You don't speak to me that way and you can go <redacted> yourself. We'll be ready when we're ready." Some more things were said but that was the gist of it.

Well, we got in formation and the exercise started. We would shoot from back to front. The formation from back to front was: LST, LPD, LSD, LKA, LPH. LST would go first. The drone came but was too far out the first time. On its second pass, the LST destroyed the target. 

Next came the LPD, and that's when the fireworks started. It turns out our captain and theirs (they were great friends and hung out all the time on shore) had decided to stand in solidarity about the shoot. Captain LPD told the commodore that he wouldn't shoot until he was allowed to move his ship out of formation to a safe firing bearing. The commodore was livid. He yelled screamed, and cursed but LPD stood firm and our captain jumped in and backed him. Finally Commodore relented. LPD maneuvered 45 degrees out (ie from 090 to 045), the drone came and he destroyed it. Next was our turn. Captain A demanded the same thing. Since the commodore didn't want to fight anymore, he relented immediately. We maneuvered, fired, and went back in formation.

Next came the LKA, with 2 as captain. It is important to note that the firing arc for a CIWS on an LKA is 120 degrees in front facing. Our ship, by contrast, has a giant communications antenna in front so we can't fire directly in front of us. We have to put cutouts in our CIWS pattern so if it starts to move to where the antenna is, it won't fire. You can always put cutouts in, LKA didn't do this, they left their arc in tact. 

The drone came. Their CIWS locked on and fired. However, it didn't completely destroy the drone and a large piece started falling directly in front of the LKA. This was also directly behind the LPH. On the bridge wing of the LPH was their navigator (a Lieutenant Commander) and a Petty Officer 1st Class quartermaster (enlisted person who works for the navigator). They were observing the shoot and having a smoke.

The CIWS locked a second time and fired. The total time between firings was less than 1 second. When it fired the second time it not only hit the stray piece of the drone, also hit the LPH in several areas, including the bridge wing. The navigator and petty officer were both struck by a round. The navigator stumbled into the bridge. It was said that his last words were "Dear God, someone please help me!" before falling dead to the deck (floor). The petty officer was a bit luckier. he did survive and they found his arm on the flight deck. I don't know if they were able to reattach it or not.

Needless to say the shoot was cancelled after that.

A few days later all the officers in the formation were flown to the LPH where the commodore was to address us on the situation. While I stood on the flight deck, I could see the dents in the bulkhead (walls) where CIWS rounds hit. In his talk, he took almost no responsibility for what happened. He basically said a full investigation was being investigated, including the response of the medical team. After his debriefing, we went back to our ships. I have to admit, I was thoroughly disgusted by his comments. It was 100% his fault! But he acted like, "Oh well, we'll have to wait and see".

Half way through our 6 month Med tour he was quietly relieved of command.

A few months later my CPO called me into Coms, "Sir, YOU have to take this to the captain, but you may want to read it first." I looked at the message. Basically it was questions from Commodore's lawyer asking Captain A and Captain LPD to clarify some comments they made in their depositions about "The Incident" as they prepped for his court marshal.

I also remember reading about "The Incident" in a magazine the Navy puts out quarterly highlighting accidents that have happened in the Navy, along with cautions about following procedures. Everything from someone who got a finger cut off because he wouldn't take off his wedding ring, even though procedure clearly stated "no jewelry including rings and watches are to be worn while performing this procedure." "The Incident" made the cover.

The bottom line is leadership carries a heavy burden. Your actions will directly affect those under you. Know when to listen to those around you. Learn when disobey those above you. Being a leader doesn't mean being a bully. It means being a good steward of the power and responsibility you've been given and passing on those skills to those around you. I also like to think of as having the ability to tell people, "We're fighting in Hell tonight!" and having them respond, "When do we leave!"