The commanding officer, executive officer and senior non-commissioned officer of the USS Fitzgerald are due to be removed from their duties for cause amid the fallout surrounding the deadly collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a cargo ship off the coast of Japan on June 17.
While the final investigation into the collision is ongoing, Moran said: “We do not have to have the investigation complete to start the process.”
The Fitzgerald’s commanding officer, Cdr. Bryce Benson, and the executive officer, Cdr. Sean Babbiit, were both sleeping, and the master chief petty officer, Brice Baldwin, was not on the bridge at the time of collision, according to the Navy.
The bow of the cargo ship directly struck the commander’s cabin, according to the Navy’s report detailing the immediate aftermath of the collision.
It said Benson “was hanging from the side of the ship” when he was retrieved by crewmembers who were forced to use a sledgehammer, kettlebell and their bodies to break through the door and gain access to the heavily damaged cabin.
Benson was medically evacuated via helicopter due to the severity of his injuries and he placed on limited duty status on July 11.
“There are a lot of sailors” who have undergone the non-judicial punishment process and “survived and done well, ” Moran said, but “when you look at what happened here, it’s going to be pretty hard to recover from this.”
While additional non-judicial punishments could be levied at the “captain’s mast” inquiry, due to take place Friday, Moran said that Aucoin “has already made the decision to detach for cause” the leadership team.
