Secrecy and uncertainty surrounds Navy discipline for fatal ship collisions

Well, in my opinion, they're screwing the pooch by charging those two commanders with negligent homicide. So I'm not surprised.

who knows?

I read through the article and am a bit of the opinion that the headline and some of the comments reflect press disgruntlement that they aren't getting all the information that they feel entitled to. Not all that sympathetic. One thing did catch my eye and, IMV, warrants a comment.

[begin quote]
Like a court-martial, NJP charges troops with violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and can end a service members military career.

Yet unlike courts-martial, NJP proceedings occur largely out of the public eye, and critics say the process offers less rights for the accused.
[end quote]

What the critics fail to mention ... or at least the article fails to credit them with mentioning ... is that the NJP process offers far less in punishment and long term impact than does the court martial process. It was my personal experience that NJP was used far more to save soldiers from the permanent scar of a court martial ... than to subvert a soldier's rights. In some cases NJP was even used to ensure a soldier got "punished" but maintained a clean record. There is a something here that the media and armchair quarterbacks don't understand. The UCMJ and NJP are tools ... to further readiness of the Armed Forces. Let me give an example. My battalion task force was deployed from Ft Polk to Ft Hood to support the training and certification of a NG armored brigade being prepped for Desert Storm. One of my SSGs driving a deuce-and-a-half got stopped on a range road driving in excess of the speed limit with troops in the back. The SSG was a good man ... was about 6 - 10 over the speed limit, and it was early in our deployment. The ticket came down with a "reply by endorsement" requirement. I called the SSG in. Gave him a battalion level Article 15. Chewed his ass out for risking troops in the back of the 2 1/2. He signed and I told him to carry his copy in his wallet until he rotated from my unit. When he left my office, I ripped up the Article 15. When I gave him his award before he rotated to his next assignment, I asked him for his copy of the Article 15. He pulled it out of his wallet and I ripped it up ... and told him he had nothing in his record. Was I wrong? I don't think so. I used the NJP as a tool to admonish, but not destroy, a good soldier that made a mistake.

I get the feeling that the media, and perhaps some politicians, are looking for a hanging on these naval accidents. I don't know that that is warranted. I AM afraid that the clamor from the sidelines and the armchair quarterbacks will cause the Navy to do something ... whether it is warranted or not.