Originally Posted by
aboutime
darin. The rules are totally different on a navy ship. Not a plane, not in a tank, but a ship at sea.
The Commanding Officer is TOTALLY responsible for everything that takes place 24/7 on a ship.
The crew of officers, and enlisted follow the COMMANDING OFFICER'S orders. Nobody else's.
The C.O. of a ship is as powerful as the President of the United States. Any accident that takes place, such as a collision at sea is ULTIMATELY...the C.O.'s fault. Poor training, or the lack of training is the C.O.'s fault. If the crew members on the bridge fail to do their jobs correctly for the safety of the ship, and the crew. That is the responsibility of the Commanding Officer as well.
Yes. He/She has to sleep. But while sleeping. He must put his total trust in the training of the officers, and crew 100%, all the time. If they screw up. HE GETS MOVED FROM THE SHIP. Loses his command. Not the crew.
At sea. The C.O. can't call on somebody in the Pentagon, or a Fire Department to handle emergencies on the ship. When you are thousands of miles into the middle of the Oceans. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. So, the C.O. IS responsible for any deaths caused by complacency or failures of the crew. PERIOD
And that is stupid. It's stupid to bring criminal charges against a leader because his staff crashed a boat as he slept. The bad situational judgment is a leadership issue - yep. but CRIMINAL charges. That's beyond the pale.
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