Former USS Fitzgerald CO Outlines Defense in Rebuttal to SECNAV

[rangerrebew]

Former USS Fitzgerald CO Outlines Defense in Rebuttal to SECNAV
By: Sam LaGrone
April 26, 2019 8:52 PM • Updated: April 27, 2019 9:10 AM

The former commander of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) is pushing back against a rebuke from the Secretary of the Navy, disputing major facts in the service’s argument he was criminally negligent leading up a June 17, 2017, fatal collision, according to a copy of the April 26 rebuttal obtained by USNI News.

Earlier this month, Richard V. Spencer wrote that former Fitzgerald commander Cmdr. Bryce Benson failure to prepare his crew and maintain his ship led to the collision with the merchant ACX Crystal off the coast of Japan, killing seven sailors. Benson sustained injuries himself when his stateroom was crushed by the flared bow of the ship, and he had to be rescued by his crew.

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/26/former-uss-fitzgerald-co-outlines-defense-in-rebuttal-to-secnav?utm_source=USNI%20News&utm_campaign=58322e1571-USNI_NEWS_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0dd4a1450b-58322e1571-231902465&ct=t%28USNI_NEWS_DAILY%29&mc_cid=58322e1571&mc_eid=c5fd1847fe