Capt. Balian’s Navy Career

Poor Capt. Alexander G. Balian (“Balian Looks Back at Wreckage of a Career,” Feb. 25). No promotion to rear admiral. How could this happen?

I know, it must be the Navy’s fault. They are out to get Capt. Balian. No, on second thought, it’s the military justice system. That’s the culprit. Now that I think about it, though, it must be the prosecutor’s fault. He’s the bad guy. After all, he called the captains hearing the case “gentlemen” instead of “sir.” As we look closer into this matter, it must be the crew’s fault. They didn’t inform the captain as to what was going on. Yeah, that sounds good.

Better yet it was the refugees’ fault. They shouldn’t have been on the boat in the first place. So what if the refugees had been afloat for 18 days before Balian came across them. He had to go play war games instead of saving lives.

While this may sound like a good film plot, the sad thing is Balian doesn’t seem sorry that 58 people died because of his bad judgment. All he seems concerned about is his future career with the Navy. Well, Capt. Balian, you may never get promoted to rear admiral but at least you are still alive and that’s more than the 58 people you let die have.

ROBERT J. BOCK JR.

Fullerton