Sub Captain Ofers Crash Details for Immunity

If granted “testimonial immunity,” the captain of the attack submarine Greeneville promised Thursday to persuasively refute assertions that he hastily ignored safety procedures in the moments before the sub’s deadly collision with a Japanese fishing vessel.

Through his attorney, Cmdr. Scott D. Waddle offered to provide a court of inquiry with details about the Feb. 9 accident that “no other witness is able to testify to.”

In a letter to Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the Pacific Fleet, Waddle’s attorney said that, without the captain’s testimony, the families of the nine crew members and fishing students killed aboard the trawler will never be able to fully understand the accident.

“Without his testimony,” wrote attorney Charles Gittins, “there will be a number of facts that the court of inquiry can reach only by surmise or speculation, double, triple and in some cases, quadruple hearsay.”

One of Fargo’s stated reasons for convening a court of inquiry, a rare occurrence in the Navy, was to provide a full explanation to the Japanese.

The decision on whether to provide immunity, under which Waddle’s words cannot be used against him if the Navy decides to file criminal charges, rests with Fargo.

In a five-page letter, Waddle said he will testify that he never felt rushed in the moments before ordering a rapid surfacing maneuver to impress 16 civilians aboard the ship and that he ordered the sub’s executive officer to take charge of the sonar operations. The civilians were on board as part of a Navy public relations effort.

One of the central mysteries of the collision was how the sonar operators aboard the Greeneville, using some of the most sophisticated equipment in the Navy, failed to notice the dangerous proximity of the 190-foot Ehime Maru. Also unclear is who was in charge of sonar.

Waddle also would explain, according to the letter, why he took only a brief look through the periscope and, seeing no vessels, ordered an emergency dive and then the rapid ascent that sent the sub crashing into the fishing boat. The trawler sank within 10 minutes.

Also, the 41-year-old Naval Academy graduate, considered a rising star before the collision, would explain that a senior enlisted man whose job is to analyze sonar contacts failed to warn him that the trawler was within 2,000 yards and closing quickly.

A preliminary investigation concluded that Waddle felt he was running behind schedule and created a climate of “artificial urgency” that led to safety procedures being ignored in the moments before the accident.

Two officers who were aboard the Greeneville--the ship’s navigator and the submarine fleet’s chief of staff--have testified that they were concerned that Waddle, a strong-willed, self-confident officer who often overrode the views of subordinates, was moving too quickly in preparing for the “emergency blow” procedure.

But Waddle, in the letter, indicated that he never felt rushed and that all of his actions fell within Navy guidelines for commanding officers.

On Wednesday, Waddle, in his first comments to reporters, said he hoped that “my final act in command is helping the [Japanese] families to gain closure and to determine and seek the truth.”

Still, his attorney said that Waddle cannot testify if his comments would assist in a court-martial that would “substantially destroy” his family’s future.

The issue of whether Waddle, executive officer Lt. Cmdr. Gerald K. Pfeifer, and officer of the deck Lt. j.g. Michael J. Coen should face criminal charges is part of the strain between the U.S. and Japan over the incident. Some relatives of those killed have called for criminal charges, like those filed against a Japanese submarine captain for a 1988 collision with a Japanese ship.

But Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths Jr., who conducted the initial investigation, has testified that nothing he uncovered merits a court-martial for negligence. Also, there is little history of U.S. commanders facing such charges even in cases of collisions or other training accidents involving loss of life.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice puts a high threshold on allegations of negligence, often requiring a sustained pattern of willful disregard of safety procedures.

The court of inquiry is charged with determining what caused the collision, what role the presence of civilians on board the sub may have played and what punishment, if any, should be meted out. The panel will make recommendations to Fargo.

The court’s task got more complicated Wednesday and Thursday, when half a dozen senior enlisted sailors, with years of submarine experience, offered testimony that contradicted the comments of two officers who said Waddle had cut corners and brushed aside advice.

The sailors, all of whom were standing watch in the control room of the Greeneville, praised Waddle as a careful officer who welcomed divergent views and preached “safety, efficiency, backup” aboard his boat.

Machinist mate Corey Harris, with 14 years’ experience aboard submarines, called Waddle “the best; outstanding; great personality; best c.o. [commanding officer] I’ve ever worked for.”

Chief machinist Curtis Streyle described Waddle as a careful officer who “likes to be there. He likes to make sure everything is running smoothly.”

Harris, Streyle and others testified that the presence of the civilians, including three sitting at control stations, had no effect on how the submarine was operated.

Griffiths suggested that the civilians may have distracted crew members from their duties.

The sailor who failed to notify the captain that a ship was approaching has told investigators that he did not mark the finding on a written log available because the civilians were standing in his way. He has yet to testify.

Crew members testifying Thursday said there was nothing unusual or hurried about the way the sub checked for surface ships before the rapid ascent.

The maneuver, a common training procedure, was unremarkable, Harris said, “with the exception of the ending,” when the Greeneville hit the trawler.