Incident likely ends commander's sterling career

When the Navy wanted to show off one of its finest nuclear-powered submarines to the citizens of Santa Barbara, Calif., last fall, their choice was the USS Greeneville with Cmdr. Scott Waddle in command.

Scott Waddle is considered a "capable and charismatic leader," said a retired Navy officer. Advertiser library photo

Those who know Waddle said yesterday that his glory days and most likely his naval career ended Friday afternoon when the Greeneville, practicing an emergency surfacing maneuver, gutted a Japanese fishing boat. Nine people from the fishing boat are missing and presumed dead.

"The Greeneville was a showboat. And its crew and commander were considered the best," said retired U.S. Navy Capt. John Peters of Honolulu, a former nuclear submarine commander.

He added: "It only took one minute to wipe everything out. If it had surfaced a minute sooner or a minute later there would have been no collision."

Peters and others who know Waddle say they are saddened by the loss of nine lives and the career of a man they believe exemplified the best of the Navy. On electronic bulletin boards used by Navy personnel, sailors and submariners said Waddle was a great commander, that procedures were apparently followed and that, in the words of one, Friday "was a freak accident."

But while sailors were ready to rush to Waddle’s defense in online chats, most of those who spoke of him yesterday did not want their names used. Many said submariners are a close, tight-lipped group that has earned the nickname "the silent service." They also said they did not want to complicate the Navy’s investigation by offering speculation.

Peters said of the 41-year-old Waddle: "He was a very conscientious, straight-arrow, Boy Scout-type who did everything for his men and would never hazard the ship."

Another close associate, a retired Navy officer who asked not to be identified, said: "He was a very knowledgeable, capable and charismatic leader. He was highly respected. If you had a son on board a sub, you would want Scott to be his commander."

Asked why Waddle loved the Navy, his friend said: "It’s exciting and you get a lot of responsibility. You get to do things that other people only read about in a Tom Clancy novel."

Waddle was reassigned immediately after the accident.

Waddle graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Two years later he served as an electrical officer and damage control assistant on the USS Alabama, a ballistic missile submarine.

In 1992, Waddle was stationed in Hawai‘i and assigned to the CINCPAC staff. He served as the executive officer of the USS San Francisco, a sub based in Pearl Harbor, until 1995. He was made commander of the Greeneville on March 19, 1999.

Retired Navy Capt. Gerald Hofwolt, who has known Waddle for seven years, described Waddle as "an inspiring, charismatic leader."

"I would say his crew greatly admires him. He’s a real professional naval officer. He’s a great family man who loves the Navy. This was a tragedy for him, his family, the Navy, and most of all the people who lost their lives, and their loved ones," he said.

Hofwolt, a 30-year veteran of the Navy who commanded nuclear submarines similar to the Greeneville, said investigators should be aided by data that is meticulously collected on such vessels to record their movements and orders given to the crew.

"There is a process that won’t hide anything, that’s deliberate and will give the answers, though maybe not as fast as some people want," said Hofwolt, executive director of the USS Bowfin submarine museum and park at Pearl Harbor.

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