 Sub captain said to have been aware of ship
Japan still pushing for salvage of Ehime Maru
A Tribute to the Missing
Previous stories
By Susan Roth
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld readied an order for a moratorium on civilians in control positions on all military equipment, nearly two weeks after the USS Greeneville, with civilians at the helm, slammed into a Japanese fishing vessel off O‘ahu.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said the order has yet to go out, but all the services are aware that they will have to review policies on civilian involvement in military exercises.
The Army and Navy already have taken similar action on their own, Quigley said.
The National Transportation Safety Board reported Wednesday that civilian guests aboard the Greeneville on Feb. 9 distracted the fire-control technician plotting the movement of surface ships from sonar contacts. A safety board spokesman said investigators don’t know whether the distraction contributed to the collision with the Ehime Maru that left nine people missing and presumed dead.
"I don’t think anybody has ever said that we’re 100 percent sure of anything. That’s why the Navy is convening a court of inquiry," Quigley said. "(Rumsfeld’s) exact words, I believe, were, ‘We have no evidence whatsoever at this time that any civilians on board the submarine were a distraction, and those were true words when they were spoken."
Quigley said Rumsfeld soon will order a moratorium on putting civilians in control of all military systems, including "tactical vehicles, airplanes, ships, tanks, things of that sort," until further review.
[back to top] |
