'I didn't understand how it happened'

Capt. Robert Brandhuber looked through the No. 2 periscope aboard the USS Greeneville on Feb. 9 and saw wreckage and survivors in the ocean — "it was something I didn’t want to see and never want to see again," Brandhuber testified yesterday.

The Coast Guard rescued survivors of the collision between the Ehime Maru and the USS Greeneville. Advertiser library photo • Feb. 10, 2001

Brandhuber then turned to the Greeneville’s captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, that day and told him to "breathe deep" then begin search-and-rescue operations, Brandhuber told a Navy court of inquiry under way at Pearl Harbor.

"Now," Brandhuber said he told Waddle. "Do it now."

Brandhuber’s testimony provided the court of inquiry with the first eyewitness account of the Greeneville’s control room after the fast-attack submarine sliced through the hull of the Ehime Maru fishing vessel, killing nine people.

The three admirals sitting as the court of inquiry guided Brandhuber through the crew’s actions that day in methodical detail, but never discussed the actual collision with the Ehime Maru.

Brandhuber only referred to the crash once, calling it "the event."

"Once the event occurred," Brandhuber said, he took over the periscope from Waddle.

Because he saw a boy in the water, Brandhuber thought the Greeneville had crashed into a whale-watching boat.

"I saw the ship, and I honestly didn’t understand how it happened," Brandhuber said.

In that moment, Brandhuber testified that he no longer was a passive observer. But his exact role remained unclear to the court of inquiry.

Court of inquiry’s schedule Today 8 a.m.: Morning session convenes, testimony from Capt. Hisao Onishi, captain of the Ehime Maru. Following Onishi will be testimony from a fire control technician and an electronics technician from the USS Greeneville. 1 p.m.: Afternoon session convenes, testimony to continue. 4:30 p.m.: Afternoon session adjourns until tomorrow morning. End-of-day review with question and answer period at media center follows adjournment of session.

Brandhuber, the chief of staff for the Pacific Fleet’s submarine force, went aboard the Greeneville in part to escort 16 civilian visitors and to see his son-in-law, the Greeneville’s engineering officer who was on his last trip.

But in two hours of testimony Monday and yesterday, Brandhuber could not say whether the crew understood Brandhuber’s official duties.

On top of figuring out what caused the Greeneville to crash into the Ehime Maru, the three admirals sitting as the court of inquiry also have been directed to examine Brandhuber’s role.

At times over the past two days, they were clearly frustrated by his answers.

In one typical exchange, Rear Adm. David Stone referred to a memo Brandhuber wrote six months ago, telling submarine captains that Navy regulations require them to provide detailed information about their plans whenever Brandhuber rides with them.

But Brandhuber testified that he did not seek any information from the Greeneville crew members, nor did they provide it.

Brandhuber told Stone that he wrote the memo for long evaluation voyages — not the planned six-hour trip of the Greeneville.

Stone said that still didn't absolve Brandhuber from his responsibilities as the most senior submariner on board.

"Navy regulations make no requirements on length of embark, don’t you agree?" Stone said. "You do know that you have responsibilities. Or otherwise you wouldn’t have signed a document that says you have them while embarked."

"Yes, sir," Brandhuber answered.

Part of his reason for going aboard the Greeneville, Brandhuber said, was to see first hand whether Waddle’s reputation was deserved.

Rear Adm. Al Konetzni Jr., the commander of the Pacific Fleet’s submarine force and Brandhuber’s boss, testified on Monday that he loved Waddle like a son.

"Sometimes I had trouble understanding Capt. Waddle and the admiral," Brandhuber said. "Because of Capt. Waddle’s image and personality and gregarious, outgoing manner and capabilities, I sometimes wondered if it was more show than it was go."

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