honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, April 3, 2001



Repaired Greeneville departs shipyard with crew

 •  Previous stories
 •  A Tribute to the Missing

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

The USS Greeneville left dry dock yesterday after $2 million worth of repairs as the crew prepares for refresher training on how to run its submarine.

After its repairs, the USS Greeneville leaves the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard maintenance facility.

U.S. Navy photo

The Greeneville, which collided with a Japanese training ship off Diamond Head, has a new interim skipper, Capt. Tony Cortese from the Greeneville's submarine squadron.

The boat's previous captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, was relieved of command the day after the Feb. 9 crash that left nine Japanese men and boys dead.

But the Greeneville's executive officer and officer of the deck are scheduled to rejoin their boat. Like Waddle, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer and Lt. j.g. Michael Coen were the focus of an unusual Navy court of inquiry that spent 2 1/2 weeks investigating the cause of the collision and related issues.

The USS Greeneville was refloated in dry dock yesterday at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard after $2 million in repairs. The submarine later left the facility for further testing.

Chopper 8 • Special to The Honolulu Advertiser

The trio of admirals who presided over the court of inquiry are expected to submit their recommendations within weeks. Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, then has a variety of options, ranging from doing nothing to ordering courts-martial.

The Greeneville left the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility and will undergo a gradual process that includes refresher training for the crew on all submarine operations. The process concludes with a simulated cruise conducted while the ship is still at the pier and sea trials later this month.