Purpose of sub trip criticized

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

The three admirals sitting as a court of inquiry at Pearl Harbor turned their attention yesterday to the Navy's "Distinguished Visitor" submarine ride-along program.

And they didn't like what they saw.

Lt. Cmdr. Dave Werner, the public affairs officer for the Pacific Fleet's submarine force, testified how a group of 16 civilians got aboard the USS Greeneville on Feb. 9 for a ride that had no other purpose than to show off the sub and its crew.

Taking visitors on board for no other purpose than a tour is a direct contradiction to both the secretary of the Navy and operational guidelines, said Vice Adm. John Nathman, the president of the court of inquiry.

"Do not conduct operations specifically to support DV embarkations," Nathman read.

Werner at first testified that the Greeneville trip was not specially arranged for the visitors because the squadron commanders changed the Greeneville's orders to accommodate them. Werner reasoned that the change, therefore, made the six-hour trip part of Greeneville's regular duties.

And that unleashed even more withering questions and commentary by Nathman:

Nathman: "What was her mission on the 9th of February?"

Werner: "To support the visitor program."

Nathman: "The only reason Greeneville was underway was for a DV (distinguished visitor) embark. ... In my view this doesn't fit the criteria, it isn't even close."

Werner responded that rearranging the Greeneville's schedule for visitors was no different than what happens on other Navy ships, such as aircraft carriers.

And that made Nathman — a Navy fighter pilot who commanded the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz — sit up straight in his chair.

"I don't think we've ever gotten a carrier underway for one day for a DV embark," he said.

The submarine fleet's commander, Rear Adm. Albert Konetzni Jr., asked Werner to organize a distinguished visitor trip at the request of Adm. Richard Macke, former commander in chief of the Pacific Command, Werner testified.

Werner interpreted Konetzni's statement as a directive to see if any submarines were going out on Feb. 8 or 9.

"I took it to mean, give them a tour, not a problem," Werner said. "Don't break China."

Later under cross-examination, Werner defined "Don't break China" as "Hey, don't rearrange schedules to make this happen."

Later, he said "Don't break China" meant, "If somebody wasn't available, just turn it into a tour."

Werner acknowledged that the fleet does not have squadron public affairs officers who could help commanders weigh squadron schedules, Navy regulations and requests from high-powered admirals such as Konetzni and Macke.

The submarine fleet also has no system to compare what happens on civilian trips from one submarine to the next, Werner said.

But he did say the captains and crews are proud of their ships and like to "show them off."

So did Werner know that the Greeneville exceeded the unclassified depth limit of 800 feet and speed limit of 25 knots permitted for civilians? Nathman asked.

Werner didn't.

But Werner said it probably wasn't "unusual" for a distinguished visitor submarine trip.

"How do you know that would be unusual if you don't get feedback?" Nathman asked.