Pearl Harbor, Hawaii — It was the gospel of Scott Waddle's command: safety, efficiency, backup. The skipper of the USS Greeneville had preached those words so often his crew recited them like schoolchildren practicing their ABCs.
On an overcast February morning, when the nuclear-powered attack submarine departed Pearl Harbor on a daylong cruise for a group of civilian guests, the crew and their skipper left their credo behind.
They were unsafe, allowing a trainee to operate a sonar post without a qualified crewman.
They were inefficient, running 43 minutes behind and skimping on preparations to surface and get back home.
They did not provide backup, failing to report key information about the location of another ship.
A Navy court of inquiry into the Feb. 9 collision between the Greeneville and the Japanese trawler Ehime Maru uncovered a myriad of deficiencies aboard the submarine that day. One thing is clear: Had the crew and their commander practiced what they preached, the accident might never have happened.
Nine people, including four teen-agers learning commercial fishing, were killed when the submarine crashed into the trawler while demonstrating a rapid-surfacing drill for its guests.
"It's obvious some honest mistakes were made on this tragic day that led to the loss of life," Waddle, facing a possible court-martial, testified at the inquiry. He concluded: "The teamwork broke."
The inquiry ended Tuesday after 12 days and 33 witnesses. During the coming weeks, the three presiding admirals will produce a report of their findings. They also will recommend whether Waddle; his executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer; and his officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael Coen, should face punishment. That decision ultimately rests with the chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The officers could face anything from a reprimand or discharge to a military trial and prison time.
Waddle, the only one of the three to testify under oath, stands to lose the most. While accepting full responsibility for the collision, he sought to convince the court his actions do not warrant prosecution.
"Cmdr. Waddle exercised his judgment and he did his best on that day," the skipper's lawyer, Charles Gittins, told the court. "He may have fallen short, but it wasn't criminal."
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