Drink up, blow up, cover up
Booze and a fire, a report says, make a wild night aboard the Halsey. The aftermath includes $8.5M damage, and a skipper’s lost career
By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Oct 30, 2007 16:46:06 EDT
It all happened in the span of a few hours. On the night of Nov. 2, 2006, while the destroyer Halsey was tied to the pier in Kagoshima, Japan, several members of the crew got drunk on board the ship following an official reception for Japanese visitors.
Then a fire broke out in the main engine room. But some of the sailors were too drunk to even don their firefighting gear. During and after the fire, the captain remained in his stateroom — despite pleas from his officers to take charge of the situation.
On top of all that, one of the ship’s sailors had to go to the hospital after being bitten by a shipmate.
Details of the incidents, released recently by Naval Surface Forces in a redacted preliminary inquiry report, paint the picture of a commanding officer who pressured his on-duty crew members to keep the party going after their Japanese visitors left. And when the fire broke out, some were too drunk to respond. The next day, Halsey skipper Cmdr. John Pinckney Jr. ordered his crew to conceal the extent of the damage, the report said.
On top of all that, one of the ship’s sailors had to go to the hospital after being bitten by a shipmate.
Doh!
Orignal Sotry Skipper's RebutleQuote from 2nd story:
“What we lived through on the 2006 deployment was as close to a ‘Caine Mutiny’ style experience as you can get.”
