The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
A military jury found a naval officer not guilty Friday night in the death of a sailor aboard the trouble-plagued amphibious transport dock San Antonio - a case that pitted the Navy's principle of holding commanders at sea accountable against the perception that the crew was being blamed for the vessel's flaws.
Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kearns, 42, was charged with negligence for failing to properly train and supervise small-boat operations on Feb. 4, 2009. A rigid-hull inflatable boat being lowered from the ship flipped, throwing three sailors into the Gulf of Aden. Petty Officer 1st Class Theophilus Ansong was lost at sea.
Kearns, who was the ship's executive officer, chose to take the case to court-martial rather than accept a potentially career-ending reprimand like the one given to Cmdr. Eric Cash, the ship's captain.
Kearns said the verdict is more than a personal vindication.
"The true victors here are the sailors who served on, and continue to serve on, LPD-17-class ships," he said, adding that they face struggles with the new design and are not getting the resources they need from the Navy.
When asked why he refused administrative punishment, Kearns said: "Things needed to be made known.... Someone needed to stand up."
He stressed that the problems with the ship don't stem from those who are serving aboard it. "That crew has never failed to come through," he said.
Kearns said the verdict also bolsters Cash, his former boss, who testified for the defense in the court-martial. When the verdict was announced, Cash embraced Kearns' wife, Patricia, and then Kearns.
"I think what happened to Commander Cash is a tragedy," Kearns said.
Cash was reprimanded in May but was not removed from command. He now works for Naval Sea Systems Command.
During the five-day trial, witnesses testified that Kearns was a model executive officer aboard a new class of ship that was plagued by design flaws, equipment malfunctions and a lack of technical manuals and training.
The prosecution painted a different picture of Kearns and the sailors who readied and launched the small boat. The lead prosecutor, Lt. Cmdr. Angela Tang, accused the ship's crew of "late deployment complacency" and said officers failed to appreciate the inherent dangers in launching small boats.
Prosecutors did not address the major material problems that have plagued the ship.
A parade of witnesses who specialize in training and inspecting ships did not convince the jury that Kearns violated written or traditional Navy standards.
Prosecutors repeatedly insinuated that Kearns should have been on the bridge during the small-boat operation but did not produce any documents establishing that as common or accepted practice.
Kearns' military lawyers argued that he could not be negligent without clearly established guidelines.
"You can't hold someone to a standard that you don't train for," defense attorney Lt. Drew Carmichael told the jury, composed of six officers. "That wouldn't be fair."
The verdict may allay some officers' fears that the Navy would prosecute them every time a mishap occurs, even if they were not directly involved.
Had Kearns been found guilty, some thought, it would have a chilling effect on ships' leaders.
The acquittal means Kearns' promotion to commander will take effect, with back pay, and he will return to the fleet without any black marks against him.
The San Antonio remains in port and its next deployment has been indefinitely postponed.
Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com
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Maybe some good will come of this!
This was the only decision that could come from this. If the Navy had a few more men like this XO maybe we would no have to contended with our Navy being presented with a platform that places our young men and women in harms way due to poor design and workmanship. No, most choose to go with the direction of least resistance and roll over! Where will the San Antonio story end?
XO
The definition of a leadership is to motivate and guide people toward accomplishment of a common goal using a varitey of character traits such as situational interaction, power, vision, values, charisma, and intelligence. The responsibility of a moral and just leader adds much more to the basic definition. The question I ask, is why did the XO only take a stand when his career was on the line? Where was he before the ship deployed, standing up to say the ship was not ready? If this tradgedy had not happened would he have stood up and cried foul? That would have been responsible leadership. This was jsut a person trying to blame the system he was a willing part of to save his career. No leader here just sadness.
XO
the XO is second in command his advice and recommendations go directly to the CO. He could have stood his ground with the CO and PHIBRON but was over ruled. In my past (former Navy officer) I found myself being told deal with it and make is work.
Its not often that you get enlisted personnel defending you that is unless you deserve it. I believe that this XO deserved it and thats why the crew went to battle with him.
San Antonio
Can't beleive someone will make a comment like this. Everyday on HR some one is rising the flag of lack of support from our gov to our troops. Every day, a Sailor, Marine, Airman, Soldier etc is telling their sup they need tools, parts, better training and more support and every day they are laugh at and told to shut up. To acuse this XO of wrong doing was just not justice. Shame of those that were looking for someone to blame.
Canoe U
I read that there are more admirals than ships in the Navy. The same problem exists as did when I did my 20+.....the real leaders do 20 and jet...go into private sector and success. The incompetents compete for admiral...the reason we have so many at the top. The last real leader we had was Mike Boorda...rose from the bottom, did it all. Bad part was, he took the easy way out and did not contest false accusations against him.
San Antonio Officer Cleared
I am a Retired Marine Msgt/E-8 so I don't have a lot of ship board time. But all branches of the service have the same problem when it comes to senior people only being concerned with themselves. It seldom happens that someone like this XO goes to bat and puts his career on the line to fight for what is right. The captain of his ship took the easy way out, instead of fighting and he got what he got a goodbye to his career. Even though this XO was cleared and he is going to be promoted I'm sure that unless there are a few people on the board like him when it comes time for his next promotion he will not get it. But in the military like the civilian sector that is how it works. My hat is off to the XO for putting what’s right before his career. BZ
Warner Athey
You would expect that a First class Petty Officer would already know how to handle a small boat. If he did not know how to handle the boat he should have informed the Commander of that fact. I don't know maybe he did.
No offense but you don't
No offense but you don't know this BM1. I do and he is one of the best that I have served with in 17 years and he knows how to handle a small boat, better than most I would say, so for you to say that about him upsets me. You don't know what happened that day, you weren't there but I was and I know that BM1 Stillinger did everything right, no questions asked.
He will never make Captain.
He will never make Captain.
The good one's
rarely do.