USS Fitzgerald Officer pleads guilty to role in 7 deadly collision service persons

WASHINGTON — The junior lieutenant in charge of navigating the USS Fitzgerald when it collided with a commercial vessel pleaded guilty Tuesday to dereliction of duty and acknowledged her role in the deaths of seven sailors last year.

Lt. j.g. Sarah Coppock cried during her court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard. She was sentenced to forfeit half of her pay for three months – an additional month on top of the two she forfeited as her nonjudicial punishment. She also received a letter of reprimand.

“Not a day goes by where I haven’t thought about what I could have done differently,” she said. “There is nothing I can do now but take responsibility.”

Coppock said her success as an officer of the Navy was through the support of her squadrons. “And then, when it mattered, I failed them,” she said through tears. “I made some tremendously bad decisions and they had to pay the price for them.”

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Coppock’s unsworn statement followed the testimony of family members of sailors

READ MORE: www.stripes.com/fitzgerald-offic…l-1.525888

 

Guess they cant blame Russia, China or Iran now for hacking the ships guidance systems !

h/t Joe

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