Each of the accused received a favorable plea deal from the Army allowing them to retire, and neither were convicted of a crime that would require sex offender registration in virtually any state.
“The prohibition of consideration of the members’ good military character or service record moves the ‘zero-tolerance’ culture forward, omitting opportunities for the ‘good dude’ defense,” said military personnel expert Kate Kuzminski.
The surface navy has worked since 2017 to avoid future fatal collisions. But Navy-wide, there's evidence of failure to learn. The service is now turning to data to ensure it never has another Fitzgerald or McCain disaster again.
The U.S. will send Ukraine another $1 billion in weapons to fight Russia, including Harpoon anti-ship launchers for the first time from the U.S., and more ammunition for high-tech, medium-range rocket launchers, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said the punishment stemmed from the five officers’ “inadequate leadership and execution of their oversight duties."