Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: At fault in military

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000 | 10:28 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

THE DEADLY BOMBING of the USS Cole two months ago has faded slowly into the media shadows. There are still some magazine stories and newspaper comments resulting from Navy leaks. This is typical of most tragic stories, but always in the background there is another story waiting to unfold. Good reporters keep alert, knowing that another shoe will eventually drop.

Our U.S. military culture has a long history of doing a very thorough job investigating peacetime tragedies and those that happen here at home. Eventually, maybe in one or two years, a report is prepared telling what caused the airplane crash or ship explosion. The report, in most cases, also lays the blame on some individual or individuals.

The military didn't develop this habit of blaming some person just by chance. Over the past century pressure from congressional military and money committees have demanded the head of a military person so they can show the case has been neatly wrapped up and action taken. They did their duty, made the press happy and are now ready to run for another term in Congress.

Sometimes in a rush to blame somebody the whole mess comes apart. Remember the gun explosion on the USS Iowa that killed 47 sailors April 19, 1989? It wasn't until late in 1990 that loading procedures and the sensitivity of a powder bag were shown as the cause. This conclusion only came after the Navy had blamed Gunner's Mate Clayton M. Hartwig for the explosion. The Navy got all involved in homosexual and psychological theories when blaming Hartwig.

Then there was the initial report about the fatal fire on the USS Ranger in the Arabian Sea, Nov. 1, 1983. The fire killed Henderson's Larry Stommer and five of his buddies, who died as heroes. Two enlisted men were tried before a special court-martial and one sentenced to three months in the brig. He had already served two months in confinement when Adm. James D. Watkins demanded his release. The admiral found some of the same problems I had written about earlier and placed the blame where it belonged: on the leaders who hadn't corrected a bad situation during earlier cruises.

Many Nevadans have special interest in the USS Cole bombing because two sailors and the skipper come from our state. The skipper, Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, graduated from Carson City High School and the U.S. Naval Academy. He has a spotless record and is recognized for his competence as a leader. Already there have been comments that, despite the fact Lippold was functioning under the second-lowest alert conditions set by higher-ups, he is the sole target of the investigation.

Lippold had better hope that he has a stand-up admiral someplace between him and Congress. Somebody like former Marine Corps Commandant Paul X. Kelley. Following the terrorist killing of 240 Marines in their Beirut compound 17 years ago, several congressmen, getting ready for the 1984 elections, wanted some military heads. They would be satisfied to have Col. Tim Geraghty as the sacrifice. Kelley refused to offer Geraghty as a sacrifice and appeared before Congress to tell them why the colonel wasn't at fault.

The results of the USS Cole investigation should be very interesting when released. Just as interesting will be the conduct of the senior Naval officers and civilian appointees who make the final evaluations of the report and draw conclusions from what was learned.