USS Fitzgerald collision: Trump criticised for leaving key posts unfilled

[babylonsister]

USS Fitzgerald collision: Trump criticised for leaving key posts unfilled

Lack of navy secretary and ambassador to Japan could hamper communications in search for missing crew, says former official

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Saturday 17 June 2017 01.06 EDT
Last modified on Saturday 17 June 2017 08.32 EDT


Donald Trump has been criticised for delays in appointing a navy secretary and ambassador to Japan, leaving a communications vacuum as the countries continued their search for seven missing sailors off the east coast of Japan.

The commanding officer of the USS Fitzgerald, Bryce Benson, and two other crew were injured after the vessel collided with a Philippine-registered container ship before dawn on Saturday.

The US has been without an ambassador to Japan since Caroline Kennedy left Tokyo in January.

Her successor, the Tennessee businessman William Hagerty, has attended a Senate confirmation hearing but has yet to take up his post.

Brandon Friedman, a former Obama administration official and co-founder of the McPherson Square Group, a strategic communications firm in Washington, pointed to the absence of an ambassador and navy secretary – two officials who would be expected to take a lead in liaising between the US navy, and Japanese and US government officials during the search.

“The USS Fitzgerald might sink off Japan and the US President can’t call our ambassador or our navy secretary because we have neither,” Friedman said.

Trump’s nominee for US navy secretary, Richard Spencer, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

more...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/17/uss-fitzgerald-collision-trump-criticised-for-leaving-key-posts-unfilled

[Ilsa]

1. This is where Trump and his transition screwed the pooch on management.

They act like they have no idea what jobs needed to be filled (which are political, which are govt permanent job), and for some of them, they act as if it is an honorary position with no real work or interaction required, so they dragged their feet.

Has the DoJ even come close to filling all of the attorney jobs after trump fired them en masse?

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Trump & Co. demanded that Caroline Kennedy immediately resign as Ambassador to Japan

in January.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-01-17/caroline-kennedy-leaves-japan-after-3-years-as-us-ambassador

[HAB911]

3. US President cant call our ambassador

OR tweet about the 7 missing saliors

What a grand POS he is

[Bluepinky]

4. Trump's only in it for the money.

He doesn't care about filling positions that don't benefit his bottom line.

[Kittycow]

5. He'll blame the Senate Democrats for lack of US Navy Sect.

I was reading the article comments at the Navy Times website last night. One retired Navy guy (older?) claimed that the accident happened because the Navy was "overrun with homosexuals" incapable of doing Navy level jobs, thanks to Clinton and Obama.

[hack89]

6. This is nonsense

The US Navy in Japan is tightly integrated with the Japanese navy and Coast Guard. There is no lack of communication and coordination.

[Achilleaze]

7. The Republican draft dodger in chief

is unfit to command

[hexola]

8. Get Dennis Rodman over there!

He knows how to get it done!

[Lee-Lee]

9. This is nonsense x2

There is plenty to slam Drumpf on, but the vacancy in those positions will have exactly zero effect on the search and rescue efforts.

The Secretary of the Navy nor the Ambassador would be "taking the lead" on any of this. The US Navy works closely with the JMSDF on a daily basis and they have well establish lines of communication. The commanders on the ground and on the water and their staffs are the ones taking the lead in coordination and making sure things happen. The only thing SECNAV or an ambassador would do by trying to act as a liaison or trying to "take the lead" on any of it would be to get in the way.

People who don't know what they are talking about shouldn't put junk out like this. To anyone with any military background it reads like the pure nonsense it is and just delegitimizes actual valid criticism of him leaving posts vacant.