Submarine safety cover-up

[unhappycamper]

Nuke scandal
Hampton officer, 5 sailors punished



Submarine safety cover-up
By Gidget Fuentes and Andrew Scutro - Staff writers
Posted : Sunday Oct 21, 2007 18:02:44 EDT

Nuclear personnel aboard the submarine Hampton have been punished for lax safety procedures and for forging log books to cover their tracks, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation.

The accusations are already sending shockwaves through the tight-knit Navy nuclear community, which prides itself on its devotion to nuclear safety rules and regulations.

So far, one officer and five enlisted sailors have received nonjudicial punishment following a preliminary investigation, but a broader Judge Advocate General’s Manual investigation is underway, said Lt. Alli Myrick, spokeswoman for Submarine Squadron 11, which oversees the Hampton.

The nature of the punishments has not been disclosed, but the six have all been reassigned to the squadron, she said.

~snip~

During preparations for the boat’s Operational Reactor Safeguard Examination, which is typically conducted as a nuclear submarine ends its deployment, officials discovered that the sailors hadn’t checked the water in at least a month, and their division officer, the chemistry/radiological controls assistant, knew it, the source said.

They also learned that the logs had been forged — or “radioed,” in submarine parlance — later to cover up the lapse and make it look as though the sailors had been keeping up with required checks all along.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/10/navy_hamptoninvestigation_071021w/