As always, Commander Benson’s first thoughts remain with the families of the
fallen FITZGERALD Seven, the crew who continues to recover from the tragic
collision at sea, and their families. Every day, he grieves for his seven brave
Sailors who lost their lives.
Yet, even as Cmdr. Benson recuperates from his own debilitating injuries and
proceeds through the institutional, administrative, and disciplinary procedures
triggered by the collision, senior Navy leaders have repeatedly used public forums
to assign guilt, foreclose legitimate defenses, and cast unwarranted aspersions.
This effort includes last week’s Navy press release containing the callous
implication that by declining to plead guilty at court-martial, Cmdr. Benson refuses
to “accept responsibility.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Cmdr. Benson commanded FITZGERALD a mere five weeks, and irrefutably was
in his stateroom when the ship collided with ACX CRYSTAL. It has also been
clearly established that he was never alerted his ship was in danger, in direct
contravention of his standing orders. Nevertheless, Cmdr. Benson was the
Commanding Officer—and rightly understood the accountability that is the
historical burden of command at sea. As such, following the collision, he declined
his right to appeal both his non-judicial punishment and his detachment for cause
by Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet.
He has also taken every opportunity to spare the families of the fallen, and the
Fightin’ FITZ crew, any unnecessary recitation of events and circumstances
surrounding the tragic collision—including by unconditionally waiving his right to
a preliminary hearing at court-martial.
Cmdr. Benson’s approach to accountability stands in stark contrast to the Navy’s
method of litigating this case through the media and other out-of-court opinions
and declarations from senior Navy leaders. Rather than achieving accountability,
the Navy’s strategy harms the very system of justice that is designed to protect
Sailors. Congress enacted the Uniform Code to provide every service member a
constitutional framework to separate fact from fiction—so justice can prevail. A
fair court-martial will expose the facts of the collision’s causes and Cmdr.
Benson’s actions. Subverting this time-tested process through extra-tribunal
statements only undermines fundamental fairness and erodes public confidence in
the entire military justice system.
Despite the Navy’s prejudicial public affairs approach, Cmdr. Benson awaits the
outcome of his law-bound, fact-finding tribunal, and hopes for a swift and just
conclusion to these proceedings.