Sunday, March 09, 2008

11 Aboard Navy Sub Disciplined for Fraud, Cheating

SAN DIEGO — "Eleven officers and sailors from a San Diego-based Navy submarine have been disciplined for falsifying tests on a nuclear reactor and cheating on officer advancement exams.

A Navy report released Friday said crew members of the attack sub Hampton falsified weekly chemical tests as far back as November 2006. The tests involved the highly pure water used to cool the sub's reactor.

Improper chemical levels can lead to erosion.

However, no damage to the reactor core was found when the sub returned to San Diego after a seven-month deployment to the Pacific last year.

The sub's commanding officer and chief engineer were dismissed."

For me this is as close to unbelievable as it gets.

Some of the most squared-away professionals I've ever met were Squids who took their jobs very, very seriously.

Now don't get me wrong; in the service I was always taught never to do anything that hurt anyone else, but most of all never, ever get caught. Hell, ya'll have seen enough MASH and Catch-22 movies to know that boys will be boys and the only thing separating the old salts from the boots is the uncanny ability to come close to starting WWIII and blaming it on someone else.

These charges are heavy duty shit and maybe I'm just some sissy-sister who had his head up his ass and didn't know such goings-on were possible, but I am shocked.

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