{"id":37553,"date":"2019-01-24T16:39:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T16:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/24\/report-lack-of-a-senior-quartermaster-contributed-to-fitz-disaster\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:43:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:43:02","slug":"report-lack-of-a-senior-quartermaster-contributed-to-fitz-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/24\/report-lack-of-a-senior-quartermaster-contributed-to-fitz-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: lack of a senior quartermaster contributed to Fitz disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lack of a key crew member contributed to the fatal 2017 collision involving the guided-missile destroyer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/14\/worse-than-you-thought-inside-the-secret-fitzgerald-probe-the-navy-doesnt-want-you-to-read\/\" target=_blank>Fitzgerald<\/a>, according to a secret report obtained by Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Fitz had been missing a quartermaster chief petty officer since early 2015, more than two years before the ACX Crystal rammed the warship in a bustling maritime superhighway off the coast of Japan, killing seven American sailors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quartermasters serve multiple roles on a ship\u2019s bridge. They assist navigators and officers of the deck, often steer the warship and perform other watchstander duties. They also keep the vessel\u2019s oceanographic publications and charts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prepared by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/navydata\/bios\/bio.asp?bioID=991\" target=_blank>Rear Adm. Brian Fort<\/a>, the internal Navy investigation revealed that the Fitz\u2019s superiors had been sounding the alarm about the vacant billet since at least a year before the accident, but the destroyer wasn\u2019t the only warship on the pier that needed a quartermaster chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.public.navy.mil\/surfor\/cds-15\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=_blank>Destroyer Squadron 15<\/a> officials warned in a 2016 communication with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.public.navy.mil\/bupers-npc\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=_blank>Navy Personnel Command<\/a> that this shortage of senior quartermasters was endemic across the squadron and was \u201cunsustainable,\u201d the Fort report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDESRON Fifteen ships conduct the majority of (freedom of navigation) and presence operations in the South China Sea and western Pacific,\u201d the squadron\u2019s request noted. \u201cAs evident in the press, these operations are very strategic in nature and have senior level oversight from (U.S. Pacific Fleet), (U.S. Pacific Command) and (Washington, D.C.).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/14\/worse-than-you-thought-inside-the-secret-fitzgerald-probe-the-navy-doesnt-want-you-to-read\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FITZMAIN2.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Worse than you thought: inside the secret Fitzgerald probe the Navy doesn\u2019t want you to read<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">It was kept secret from the public in part because it was designed to prep the Navy for potential lawsuits in the aftermath of the accident.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lack of quartermasters forced the squadron into \u201ccross-decking\u201d personnel, essentially moving qualified sailors from ship to ship as needed, \u201cbasically shuffling the GAP inside (Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Japan),\u201d the 2016 message warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shortage of senior quartermasters was particularly damaging to the 7th Fleet because of the politically-sensitive waters warships navigate, including Chinese-fortified islands and shoals that have become regional flash points claimed by Beijing\u2019s neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIntent of this (report) is to articulate to senior leadership the strategic and tactical risk currently being taken regarding navigation and operations around political sensitive areas\u2026and contested waters in the (South China Sea) and western Pacific,\u201d the squadron report stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was a quartermaster first class qualified as assistant navigator aboard the Fitz, but the Fort report states that the unnamed sailor\u2019s \u201clevel of knowledge is poor,\u201d particularly with certain navigational arrays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the squadron\u2019s request to NPC, officials noted that the QM1 slot on the Fitzgerald \u201chas not been filled by an active duty QM1 in over three years,\u201d according to the Fort report.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/14\/a-warship-doomed-by-confusion-indecision-and-ultimately-panic-on-the-bridge\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CROP-babbitt-Fitz-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">A warship doomed by \u2018confusion, indecision, and ultimately panic\u2019 on the bridge<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A secret Navy report looks at the ways leaders could have averted the deadly destroyer Fitzgerald collision.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although a QM1 had been scheduled to stay in the Fitz\u2019s crew until September of 2017, the sailor received orders to be released from active duty a year early and the position went unfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his report, Fort chastised Japan-based DESRON 15 for failing to conduct \u201cchecks and balances\u201d on the Fitz to ensure the destroyer\u2019s crew received required training and qualifications during a hectic tempo of operations leading up to the disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Sept. 18, 2017, 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer relieved both the commander of DESRON 15, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/09\/18\/new-7th-fleet-boss-fires-rear-admiral-and-captain-citing-loss-of-confidence\/\" target=\"_blank\">Capt. Jeffrey Bennett<\/a>, and his boss at Task Force 70, Rear Adm. Charles Williams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sawyer had taken the helm of the troubled fleet less than a month earlier, replacing embattled Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy\u2019s top leaders forced Aucoin to retire earlier than he planned to depart, not only because of the Fitzgerald tragedy but also due to a similar Aug. 21, 2017 collision involving the destroyer John S. McCain and the oil tanker Alnic MC near Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That pre-dawn accident claimed the lives of 10 more American sailors.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/14\/the-ghost-in-the-fitzs-machine-why-a-doomed-warships-crew-never-saw-the-vessel-that-hit-it\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/D3-Fitzgerald-Damage-2-3492920.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The ghost in the Fitz\u2019s machine: why a doomed warship\u2019s crew never saw the vessel that hit it<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A secret Navy report details broken sensors that were reported for repairs but never fixed; schedule changes ordered by superiors high above the Fitz\u2019s command triad that delayed crucial maintenance; taped-up radar controls and, worse, sailors who had no idea how to use the technology.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contacted by Navy Times, Pentagon officials declined to discuss details of the squadron\u2019s warning or the state of senior quartermaster billets across the fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will not discuss the communications or internal discussions regarding the manning issues of specific units,\u201d Navy spokesman Cmdr. Jereal Dorsey said in an email last week to Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy Personnel Command has been working with enlisted community managers and manning authorities \u201cto improve overall senior quartermaster levels Navy-wide,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy is currently short 33 senior quartermasters for the required 255 at-sea billets but the overall inventory \u201cis currently healthy,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/cnp\/\" target=_blank>Chief of Naval Personnel<\/a> spokeswoman Capt. Amy Derrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The number of authorized senior quartermaster billets at sea has grown by 59 since 2015, she said in an email to Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sea and shore senior QM manning stands at 94 percent, \u201cwhich still enables the Navy to deploy ships safely and meet operational requirements,\u201d Derrick said in an email to Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back on land, there are 147 chief quartermasters, 10 more than the required 137 billets, but Derrick credited the surplus to &#8220;various limitations on their deployability which we are aggressively working to correct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy spokesman Dorsey said last week that that extra 10 are not deployable due to reasons like limited duty status and pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNavy Personnel Command continues to work closely with Enlisted Community Managers and U.S. Fleet Forces Command to improve senior QM manning levels,&#8221; Derrick added.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/14\/the-ghost-in-the-fitzs-machine-why-a-doomed-warships-crew-never-saw-the-vessel-that-hit-it\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/D3-Fitzgerald-Damage-2-3492920.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The ghost in the Fitz\u2019s machine: why a doomed warship\u2019s crew never saw the vessel that hit it<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A secret Navy report details broken sensors that were reported for repairs but never fixed; schedule changes ordered by superiors high above the Fitz\u2019s command triad that delayed crucial maintenance; taped-up radar controls and, worse, sailors who had no idea how to use the technology.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a chief quartermaster wasn\u2019t the only key sailor missing from the Fitz\u2019s manning, according to the Fort report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vacancies went unfilled throughout the crew and for those remaining, training and certifications had lapsed across a wide variety of categories \u201cdue to the ship\u2019s operational schedule,\u201d Fort wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Fort\u2019s investigation wasn\u2019t the first call in recent years to fill quartermaster vacancies for warships operating in the Western Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/04\/27\/fired-7th-fleet-admiral-speaks-out-on-what-caused-the-fitzgerald-and-mccain-collisions\/\" target=_blank>Aucoin<\/a> wrote last spring in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usni.org\/\" target=_blank>U.S. Naval Institute<\/a>\u2019s flagship magazine \u201cProceedings\u201d that he also warned superiors about manning shortfalls across the 7th Fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At one point, five of 11 quartermaster billets were gapped, and 49 sailors had to be cross-decked in Japan to fill vacancies on vessels, he wrote, adding that it was \u201cfrustrating\u201d to hear of San Diego ships that were so overmanned they had to leave 30 sailors on the pier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn addition to a soaring OpTempo, the cumulative effect over time of not having enough people and resorting to cross-decking had a debilitating effect on readiness,\u201d Aucoin wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe not only lacked overall numbers of people, we also lacked mentors, the men and women with the skills and experience that are vital to raising our next generation of experienced sailors.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A secret Navy report into the 2017 disaster that killed seven sailors found the warship had been without the vital watchstander since 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":33019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home","middle-column","disaster"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,22,23,88,12,26,65],"tags":[8494,8501],"coauthors":[3355],"class_list":["post-37553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy","tag-japan","tag-singapore"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"HLVBK6OXS5ABFHV3ZNIASAKENI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/24\/report-lack-of-a-senior-quartermaster-contributed-to-fitz-disaster\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Report: lack of a senior quartermaster contributed to Fitz disaster - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A secret Navy report into the 2017 disaster that killed seven sailors found the warship had been without the vital watchstander since 2015.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Report: lack of a senior quartermaster contributed to Fitz disaster\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A secret Navy report into the 2017 disaster that killed seven sailors found the warship had been without the vital watchstander since 2015.\" \/>\n<meta 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