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The Greeneville-Ehime
Maru Collision and Civilian Tours: by Toshi Yoshihara, Ph.D. candidate Last summer as I strolled through the massive Ocean City mall in Hong Kong looking for a Jean Paul Gaultier wallet, I stopped at one of the windows overlooking Victoria Harbor to marvel at the impressive skyline across the bay. As I scanned the skyscrapers my eyes stopped at an American warship, the USS Mobile Bay, anchored serenely alongside the mall. On board the ship, I saw a naval officer ushering a group of civilian Chinese tourists around. He was apparently a funny guy. The Chinese laughed in unison as the translator helped the officer tell a joke. The tourists clung to every word the officer said as he pointed to the high-tech equipment and smiled proudly. It didn't occur to me until later the more subtle meaning behind the officer's smile. In a sense, the USS Mobile Bay is America's friendly show of force. Whenever the warship makes a port call in a foreign country it is demonstrating America's military power and global commitments. It is a constant reminder to friends and allies in any region of the world that the United States is there to protect mutual interests. In the case of Hong Kong, the ship's presence helps underscore the free and open character of the city despite the changing of the guard in 1997 (although Beijing did temporarily close the port to American military ships and planes after the embassy bombing in Belgrade). The tours also show that transparency between the military and civilians, whether domestic or foreign, is critical to the American democratic process. It is an important commitment in which democracies in general, and the United States in particular, pride themselves. An instrument of war can serve important diplomatic and symbolic purposes.
and instructors perished. Evidence from investigations later revealed that the submarine had sixteen civilians onboard for a tour during the accident. The submarine crew conducted the maneuver to demonstrate the sub's capabilities to the civilian guests. After making a series of improbable errors, including the failure to detect and report the Japanese ship, the sub rapidly surfaced into the ship's hull. More disturbing, there was evidence that civilians were at the controls and were apparently distracting the crewmembers operating the vessel. Shortly after the accident, the Pentagon announced a moratorium on civilian visits to all military equipment pending the findings of the investigation. The media and high-profile commentators began questioning the efficacy of civilian tours. Such sentiments and concerns while understandable, are unwarranted. Much like USS Mobile Bay's diplomatic symbolism in Hong Kong, the USS Greeneville was similarly providing an important service for the American public and the nation. The rationale for civilians to be onboard is perfectly reasonable. The military is not only showing what they can do to protect the nation's interests but also where the taxpayer's money is going. Civil-military interactions of this kind are conducive both to understanding a professional military organization that has suffered several public relations disasters in recent years and healing a deepening alienation from the mainstream American political culture. Proper and meaningful civil-military relations can only be maintained through constant contact and exposure. Closer to home, the presence of military fellows and former and active duty military officers at the Fletcher School is also intended to foster greater interaction and understanding between civilians and the military. We, as future policy makers who may one day confront the difficult choices on using force, must understand the instruments of war and violence. The invaluable presence and experience of our military colleagues gives us the opportunity to learn about how we might prudently apply in a balanced way all the tools of statecraft in the years to come.
officers involved, including the commander of the sub. The thorough investigation will clarify how such a series of improbable events culminated in the tragic accident. The people involved will also be properly held accountable for their actions. Most importantly, measures will be taken to insure that this never happens again. Then, we must move on. Accidents, particularly in such high-risk environments, do happen. We must not allow one single, albeit ghastly and diplomatically damaging, incident to jeopardize the crucial programs that enhance civil-military relations and indirectly, the national security of this country. The normal functioning of a civil-military relationship, a centerpiece of a democracy, will depend on an ongoing dialogue between the public and the armed forces. Hence, as a part of this broader interaction, civilian tours onboard American naval ships or any other military platform should continue.
by James R. Holmes, Ph.D. candidate Large organizations have this annoying habit of acting, usually in the most clumsy fashion possible, to protect themselves from allegations of incompetence or wrongdoing, or, failing that, to overreact in an attempt to mute public criticism. The U.S. Navy is certainly no exception. I've seen this firsthand, having suffered through the interminable investigation of the USS Iowa turret explosion in 1989. In the wake of the USS Greenville accident, in which the attack submarine rammed a Japanese trawler while conducting an emergency surfacing drill, the selfsame defensive reflex threatens to derail the Navy's policy of inviting civilians aboard its warships to witness training maneuvers. The three admirals comprising the board of inquiry into the Greenville accident have called for banning the conduct of "dangerous" maneuvers during civilian visits. That would be a mistake. Navy leaders must avoid the temptation to cure the symptom, visits by distinguished civilians, rather than the disease - a casual attitude towards safety by officers and crews. Granted, the presence of sixteen visitors in a small control room may have created an atmosphere of confusion for the team on watch. But the Greenville didn't kill nine innocent Japanese because there were VIPs on board. It killed nine innocent Japanese because the captain and his crew were derelict in obeying the safety regulations already in place for emergency surfacing. The price for that will be broken careers for the captain and his watch officers. Proper attention to safety, however, will head off similar debacles in the future. The Bush administration thus should resist the twitch in its knee, which risks developing into a full-blown jerk. The administration should reject the admirals' call for modifying the Distinguished Visitor program . Most meaningful military training qualifies as dangerous. Taken to its logical extreme, the board's recommendation would reduce the Distinguished Visitor program to little more than yacht cruises that happen to take place on vessels painted gray. Why worry about that? In his remarks Toshi outlined the benefits of this program in terms of civil-military relations and forceful diplomacy. With the passing of the World War II generation from public life, a declining proportion of American policy elites – not to mention the general public in the post-draft era - has spent time in uniform. Observing military exercises provides these individuals with at least the rudiments of familiarity with combat operations. It's important for civilians to witness even hazardous activities on board American warships and elsewhere in the armed forces. Only thus can our policy-makers develop an appreciation of the potential – and, equally important, limitations - of military power. Comments? Write us at letter@fletcherledger.com |
