The officer Lt. Natalie D. Combs, charged with negligence for her role in the collision of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), reserved her right not to enter a plea on Monday, July 20, during an arraignment before a military judge. She now faces a general court-martial for hazarding a vessel and negligence in performing her duties.
Ms. Combs had also faced negligent homicide charges but they were dropped in June by Adm. James F. Caldwell, the consolidated decision authority (CDA) for the accountability actions from last year’s fatal Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) collisions. Her trial is planned for February.
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Mr. Caldwell dropped the homicide charge against Combs after the hearing officer who oversaw an Article 32 hearing for Combs and Fitzgerald officer Lt. Irian Woodley recommended all criminal charges be dropped.
Caldwell also dropped the negligent homicide charge against former ship commander Cmdr. Bryce Benson who declined his Article 32 hearing. Benson pleaded not guilty to negligence charges on July 10. All three were given non-judicial punishment for their roles in the incident .
In addition, prosecutors allege Ms. Combs did not comply with Navy regulations and Fitzgerald’s commander’s orders to monitor contacts around the ship when she was in charge of the watch in the ship’s combat information center, when the destroyer sailed from its homeport in Yokosuka, Japan.
The officer of the deck at the time of the collision, Lt. j.g. Sarah B. Coppock, pleaded guilty to a single count of negligence in May.
McCain’s former commander, Cmdr. Alfredo Sanchez, also pleaded guilty to a single count of negligence in a special court-martial. Moreover, former McCain Chief Boatswain’s Mate Jeffery Butler, pleaded guilty to one count of negligence in a summary court-martial.
In addition to the courts-martial, Caldwell has overseen 18 non-judicial punishments related to both collisions.
