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So the civilian contractor who set on fire a submarine with no casualties (linked elsewhere in this thread) got 17 years of jail, but the military pilot who kil

So the civilian contractor who set on fire a submarine with no casualties (linked elsewhere in this thread) got 17 years of jail, but the military pilot who killed 20 innocent civilians (in an allied country, while not even being at war) got 6 months. Not a blazing example of military accountability.

jvanderbot 6y ago
Yes, intent matters.
dctoedt 6y ago
Well, let's see: On the one hand, the Marine pilot did something that in different circumstances he would have been required to do (low-level flight, e.g., in combat and/or in training for combat). Moreover, there was considerable doubt whether they had been provided with up-to-date maps showing what areas were off-limits. They were acquitted of the manslaughter charges — but they were later cashiered for destroying evidence, i.e., a videotape of the accident [2], because for military officers, integrity is supposed to be at the top of the list of required personal qualities. Oh, and let's not forget that the pilot and NFO had previously had good records (AFAIK) and for many years had been putting their asses on the line for their country every single time they took off in a plane. (There's an old joke that when you join the U.S. military, you sign a blank check made out to the People of the United States of America, payable in any amount up to and including your life.) On the other hand, we have the civilian "yardbird" who, wanting to go home, intentionally started a fire that led to the essentially-total loss [3] of a major national military asset. "Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, a submarine group commander, said the ship's extensive damage had ripple effects around the Navy, delaying repairs on other vessels and leading to longer deployments for thousands of sailors." [4] If you don't see why that might lead to very-different sentences for the two cases, I'm afraid we don't have much else to discuss on that point. [2] https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(1998) https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(199... [3] https://www.wikiwand.com/en/USS_Miami_(SSN-755)#/2012_fire https://www.wikiwand.com/en/USS_Miami_(SSN-755)#/2012_fire [4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/15/nuclear-submarine-fire/1990663/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/15/nuclea...
- lultimouomo 6y ago
  They destroyed the evidence that would have proved if they were intentionally trying to sneak below the cable car or not... and they got away with a grand total of 6 months of detention. This is beyond ridiculous, no civilian would have had it so easy. But I agree, I don't think we have much else to discuss, indeed.

jvanderbot 6y ago

Yes, intent matters.

dctoedt 6y ago

Well, let's see: On the one hand, the Marine pilot did something that in different circumstances he would have been required to do (low-level flight, e.g., in combat and/or in training for combat). Moreover, there was considerable doubt whether they had been provided with up-to-date maps showing what areas were off-limits. They were acquitted of the manslaughter charges — but they were later cashiered for destroying evidence, i.e., a videotape of the accident [2], because for military officers, integrity is supposed to be at the top of the list of required personal qualities. Oh, and let's not forget that the pilot and NFO had previously had good records (AFAIK) and for many years had been putting their asses on the line for their country every single time they took off in a plane. (There's an old joke that when you join the U.S. military, you sign a blank check made out to the People of the United States of America, payable in any amount up to and including your life.) On the other hand, we have the civilian "yardbird" who, wanting to go home, intentionally started a fire that led to the essentially-total loss [3] of a major national military asset. "Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, a submarine group commander, said the ship's extensive damage had ripple effects around the Navy, delaying repairs on other vessels and leading to longer deployments for thousands of sailors." [4] If you don't see why that might lead to very-different sentences for the two cases, I'm afraid we don't have much else to discuss on that point. [2] https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(1998) https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(199... [3] https://www.wikiwand.com/en/USS_Miami_(SSN-755)#/2012_fire https://www.wikiwand.com/en/USS_Miami_(SSN-755)#/2012_fire [4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/15/nuclear-submarine-fire/1990663/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/15/nuclea...

lultimouomo 6y ago
They destroyed the evidence that would have proved if they were intentionally trying to sneak below the cable car or not... and they got away with a grand total of 6 months of detention. This is beyond ridiculous, no civilian would have had it so easy. But I agree, I don't think we have much else to discuss, indeed.