Negative99

I finished a great book recently (and indeed many of you probably thought it was a permanent addition to my ‘Currently Reading’ due to my procrastination)… it’s called The Right Thing by Retired Navy Commander Scott Waddle. You may recognize his name as the CO of the USS Greeneville, a nuclear submarine that collided with a Japanese training boat, the Ehime Maru, on February 9, 2001 resulting in nine civilian drownings. [yes, despite popular belief there was indeed United States history prior to September 11, 2001]

Of course, in the media you heard a cold tale in the days after the collision. If word choice was any matter (and as long as we’re human… it is) you’d think that the submarine purposely charged into the Japanese boat in a reckless unexplainable convulsion. At least, that’s how it came off on the news. The Japanese news was ready to have Scott Waddle’s head on a Ginsu knife (a cheap Japanese knock-off of a Cutco knife). Oh yes, the world saw an accident… with victims… and was more than ready to castigate Waddle.

The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.
- Proverbs 18:17 NIV

Of course, I may have felt the same way as the rest of our boob-tube zombie society… and then I read Waddle’s book. Indeed, the first party to present a side of a story seems correct… until another side comes forward with a different version of the same story. What a difference hearing both sides makes… it doesn’t always change my mind, but it happens more often than I like to admit. This was one of those times.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a former military officer so I know a commander’s responsibility. I also know that accidents sometimes happen despite a leader’s best efforts, which doesn’t exonerate the leader but should be considered in the end. And I also know that Pentagon brass are more career conscious than morally conscious… mastering the art of military politics at the cost of being completely out of touch with the soldiers, sailors, NCOs, and junior officers that run the REAL show (I’ve seen this first hand). And if selling an officer down the river will help the brass save face with an ally like Japan they’ll do it… and they did. Waddle, however, for his part did The Right Thing after the incident. You’ll have to read the book to learn more.

The captain of the U.S.S. “Greeneville” reveals the untold story of the deadly collision of the nuclear submarine with a Japanese fishing vessel. His accountability, integrity, and religious conviction provides an inspiring challenge to anyone who is facing difficult choices in any area of life.
- Ken Abraham, The Right Thing