Sleeping Sailors on U.S.S. Fitzgerald Awoke to a Calamity at Sea<br />But it reflects “the unique status of the captain of a Navy ship in American society<br />— absolute authority, and absolute accountability,” Mr. McGrath said.<br />Then, Navy officers with decades of experience at sea say, there were probably minutes of sheer terror<br />aboard the Fitzgerald before the collision with an enormous container ship that killed seven sailors.<br />“It’s a terrible, swift sanction, but it sends a message to everyone else in the fleet — make sure you’re<br />training harder, make sure they call you when another ship is approaching,” Mr. McGrath said.
