Most Maritime Accidents Tied to Human Error

Posted: September 12th, 2017

By Admiral Jonathan Greenert

Jonathan W. Greenert is a retired four-star admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations (2011-2015). Over the course of his 40 year Navy career, he served 15 years in the Asia-Pacific region including Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander, U.S. Seventh (Asia-Pacific) Fleet, establishing enduring relationships with his foreign counterparts. He also served as Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Chief Financial Officer (N8-Navy) and Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Greenert retired from military service in October 2015 and currently holds the Chair in National Security (General John Shalikashvili Chair) for the National Bureau for Asian Research, and serves as a consultant, adviser and director on corporate boards.

There has been a recent wave of high-sea collisions in the Asia-Pacific involving U.S. naval vessels – most notably the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain, which together have resulted in the loss of more U.S. military personnel then in Afghanistan so far this year. The incidents, both involving U.S. Navy destroyers within the Seventh Fleet, occurred in high traffic areas and are being investigated by the Navy.

The Cipher Brief’s Levi Maxey spoke with Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the former U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations who also served as Commander of the Seventh Fleet in the Asia-Pacific, about what could have caused these collisions and whether there is a possibility that the incidents could be the result of hostile action taken through cyberspace.

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