Vacant positions

A new member of our military services is very quickly taught about the chain of command, which is the command structure that the new enlistee is part of. Orders are transmitted to that individual soldier, airman, Marine or sailor through a chain of increasing rank senior commanders right up to the Commander in Chief (the President). The chain of command is of high importance during major military events to ensure that command and control is exercised for the defense of the country and the safety of our troops.

When the U.S.S Fitzgerald, a U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer, was hit by a much larger container ship at night in the sea lanes near Japan, there were numerous casualties including the ship's captain, and seven sailors were declared missing. The Fitzgerald suffered severe damage both above and below the waterline, and the ship had several compartments crushed, flooded and collapsed. The damage was severe enough that the Fitzgerald was in real danger of sinking. The fact that she did not sink is due to the courage and skill of the officers and sailors aboard the Fitzgerald.

Normally, communication about the incident would have quickly flowed up through the chain of command to result in coordinated rescue efforts. The U.S. has gaps in its command and diplomatic structures that could have resulted in a greater loss of life and even the loss of the ship. Thankfully, despite the fact that we still do not have a Secretary of the Navy nor an Ambassador to Japan, the Japanese Coast Guard stepped in to provide immediate assistance, including medical evacuation of the casualties.

The Fitzgerald managed to return to Yokosuka with the assistance of Japanese tugboats. After the damaged compartments were stabilized, U.S. Navy divers recovered the bodies of seven sailors in the flooded compartments.

Elsewhere, the U.S. shot down a Syrian fighter bomber causing the Russians to declare U.S. aircraft to be considered targets when in Russian controlled Syrian air space. North Korea is still threatening military attacks, and ISIS is still being fought in Iraq. In this uncertain world, the members of the U.S. military deserve a functional Congress and White House that will fill vacant diplomatic and military command positions.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.