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By Gary Robertson
NORFOLK, Va., June 20 (Reuters) – A defense attorney at a
hearing for two Navy officers on Thursday accused the U.S.
government of bringing unwarranted charges of involuntary
manslaughter and dereliction of duty in the deaths of two divers
during a Feb. 26 training exercise in Maryland.
“There were two tragedies,” that day, said Navy Lieutenant
John Butler, representing Senior Chief Petty Officer James
Burger.
The first tragedy was the deaths of the divers, he said,
adding that the charges brought against Burger and Chief Warrant
Officer 3 Mark Smith were equally tragic because the men were
merely doing their duty.
Petty Officer 1st Class James Reyher of Caldwell, Ohio, and
Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Harris of Gladstone, Missouri, died
in 150 feet of water during a training dive. They were
attempting to locate a submerged helicopter at a training and
weapons site called the Super Pond near Baltimore.
Butler and civilian defense attorney Patrick J. McLain said
there was ample evidence of malfunctioning diving equipment,
including a type of scuba breathing regulator that defense
counsel said the Navy has since abandoned.
Prosecution and defense presentations during the two-day
Article 32 hearing will determine whether there is sufficient
evidence to refer the case against the two non-commissioned
officers for trial by court-martial.
The case could otherwise be handled administratively or the
charges could be dismissed. The presiding Navy captain will make
a recommendation up the chain of command, and a decision is
expected within weeks.
Captain Keaton Harrell, prosecuting the case for the Navy,
did not offer a summary argument but suggested Burger and Smith
had command authority and should have acted more wisely in
overseeing the training exercise.
Burger was the master diver at the scene and Smith was the
officer in charge of the dive group. Commander Michael Runkle,
leader of the unit, was relieved of his post after the incident.
He was called as a witness Thursday but declined to testify.
Neither defendant offered a statement in their defense.
Sixteen witnesses were called during the hearing. Witnesses said
the divers were never intended to make their dive in
conventional scuba gear. They should have used an underwater
breathing apparatus called a Mark 16 that would have allowed
them more time to work underwater.
Not enough devices were available so the decision was taken
to make the dive using scuba gear. Reyher and Harris went in,
but they had only an 11-minute supply of air and it was soon
clear they were staying underwater too long.
Another diver was sent in to aid them, but he also had
equipment trouble, according to testimony.
Two other divers were dispatched to help the missing divers
but they soon resurfaced in the 41-degree water.
Reyher and Harris were eventually hauled up by a winch but
nearly a half an hour after they went in – long after their air
supply had been exhausted.
(Editing By Nick Carey, Steve Gorman and Bill Trott)
