NPR

Navy Navigation Errors May Have Killed More Troops Than Afghanistan So Far in 2017

The Navy has commissioned its latest big investigation after a series of deadly accidents in the Western Pacific, but there are no easy answers to the problems with the fleet.
The USS John S. McCain was left with a hole on its port side after a collision with oil tanker earlier this week, one of three such incidents this summer. / ROSLAN RAHMAN / Getty Images

A heartsick surface Navy is vowing to find answers after a series of mishaps that could make the peacetime Western Pacific deadlier for U.S. troops this year than Afghanistan.

The Navy began, as it often does, with accountability: On Wednesday it fired the three-star admiral whose command in the Western Pacific suffered at least four big accidents this year, two of which may have killed a combined 17 sailors.

An officer aboard the destroyer USS Stethem also was lost overboard off the Philippines on Aug. 1.

That compares to 11 service members killed in Afghanistan — details are available from and -- where President Trump on Monday authorized a big new deployment of

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR6 min readAmerican Government
Adult Film Star Stormy Daniels Is Testifying Against Trump In New York Trial
Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, has spent the last several years in legal battles with former President Trump. She has taken the stand to testify against him in a criminal trial.
NPR2 min readInternational Relations
Nebraska Republican Brings Resolution To Censure Ilhan Omar
This comes after recent remarks Omar gave on a college campus where she referred to Jewish students not engaging in an anti-Israel protest "pro-genocidal."
NPR2 min readInternational Relations
Israeli Forces Take Control Of The Gaza Side Of The Rafah Crossing With Egypt
An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife's edge.

Related