Former USS John McCain officer pleads guilty after deadly collision
The former commanding officer of the USS John McCain has pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty, after a deadly August collision near Singapore.
A military judge accepted a guilty plea from Cmdr. Alfredo Sanchez on Friday during a special court-martial aboard the Washington Navy Yard, according to the Pentagon. He must forfeit $2,000 in pay for three months, and a pretrial agreement contained a requirement that Sanchez submit his request to retire from the U.S. Navy. Sanchez, who was reassigned after the incident, had originally been charged with negligent homicide.
The collision with an oil tanker killed 10 U.S. sailors and injured five more, and was one of several accidents in the region that raised concerns over the safety and operational effectiveness of U.S. naval vessels. The Navy determined it was "evident the collision was preventable, the commanding officer exercised poor judgment and the executive officer exercised poor leadership of the ship's training program."
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Another executive officer, Cmdr. Jessie Sanchez, was relieved from his duties aboard the ship after the collision as well.
— CBS News' David Martin contributed to this report.