I might got it slightly wrong too. The justice presiding at the inquest is a civilian but the inquest is military. To quote the article "A damning Senate report into abuses of the military justice system led to changes to the board of inquiry process, including the appointment of civilians as president. Justice Levine is the first civilian in a major inquiry since the changes."
Another example of no-one caring about the little guy's feelings though.
Still its amazing there were survivors given the impact on the deck and the quick sinking.
The inquiry was told that the Army took out or did not order the inflatable bags thatthe UH-60 can be equipped with that would have slowed the sinking, to save money. If these had been installed the pilot and the other guy who died might have had time to get out of the wreck. Apparently the pilot's helmet snagged on the aerial as he tried to escape but drowned as a result of not having time to get free.
Another example of our penny pinching military not looking after its people.
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