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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Navy Dismisses Captain of USS Kitty Hawk

Aired September 04, 2002 - 06:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. Navy has dismissed Thomas Hejl, the captain of the USS Kitty Hawk, which is baaed in Japan. It is a rare move and comes after six crew members were arrested by Japanese police last month. Commander Matthew Brown, spokesman for the 7th Fleet, defends the move, saying: "The United States is engaged in a global war against terrorism and it is vital that our forward deployed ships be ready to carry out our nation's tasks when ordered. The material condition of Kitty Hawk and the crew's proficiency are essential elements to this required high level of readiness. This step is taken to ensure USS Kitty Hawk achieves and maintains those high standards."
Commander Brown now joins us by phone from Tokyo.

Good morning.

CMDR. MATTHEW BROWN, U.S. NAVY 7TH FLEET SPOKESMAN: Good morning, Carol. How are you today?

COSTELLO: I'm fine.

Tell me again in your own words why you fired this Captain Hejl.

BROWN: Well, the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Robert F. Willard, relieved the commanding officer of the Kitty Hawk due to a loss of confidence in Captain Hejl's ability to lead his crew and to carry out essential missions and taskings.

COSTELLO: Why did it take so long to do this? Six crew members arrested. There were equipment breakdowns. The ship even collided with something and it damaged the USS Kitty Hawk. Why did it take so long to get rid of this guy?

BROWN: Well, I think the key thing to remember is that it's not any one incident that was cause for Captain Hejl to be released, but rather a series of events and incidents over time that taken together caused concern on the part of Admiral Willard and caused him to take this action.

The other thing I would point out, too, is that Captain Hejl is a 25 plus year veteran of the United States Navy and the action that was taken by the admiral should not detract from the fact that he's an experienced combat pilot and really a very dedicated naval officer and American.

COSTELLO: Well, you say that but this is a rare move. This doesn't happen every day. BROWN: No, that is true. This is an unusual move. But at the same time, it's something that had to be done in order to ensure that the ship was capable of carrying out the missions assigned to it in a manner consistent with a forward deployed ship.

COSTELLO: I understand.

Captain Hejl, of course, isn't here to defend himself. Some might say you're making him a scapegoat for problems in the navy. Is, could that be true?

BROWN: Well, Carol, I'll tell you, the navy relies upon commanding officers to exercise good judgment in how a ship is run and to work effectively with the chain of command whenever assistance is required both in maintaining the ship and also training the crew. Admiral Willard felt that he had lost Captain Hejl's, the confidence in Captain Hejl's ability to perform those functions.

COSTELLO: All right, Commander Matthew Brown, thanks for joining us live by phone this morning to tell us about the USS Kitty Hawk and its new captain.

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