23 The Navy Captain Blamed Me For A Disaster In Front Of The Whole Crew — He Didn't Know My Chief Still Had The Original Recording

The flag officer's investigation was convened eleven weeks later.

It was presided over by Rear Admiral Susan Whitaker, a fifty-six-year-old officer with thirty-three years of service and a reputation for asking the questions nobody else wanted to ask. She was not from Norfolk. She was not from the squadron's chain of command. She had been assigned by the Chief of Naval Operations personally.

The hearing was held in a conference room in the Norfolk Naval Support Activity, and it lasted four days.

Maya testified for two hours on the first day. She told the truth, all of it, including the part where she called the reporter. She read the deck log aloud. She read the transcript metadata aloud. She explained, in careful detail, how the timestamp had been shifted to match the commodore's order rather than the distress call.

Agent Cho, from NCIS, testified on the second day. He confirmed that the transcript's metadata showed an edit at 02:14 on the morning of the briefing. He confirmed that the edit had been made using Maya's digital certificate from a machine that was not registered to her. He confirmed that the machine was registered to the squadron intelligence office.

Lieutenant Commander Paul Hargrove testified on the third day.

He was subpoenaed. He was not granted immunity. He sat in the witness chair with his hands folded and his voice steady and he told the admiral that on the night of the briefing, he had been summoned to the commodore's office at 23:00, and the commodore had told him to "clean up the transcript."

"What did 'clean up' mean?" Admiral Whitaker asked.

"It meant to make the record consistent with the operational timeline," Hargrove said.

"Which operational timeline?"

"The commodore's timeline."

"Which was what?"

Hargrove hesitated. The admiral waited.

"The commodore's timeline was that the distress call had come in at 14:47," Hargrove said finally. "And that the ship had been ordered to respond immediately. And that the delay in the response had been due to an intelligence error."

"An intelligence error by whom?"

"By Specialist Chen."

"Do you have documentation that the distress call came in at 14:47?"

"The commodore had documentation."

"Did you verify it?"

"No, ma'am."

"Why not?"

Hargrove was silent.

"Lieutenant Commander," Admiral Whitaker said, "why did you not verify the timestamp before you edited a classified intelligence document?"

Hargrove looked at the table.

"Because I trusted the commodore, ma'am," he said.

The room was very quiet.

"And now?" Admiral Whitaker asked.

Hargrove did not answer.

Captain Sloane testified on the fourth day.

He denied everything. He said he had not ordered an edit. He said he had not ordered a delay. He said he had "encouraged" Hargrove to ensure the transcript was "consistent," but he had not specified how. He said he had "no memory" of the radio transmission in which his own voice had used his own call sign and ordered the ship to hold position.

Admiral Whitaker played the recording.

Sloane sat in the witness chair and listened to his own voice say "Raven Six, hold position, do not engage," and his face did not change. But his hands did. They were flat on the table in front of him, and by the time the recording ended they had gone white at the knuckles.

"Captain," Admiral Whitaker said, "do you recognize that voice?"

"It sounds like my voice," Sloane said.

"Do you recognize the call sign?"

"Raven Six is my call sign."

"Did you give that order?"

"I don't recall giving that order."

"You don't recall giving the order that appears on the ship's original recording?"

"I don't recall."

The admiral looked at him for a long moment.

"Captain Sloane," she said, "I am going to recommend to the Chief of Naval Operations that you be relieved of command of Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Eight, pending a formal court-martial on charges of obstruction of justice, dereliction of duty, and conduct unbecoming an officer. I am further going to recommend that the death of Faris Haddad be referred to the Department of Justice for a full investigation, and that the Navy officially correct the record regarding Specialist Chen's actions on the day of the trawler incident." She paused. "Do you have anything to say before we close?"