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www.lcmm.org/3packs 8
The Ehime Maru, a Japanese fishery high school training ship carrying twenty crew members, thirteen students, and two teachers, was off the southern coast of Oahu, Hawaii, on 9 February 2001. The ship’s 74-day voyage included a training curriculum for tuna fishing, maritime navigation, marine engineering, and oceanography. The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Greeneville (SSN 772) departed Oahu on 9 February 2001 to conduct a demonstration of submarine capabilities with a total of fourteen VIP civilians, members of Congress, media journalists, and other important visitors onboard. As part of the demonstration, the commanding officer ordered an emergency dive followed by an emergency main ballast blow to swiftly propel the sub to the surface. When the Greeneville surfaced, it struck the underside of the Ehime Maru. Nine of the students and crew lost their lives in the tragic incident. Ehime Maru sank immediately and rested on the seafloor, 2,000 feet below, her keel broken. Dealing with a tragedy of this magnitude might have been too much for even the most seasoned leader, but Admiral Fargo rose to the occasion. He understood the difference between making short-term decisions to simply deal with the problem quickly and taking the more difficult path to ensure the best outcome long-term. Having served in Japan years before, ADM Fargo appreciated Japanese culture and pursued a path of transparency to regain their trust. Raising the vessel would be an expensive, dangerous, and time-consuming task. ADM Fargo included the Japanese at each step. He invited Japanese salvage experts to work side-by-side with US Navy salvage experts. When senior officials in Washington, DC, Makiko Tanaka, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Afexpressed skepticism that having a court fairs in 2001, walking with ADM Thomas B. of inquiry that could turn into a circus, Fargo, Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, to ADM Fargo insisted on a court of inview the Crowley 450 diving barge that US Navy quiry, because he knew that the transdivers used in the recovery of the Ehime Maru. parency was essential. He even invited a Japanese admiral to sit with American flag officers as a member of the court of inquiry. ADM Fargo had to “manage up” almost as much as he had to “manage down.” ADM Fargo insisted on both actions. They had to recover the bodies and conduct a court of inquiry. The court of inquiry finished in mid-summer of 2001; however, the very challenging salvage effort dragged out for months. Shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the government of Japan communicated and acknowledged that the United States had made a full effort on the salvage. ADM Fargo could have accepted that as a signal that enough was done, but he directed the salvage effort to continue. In October 2001, the Ehime Maru was lifted and brought to a shallow depth that allowed divers to recover any remains. US Navy and Japanese divers conducted these dives jointly to ensure the remains were handled appropriately. They recovered eight of the nine bodies. That was one of the best examples of leadership I’ve ever witnessed. ADM Tom Fargo taught me a valuable lesson about being a leader and turning a tragedy that could have split our two countries apart into an even stronger bond. The prime minister of Japan phoned ADM Fargo to thank him personally. During the phone call, the prime minister said only the strongest friend and ally would continue to follow through in face of the tragedy in New York during which the US was attacked. —VADM Peter H. Daly
us navy photo by petty officer 3rd class lolita d. swain
Excellence in Leadership We asked the 2018 NMHS Annual Awards Dinner awardees about the role models they looked up to in their own careers, and VADM Peter Daly told us this story about the exceptional leadership shown by ADM Thomas B. Fargo during a difficult situation in 2001.
SEA HISTORY 164, AUTUMN 2018