The USS Fitzgerald Was Involved In A Crash At Sea That Killed 7 Sailors: We Find Out What Happened From A Sailor Who Was Onboard

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After months, the guided-missile destroyer Fitzgerald was ready to leave for sea in early 2017.

On paper, anyway.

Lt. Cmdr. Ritarsha Furqan feared the crew of the warship wasn’t ready to go out. She figured that up to 70 percent of them had changed over, and all those green shipmates needed to learn about the vessel, and each other.

But they’d never get that time. Superiors in the Japan-based 7th Fleet almost immediately began tasking the warship with assignments at sea.

Everything Furqan thought vital for a crew to thrive – training, achieving crucial certifications for operating in the bustling waters of the Western Pacific – were being jettisoned to make mission.

And then on June 17, 2017 it all unraveled.

This week on Zero Blog Thirty, we spoke with a Sailor who was on the USS Fitzgerald when it was involved in a collision at sea. He walks us through the fear, anger, and sadness that comes with losing 7 of your shipmates. The Navy Times did great reporting on this incident but the Navy herself needs to do more for the Sailors who were onboard. Read those reports and then listen to this Sailor.