DID BILL SELL FREE RIDES ON SUBS FOR CAMPAIGN DONATIONS?

OR DID BUSH DO THIS?

WHO WERE THOSE PEOPLE AND HOW DID THEY GET THERE?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010213/aponline180436_000.htm

Civilian at Helm Spot on Sub
By Robert Burns
AP Military Writer
Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2001; 6:04 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON –– A civilian guest aboard the USS Greeneville was seated at a helm position at the time the submarine rammed and sank a Japanese fishing vessel off the coast of Hawaii, a defense official said Tuesday.

However, there is no indication the civilian played any role in the accident, said the official, who is familiar with the investigation and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley declined to discuss the matter, saying no information about the circumstances at the time of the accident would be released until the Navy has completed its investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board also is investigating.

Navy spokesman Cmd. Greg Smith declined to comment on the Greenveville incident but said that civilians are routinely allowed aboard U.S. submarines and that it would not be unusual for one to be at one of the sub's three main control positions.

"The civilian is not in control of any actions that were not ordered by the commanding officer," Smith said.

The position occupied by a civilian aboard the Greeneville would control the submarine's heading and angle, one official said.

The Greeneville was conducting a drill in which the submarine dives to about 400 feet and then makes a rapid ascent – known as an "emergency main ballast blow."

Normally the sub's commander would ensure that no objects are in the way before rocketing to the surface, but the Greeneville somehow failed to detect the presence of the fishing vessel.

Nine people from the vessel are missing. The rest were rescued after the ship sank in 1,800 feet of water.

The Navy has declined to release the identities of the 16 civilians reported to have been aboard the Greeneville.

Quigley said the civilians, described by another official as local community and business leaders, had requested that the Navy not reveal their identities.