4 Sailors Who Questioned Nimitz Safety to Be Reassigned

Four sailors turned whistle-blowers aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier Nimitz can no longer work aboard a nuclear vessel and face reassignment, as well as a salary cut, Navy officials said Wednesday.

But family members, awaiting the ship’s arrival here Friday, countered that the Navy was making scapegoats of the men instead of adequately investigating their complaints.

In a move that has created a firestorm, the four sailors told a Seattle television station earlier this month that crew members aboard the Nimitz, based in Bremerton, Wash., had flouted safety regulations and the four threatened to sabotage the vessel’s reactors to draw attention to their complaints.

After an investigation, Navy officials said that several sailors did cheat on exams covering their technical knowledge of the carrier’s nuclear reactor procedures. But they quickly added that the cheating was not widespread and did not endanger the ship or its crew.

“A handful of guys admitted they looked on their buddies’ test paper during one exam,” said Lt. Cmdr. Bob Pritchard, a Navy spokesman. “But the reactors are operating safely, and the crew is well-qualified.”

Because the four sailors did not air their concerns and complaints to supervising officers, the Navy has lost confidence in the sailors and has chosen to revoke their credentials allowing them to work on a nuclear vessel, Pritchard said.

“Those guys in the nuclear propulsion program are held to a high standard; they are continually reminded to report any safety or security concerns to the chain of command,” Pritchard said. “These guys did not. The commanding officer lost confidence in their ability to perform.”

With disguised voices and blocked out faces the sailors told television station KIRO that crew members were cheating on exams to compensate for their inadequate training; that faulty hardware had been installed aboard the vessel and that test results for radiation leaks were fabricated.

After being informed by The Times that her son, Machinist Mate second-class Steven Puma had his credentials revoked Wednesday, his mother, Rima Puma, said she was very angry.

“Are they doing this in order to cover up their own safety inadequacies? Are they saying my son is unreliable? Because they did something wrong, they are going to try and shove it off on my son,” said Rima Puma, a Springfield, Ill., resident who traveled to San Diego in hopes of seeing her son.

Sara Puma, who awaits her husband’s arrival in San Diego, says her husband has received threats while aboard the Nimitz, which set sail for a training exercise Aug. 6, shortly after the four sailors’ allegations surfaced.

“The Navy is trying to discourage anybody from coming forward with complaints,” said Sara Puma, a chef in Port Orchard, Wash., who last spoke to her husband Sunday. “I told him that I loved him and . . . “ Puma said, who broke into sobs and stopped talking.

The Navy investigation, conducted by several naval agencies, has now been closed, Pritchard said. The names of the other sailors involved have not been released.