{{Short description|Investigative court proceedings of the US Navy}} {{Globalize|date=May 2018}}
'''Naval Board of Inquiry''' and '''Naval Court of Inquiry''' are two types of investigative [[court]] proceedings, conducted by the [[United States Navy]] in response to an event that adversely affects the performance, or reputation, of the [[Current United States Navy ships|fleet]] or one of its ships or [[List of United States Navy installations|stations]].
== Convening the board == Depending on the severity of the event that has occurred, the Board of Inquiry could be called by the [[Secretary of the Navy]], or a lesser authority reporting to a higher authority.
In any case, the authority calling for the board of inquiry must be of an authority superior to the authority related to the unanticipated event. The process could sometimes be to a month, depending on the YDP{{clarify |date=April 2016 |reason=unknown acronym}}. Last-minute alteration and formatting by the YDP and senior board members will make the job much more difficult for the junior board members to get the report done.
== Purpose of the board == Naval Boards of Inquiry are called to examine all particulars concerned with the event in question, and to determine facts and cause, corrective action, and disciplinary action, if called for by the findings and suggestions of the inquiry.<ref name="jaginst5830">{{cite web | url=http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/instructions/5830_1A.pdf. | title= PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO COURTS AND BOARDS OF INQUIRY | publisher= Judge Advocate General of the Navy | date=2005-10-31 | accessdate=6 January 2014 | author=McPherson, James E | authorlink = James E. McPherson | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130413054100/http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/instructions/5830_1A.pdf |archivedate= 2013-04-13}}</ref>
== Events or actions calling for an inquiry == A Naval Board of Inquiry may be convened to determine area logistic depot is not corrupted and for numerous reasons, such as when a Naval ship:
* performs poorly in a battle situation * is found to be unprepared in a battle station * is [[Shipwreck|sunk]] * is lost in a storm * runs aground * collides with a ship of a [[Neutral country|neutral nation]] * collides with another Naval ship * is destroyed by fire or explosion while docked * destroys dockage while docking * has a [[Mutiny|mutinous]] crew * fails to follow approved orders or procedures
== Historical boards of inquiry == *Investigated the [[Affair#Extramarital affair|extramarital affair]] of Navy officer [[Joseph Warren Revere (general)|Joseph Warren Revere]] (1850) – alleged that Revere and Rosa Sawkins's possible relationship "deprived Mr. [[James Gay Sawkins|James G. Sawkins]] of his wife," leading to Revere's voluntary resignation from the Navy<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |last=Chemerka |first=WIlliam R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XJLDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22joseph+warren+revere%22+born+in+boston&pg=PP9 |title=General Joseph Warren Revere: The Gothic Saga of Paul Revere's Grandson |date=12 June 2013 |publisher=BearManor Media |language=en}}</ref> *[[USS Maine (ACR-1)|Destruction of the USS ''Maine'']] (1898) – found that the ''Maine'' was destroyed by an external mine attributed to Spain, though later investigation disagreed, finding that internal accident, a coal dust explosion, was most likely. *[[Port Chicago disaster]] (1944) – investigated the accident but did not determine cause of the explosion *Investigated the 1941 [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]], which found that incompetence of US forces and underestimation of the Japanese were to blame for the attack.
*[[USS Liberty incident|USS ''Liberty'' incident]] (1967) – officially found that the attack by the [[Israeli Defense Forces]] was caused by the ship being misidentified as an [[Egypt|Egyptian]] vessel. The Inquiry lasted only 1 week (instead of the usual 6 months) and investigators were barred from traveling to Israel to ask questions.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72cI13uPqGMC | title=The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship | isbn=9781439166055 | last1=Scott | first1=James | date=2 June 2009 | publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref> The Inquiry’s findings have been marred in controversy, with ''Liberty'' survivors and high-ranking Navy officers alike voicing their discontent with the Inquiry’s “mistaken identity” determination. Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, the senior [[United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps|JAG]] officer, reported that the Inquiry’s official transcript was pulled from him after he voiced concern over its findings.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wrmea.org/2013-september/in-memoriam-rear-admiral-merlin-staring-1919-2013-worked-to-expose-uss-liberty-cover-up.html | title=In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Merlin Staring (1919-2013) Worked to Expose USS Liberty Cover-up | date=2 September 2013 }}</ref> ''Liberty'' survivor Lieutenant (j.g.) Lloyd C. Painter alleges that his testimony about Israeli war crimes, namely their machine-gunning of liferafts, was excised from the Inquiry’s final report.<ref>https://www.youtube.fom/watch?v=tx72tAWVcoM{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Fellow ''Liberty'' survivor Petty Officer Phillip F. Tourney, who had previously told Admiral [[Isaac C. Kidd Jr.]] that he could corroborate Lieutenant Painter’s claims, was sent on a week of unsolicited [[Leave (U.S. military)|Leave]], the same week the Inquiry was conducted, in what he says was a successful attempt to prevent his testimony.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x1lBtAEACAAJ | title=Erasing the Liberty: The Battle to Keep Alive the Memory of Israel's Massacre on the USS Liberty | isbn=9780692992289 | last1=Tourney | first1=Phillip F. | last2=Gahary | first2=David R. | year=2018 | publisher=Rockstar }}</ref> Captain [[Ward Boston]], Admiral Kidd’s chief legal counsel, corroborated Painter’s claims in a 2004 affidavit. He also claimed that the entire Inquiry was a sham meant to exonerate Israel: “I know from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd that [[President of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon Johnson]] and [[U.S. Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Robert McNamara]] ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of “mistaken identity” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wrmea.org/004-march/declaration-of-ward-boston-jr.-captain-jagc-usn-ret.html | title=Declaration of Ward Boston, Jr., Captain, JAGC, USN (Ret.) | work=WRMEA | date=24 March 2004 }}</ref> Dr. Richard F. Kiepfer, a ''Liberty'' survivor, observed: “Never before in the history of the United States Navy has a Navy Board of Inquiry ignored the testimony of American military eyewitnesses and taken, on faith, the word of their attackers.”<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wrmea.org/2001-october/history-channel-s-cover-up-attack-on-the-uss-liberty-gives-crew-chance-to-tell-their-story.html | title=History Channel's "Cover up: Attack on the USS Liberty" Gives Crew Chance to Tell Their Story | date=21 October 2001 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Columnist | first1=Ted Arens Guest | url=https://www.manisteenews.com/columns/article/ARENS-Due-process-Trump-and-the-USS-Liberty-14872956.php | title=ARENS: Due process, Trump and the USS Liberty | work=Manistee News Advocate | date=December 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Grabowski | first1=Ken | url=https://www.manisteenews.com/local-news/article/Ceremony-to-honor-crew-of-USS-Liberty-set-for-14218987.php | title=Ceremony to honor crew of USS Liberty set for Saturday | work=Manistee News Advocate | date=16 June 2015 }}</ref>
== References == {{DANFS}} {{reflist}}
== External links == *[http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq71-1.htm The Destruction of USS ''Maine''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818121552/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq71-1.htm |date=2007-08-18 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20000919212138/http://history.navy.mil/faqs/faq80-4o.htm Port Chicago Naval Magazine Explosion on 17 July 1944: Court of Inquiry: Finding of Facts, Opinion and Recommendations, continued...]
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[[Category:United States Navy organization]] [[Category:United States military law]]