kevin sweeney was my relief as the commanding officer. when i heard that had happened, what bothered me most is that he was clearly receiving guidance pressure from the leadership of the navy to put it this attack behind you, look forward, and turn that ship around. the crew never felt like there was a pity party. they never ask for anyone to feel sorry for them. they wanted help in dealing with some of the issues. everybody had post traumatic stress. there were still working through that process. having a harsh -- he would pull the crew together on several occasions that chose to remain behind and encouraged everyone that had been there to leave at some point. >> did you know him? >> i did not know him. one of the unique things about the navy, once he was in command, it is your ship. once you relinquish command, it is no longer your ship. those are his decisions to make. he did what he thought was best as the commanding officer. every commanding officer had that opportunity. you make decisions that might be right or may be wrong. that is

kevin sweeney walked into the ship's detachment offices and announced that the pity party was over and suddenly all letters, gifts, posters from the local school children and patriotic americans across the nation, everything was ordered disposed of by the end of the day. >> i was shocked when i heard that from the crew. i heard it several days later. >> who? cole.in sweeney was my relief when i had heard that that had happened what bothered me most that he was clearly receiving guidance pressure from the leadership of the navy to put this attack behind you, look forward, and turn that ship around and get it moving forward. the crew never felt like there was a pity party. they never felt or asked for anyone to be sorry for them. all they wanted to was help in dealing with some of the issues that they were dealing with. everyone on that ship, including me, had posttraumatic stress. but it's how you deal with it to whether or not it becomes a disorder. they were still working through that process. but having a harsh, let's cut it off and just look forward and not do anything, he would, in