In this episode of The Daily Whatever Show, Melissa Corrigan, she/her joins Dana DuBois and Cliff Schecter for an unflinching conversation about one of the most disturbing military accountability stories to surface in years—and the systemic breakdown behind it.
Corrigan walks viewers through her reporting on a U.S. Navy boat strike in the Caribbean that left two survivors detained aboard the USS Iwo Jima, only for senior leadership to issue an extraordinary order: delete the onboard video documentation. Despite pushback from enlisted sailors who cited established protocol, the footage was erased under direction traced back through JAG to an admiral—raising profound legal, ethical, and diplomatic alarms.
The discussion expands beyond the incident itself to expose a broader pattern of reckless leadership, unlawful orders, and erosion of the rules-based international order. Corrigan explains how the deletion of evidence not only endangers detainees, but also strips protection from service members forced to carry out confusing and potentially illegal commands. The episode underscores how instability at the top fractures military discipline, endangers lives, and fuels long-term global blowback.
At its core, this is a case study in why independent journalism matters—and why shining light on power remains essential when institutions fail.
