A Naval Board of Inquiry (or Naval Court of Inquiry) is a type of investigative court proceeding conducted by the United States Navy after the occurrence of an unanticipated event that adversely affects the performance, or reputation, of the fleet or one of its ships or stations.
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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.
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 of the inquiry.
A Naval Board of Inquiry may be convened for numerous reasons, such as when a Naval ship:
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.