Navy removes submarine commander
The officer in charge of the Jimmy Carter has been reassigned.
By BRIAN LYMAN
Norwich Bulletin
The Navy removed the commander of a submarine this weekend after what officials are calling a "loss of confidence" in his ability to command.
Cmdr. David Bartho-lomew, Jr., commanding officer of the Jimmy Carter, under construction at Electric Boat, has been reassigned to the staff of Rear Adm. Joseph A. Walsh, commander of Submarine Group Two and Navy Region Northeast, which oversees the Atlantic Fleet submarine attack squadrons.
"He's been relieved of command," said Lt. Philip Rosi, spokesman for Submarine Group Two. "That is an administrative proceeding, and that is the result of the preliminary investigation."
Rosi would not comment further on the reasons for the removal. A statement from the Navy said Bartholomew's transfer was "pending further administrative or disciplinary action as appropriate."
Capt. Robert D. Kelso, deputy chief of staff of Submarine Development Squadron 12 in New London, has been appointed interim commander of the ship until a new one is named.
Bartholomew, a 1983 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, had been commanding officer of the ship, designated a precommissioning unit, since last May. The Jimmy Carter, a Seawolf-class submarine, will have a crew of approximately 140 and join the fleet in 2005. Rosi said the removal would not affect the delivery schedule.
Because the submarine was still under construction, Bartholomew reported directly to Walsh, who initiated the removal.
"An officer who's in command is in a unique position of trust and responsibility," Rosi said. "He has a key role to play in shaping morale. It's a unique position because his superiors have to have full confidence in his ability to command."
The Jimmy Carter is the last of three Seawolf submarines under construction. The USS Seawolf was commissioned in 1997 and the USS Connecticut followed a year later. According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, the Jimmy Carter is 100 feet longer than its sister ships and has been modified for "highly classified missions and the testing of new submarine systems."
The ship was named for Carter, a graduate of the Naval Academy, because he is the only president who ever served in the submarine service.
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/stories/20040127/localnews/298767.htmlThat could be true. The submarine force has lost some of their best during the Clintons.