Posted on 06/17/2022 2:26:30 PM PDT by American Number 181269513
The Navy has fired nearly a dozen officers in leadership positions in less than three months, including five in one week, due to a “loss of confidence” in their ability to command — an unusual string of terminations across land, air and sea teams, experts said.
At least nine commanding officers and two senior advisers have been relieved of their duties since April, when a cluster of suicides on the USS George Washington warship sparked widespread concerns of a mental health crisis.
A total of 13 commanding officers have been fired so far this year, including 12 in the Navy and one in the Marine Corps, the Navy said. Most recently, four Naval commanding officers and a top leader were ousted from June 8 to June 14.
It’s unclear what prompted the personnel changes, which the Navy said were unrelated to each other. The Navy did not elaborate further on specific conditions that led to the firings, but stressed the importance of "trust and confidence" across all levels of the chain of command.
"The U.S. Navy has long maintained high standards for all its personnel. Those who fall short of these standards are held accountable," said Lt. Cmdr. Devin Arneson, a Navy spokesperson, who added that such an action is "neither punitive nor disciplinary."
None of the leaders served the George Washington, where at least five crew members died by suicide in the last year, angering some sailors and advocates who work to reduce military suicides.
“How many service members have to die before this commanding officer is held accountable?” said Patrick Caserta, who along with his wife has been advocating for better mental health treatment in the military, after their son died by suicide while serving the Navy in 2018.
“You cannot hand-pick some commanders as fall guys and leave others untouched,” Caserta said.
At least one George Washington sailor, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said he partially blames his commanding officer, Capt. Brent Gaut, for the rash of suicides, which include three within a span of a week in April.
The sailor and the Casertas believe Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Russell Smith should also be fired, following controversial remarks he made during an address to a fragile crew in April. Smith, the service’s senior enlisted leader, is responsible for matters dealing with enlisted personnel and their families.
The sailor said his shipmates still talk about Smith's comments that sailors should have "reasonable expectations," and that they were not “sleeping in a foxhole like a Marine might be doing.”
In separate news releases, the Navy gave vague explanations in at least four of the cases and blanket “loss of confidence” statements for the others.
It said an "assessment" of the current climate at the Naval Justice School led officials to fire both the commanding officer and her second-in-command on May 31. However, the Navy said neither officer was involved in misconduct.
That commanding officer, Capt. Amy Larson, had held the role for about eight months. She has been temporarily reassigned, officials said.
Earlier, a "command investigation" resulted in the April 28 termination of the commanding officer in charge of the Submarine Training Facility in San Diego, the Navy said.
In Hawaii, a "series of leadership and oversight failures" at the government-run Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility led to the April 4 dismissal of the commanding officer of its Fleet Logistics Center.
Most recently, the Navy said the commanding officer of the USS Bulkeley destroyer and his third-in-command were relieved on June 10 due to a loss of confidence in their "ability to effectively function as a command leadership team."
All of a sudden, this batch has fallen short of standards?
Improper pronoun usage.
Maybe new standards are falling short.
Refused to bow down to the fascist rainbow agenda?
Not woke enough for Milley vanilli fake tin solder libtard man 🤪
Removing the nonwoke.
I am guessing something to do with non acceptance of fags.
Stalinist political purge by Democrat scum
Can’t wait to hear the rest of the story. Everything else is idle speculation.
Fragile crew?
Everybody has to face reality at some point.
It's a joke when we get our command photos taken, "Smile! This pic is what will be on the cover of Navy Times!" (aka "Navy Crimes")
Stalinists are not bound by law or cultural rules to explain themselves and their actions...
Serfs just need to continue to:
Bow down!... Obey!... Snitch!...
And yet, not a single damn flag officer has been fired or even reprimanded for the Charlie-Fox bugout from Afghanistan.
Oh, no doubt some of these officers deserved the chop. I’ve heard reliable scuttlebutt that at least one of those fired was having a sexual relationship with an E3 sailor on his ship, but I suspect that at least some of the others were canned because they were too popular and effective rather than the opposite.
It seems the Navy does not want leaders these days. They want reliable managers who will not make waves or stand out.
Using wrong pronouns will trigger brass? Maybe standards are now woke and deviation is a firing offense?
The Patriot Purge
If they ever regain power, the Republicans had better reopen the discharge cases brought against ALL senior officers who were dismissed under Obama and Biden.
Fragile crew?
—
Yes, their safe rooms were violated by an inspection and the petting puppies had to walk the plank. Besides that the milk was too tepid. Not addressing them by their desired pronouns and withholding their gold stars awarded for showing up was the last straw.
Our neo-marxist political leaders have politicized the military and are purging generals and captains, while they stupidly maneuver themselves into wars.
Where have I seen this before?
My first thought.
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