In the wake of the incident, Brookhart was relieved of his duties and a request to discharge him from the service was sent to the Navy Personnel Command. The chief of the boat was reassigned and several crew members were punished for poor performance.
"People always ask why is the commanding officer almost always relieved when there is an incident, and the answer is that we hold him accountable for establishing a culture on a ship that is safe, efficient and capable of carrying out the mission," said Ronald S. Steed, a retired Navy captain who served as commodore of Submarine Squadron 2 at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton.
Steed said each submarine has a different culture, and it sometimes changes dramatically when a new commanding officer takes over.
"I've seen cases where a new commanding officer comes on board and in six months that place is a different organization," he said. "It becomes just like him. Where he's strong, they're strong, and where he's vulnerable, they may be vulnerable."
A submarine with a collaborative culture may draw in good ideas from everyone, but may falter when a unilateral decision is necessary, Steed said. A submarine with a decisive commanding officer may do well, but Sailors can become dependent and not learn how to make decisions on their own, he added.
Another officer, who is currently commanding a submarine, said the "command leadership team sets a tone and they have a strong influence on how things go. ... Every boat has a personality."
