5 COs fired in 5 weeks, and more may follow

GreatAmerican

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http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/05/navy_skippers_070519w/


The Navy’s recent troubled waters got even more turbulent May 11-16 as news got out of a destroyer grounding, a frigate apparently going dead in the water and a sub skipper being fired. The commanding-officer sacking was the fifth in as many weeks.

What’s more, the Coast Guard “temporarily reassigned” the CO of a 270-foot cutter after he was arrested on charges of assaulting a bartender in Key West, Fla....

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It's been a rough month for the sea services. Clockwise from top left: Cmdr. Thomas C. Graves, fired as CO of the USS Constitution; Cmdr. Jeffrey P. Menne, fired as CO of the USS Higgins; Cmdr. Marc Weeks, CO of USS Samual B. Roberts, which needed a tow into port; Cmdr. E. J. McClure, CO of the USS Arleigh Burke, which ran aground this week; and Cmdr. Michael S. Sabellico, CO of Coast Guard cutter Escanaba, who was reassigned after a bar fight.
 
Arleigh Burke skipper latest to be relieved

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/05/navy_burke_co_fired_070521/

Cmdr. E.J. McClure, captain of the destroyer Arleigh Burke, was relieved of command Monday by Rear Adm. Dan Holloway, commander of Carrier Strike Group 12, according to a Navy official.

Holloway had a “loss of confidence in her ability to command” following the May 15 “soft grounding” of the Burke off Norfolk as the ship was heading back into port. No one was injured in the incident, but damage to the ship is still being assessed, according to the official....
 
Lost Count

Begining around December, I saw the first Skipper of a ship get the flush valve for "loss of confidence". I've lost count. I think it's up to 12 CO's that have had that career ending stamp put in their file. I don't remember ever seeing a number nearly that large. You might see one or two a year. Has the Command structure begun looking at a new set of standards for their Command at Sea evaluation or is this just a rash of Homer Simson's?

Gotta love that Coastie! Bar fight? He should switch to Subs!
 
Cutter CO accused in bar brawl relieved

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/06/coastguard_skipper_relieved_070619w/

A Coast Guard skipper arrested in May after an alleged bar fight in Key West, Fla., has been temporarily relieved of command, officials announced.

Cmdr. Michael S. Sabellico has been temporarily relieved of command of the 270-foot medium endurance cutter Escanaba. The service announced June 7 that Atlantic Area commander Vice Adm. Brian Peterman relieved Sabellico for “loss of confidence” in his ability to command....


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Coast Guard Cmdr. Michael S. Sabellico, commanding officer of the cutter Escanaba, has relieved of command in the wake of his arrest during a Key West, Fla., port call.

 
Dismissal of cutter Haley CO made final

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/06/coastguard_skipper_fired_070619w/

The commanding officer of the Coast Guard medium-endurance cutter Alex Haley received nonjudicial punishment June 13 for his conduct while leading the ship, a Coast Guard official said June 19.

Cmdr. Karl Gabrielsen received a punitive letter of reprimand and fines worth up to $5,000 during an admiral’s mast conducted by Pacific Area Commander Charles Wurster....
 
Story on CONSTITUTION CO....

Hadn't heard of this one until now:

Navy fires commander of USS Constitution
Loss of confidence, trust cited as reasons

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff | May 11, 2007

The commander of the famed USS Constitution was fired from his post yesterday, two months before his two-year term expired, because the Navy lost confidence in his ability to command the 210-year-old ship, officials said.

Thomas A. Graves took command of "Old Ironsides" in July 2005 in a ceremony before hundreds of spectators who gathered at the Charlestown Navy Yard to watch the ship set sail.

Yesterday, a Navy spokesman said that Graves, who lives in Marblehead, was relieved from the post because the department had lost "trust and confidence" in him.

"This was due to an administrative matter," said Commander Jeff Davis , a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon. "We're not able to discuss the details of that. This is not something that is accompanying a disciplinary action. This was based solely upon the senior officers' assessment of his ability to command effectively."

Link
 
Don't the Skippers drink in the upscale bars where patrons get along? :beer1:
 
This one could be fun.

Navy bad news comes in waves of three. This may be the first time that the waves come in groups of three.

How does one lose faith in the babysitter of a 200 year old tourist attraction. Is he oogling the girls or is he senile and unable to keep up with his aerosol can of termite spray?

For once it is not all airdales. The Prowler skipper had only been there for 9 days. Squadron COs typically fleet up from XO so he had been there for a year and a half or so. Kinda think this might be the one where the sailor was struck.

The Burke CO is only referred to by HER initials rather than her first name as when it was first announced. Wonder whose idea that was.

The CG skipper, married with 2 kids, was faulted for two incorrect relationships, nothing to do with the CG. Think he hugged the bar tender a little to closely before he decked him?

Yep, Squid, it is a kinder gentler Navy now. Gone are the days of a good bar fight every import period. And if there was a sub alongside, at least one every night. Most skippers, afraid of the possible repercussions, will not even go in a bar. Those that do seem to be better skippers though. Probably coincidental, I’m sure
 
This one could be fun.
How does one lose faith in the babysitter of a 200 year old tourist attraction. Is he oogling the girls or is he senile and unable to keep up with his aerosol can of termite spray?

You read my mind. My initial reaction was, "What? Did CONSTITUTION run aground somewhere?" After Googling, though, it looks like the issue was administrative rather than operational. Heaven only knows WTF was going on...

The Burke CO is only referred to by HER initials rather than her first name as when it was first announced. Wonder whose idea that was.

You noticed that, too, eh? Her entire bio is like that.

I wonder if NOW and the rest will celebrate her being the first female Commanding Officer to be FIRED? Hey, it's a historic milestone! :thumb:

Yep, Squid, it is a kinder gentler Navy now. Gone are the days of a good bar fight every import period.


An old boss and friend, and hopefully soon-to-be NEW boss, spent the better part of a month in the hooskow in France along with a handful of his fellow snipes and their counterparts from a Russian sub after a ........ "disagreement"....... in a bar. :biggrin:
 
An old boss and friend, and hopefully soon-to-be NEW boss, spent the better part of a month in the hooskow in France along with a handful of his fellow snipes and their counterparts from a Russian sub after a ........ "disagreement"....... in a bar. :biggrin:

One of my all time best nights was at the O'Club in Rota. About 10pm the first O-5 was hauled out to the dispensary for stiches. In an hour he was back with half the nurses on base. Within a few minutes, another O-5 made the same trip for the same reason and was back with the remainder of the nurses. Usually the locals went into hiding when the battle groups pulled in. Maybe this should this be on the military nurse thread?

It was the same night I, a brand new Lcdr, was in a amphibious strategy discussion with the MARG Commander, Marine bird colonel and told him he couldn't be correct on a point that he had just made. When he asked me why, I told him that he was the smartest person I knew and knew he was uncapable of making such a dumb statement. He WASN'T the smartest person I had ever met, and around mid morning the next day when he finally figured out what I had said, I had to go into hiding for a couple of days.

Yep, times have changed.
 
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I think the funniest bar “fight” I have ever seen was at Happy Hour in the Dirty Shirt O'Club Bar a couple of years ago, when I looked over and my son and his best friend were both down on the floor, amid all the spilled beer, going at it. However. due to excessive alcohol consumption, their “fighting” was not particularly effective. My curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see what the row was all about so I sidled over to within hearing distance where I heard my son say; “Damn it, behave, you know my old man is here.”
 
5 disciplined in Arleigh Burke grounding

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/07/navy_burke_discipline_070706w/

Cmdr. E.J. McClure, former captain of the destroyer Arleigh Burke, was administratively disciplined July 3 along with her executive officer and two other officers in a nonjudicial hearing convened in response to the ship running aground May 15.

“Appropriate administrative actions” were taken against the four Arleigh Burke officers, said Lt. Cmdr. Herb Josey, public affairs officer for Naval Surface Force Atlantic. He did not disclose the nature of the actions due to privacy considerations....


nt_burke_287_070706.JPG

Officers sent to mast
Hearings were in response to May 15 incident.

 
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