WTF Is Going On With The US Navy?

[unhappycamper]

unhappycamper note: Since the ‘Pentagon’ has ‘requested’ that I only post one paragraph from articles on Army Times, and Airforce Times, I’ve decided to give ya’ll an unhappycamper summary of the article and a link to the OP. To keep in that same (new) tradition, I will also do the same for articles on Navy Times, Marine Corps Times, stripes.com and military.com.To keep in that same (new) tradition, I will also do the same for for articles on Navy Times, Marine Corps Times, stripes.com and military.com.

To read the article in the military's own words, you will need to click the link.

(This space reserved for a legally correct snark dump.) It sure is beginning to smell like fascism.

unhappycamper summary of this article: :wtf:






Navy sacks 3 leaders
Boomer skipper, 2 others relieved of duty


Navy sacks three leaders in one day
By William H. McMichael and Gidget Fuentes - Staff writers
Posted : Friday Sep 17, 2010 22:34:32 EDT

In the span of 24 hours, the Navy has fired a commanding officer, executive officer and a command master chief.

[Divernan]

1. I think the timing was co-incidental. On average 1%- 13 COs fired per year.

These three Navy men were disciplined/fired for very different reasons, specifically:
1. Capt. Gero (Puget Sound, WA)for "improper personal behavior";
2. XO Cmdr. Mansfield, (scheduled to take command of the Norfolk, VA based destroyer Mahan, following his tour as XO) on charges of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and assault, for striking another (male) officer in the ship's combat direction center;
3. Commander Master Chief Stitt (Norfolk, VA based carrier Theodore Roosevelt) was relieved as the result of false statements made to an investigating officer and his Captain during the course of an ongoing, but unspecified investigation.

HOWEVER, it is interesting that two COs at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, WA were fired for "inappropriate personal behavior" within four days of each other. According to comments on the following cited blog, both had to do with sexual behavior.

http://bubbleheads.blogspot.com/2010/09/bangor-ttf-co-fired.html#comments

"The commanding officer of the guided-missile submarine USS Ohio’s Blue Crew was relieved Friday for inappropriate personal behavior, according to the Navy. He was the second commanding officer relieved at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in the week."

"The commanding officer of the Trident Training Facility in Bangor, Wash., was fired Tuesday because of 'inappropriate personal behavior,' according to a Navy spokesman."

One interesting comment from "Navy Dad":
As a civilian (Navy dad - I met CAPT Solms. Seemed like a stand-up guy to me) I don't understand 'loss of confidence'. Well, I understand the words, but clearly they are a euphemism for 'you disgraced us.'

In this day and age, society places far less value on the so-called morals of people than the Navy seems to. A Captain gets canned for behaviour that most Americans see as slightly worse than picking one's nose in public, but the system as a whole encourages immoral behaviours like back stabbing competition, politicking instead of performing and faking the log to get that extra mandatory safety training done. Are we paying lip service to 'conduct unbecoming' and ignoring the rot at the centre?

Crazy. Joel I think you're absolutely right that people can't get away with things that used to slip under the radar.

Navy Dad

[Divernan]

2. Link to another blog (retired Navy Captain)

http://navycaptain-therealnavy.blogspot.com/2010/09/navys-fourteenth-commanding-officer.html

This one gives the bio of one of these captains. Scuttlebut/comments indicate he probably got fired for an extra-marital affair. I don't support cheating on a spouse - if you're unable to be faithful, get a divorce. However, firing this captain meant the Navy threw out a whole lot of expensive training and very valuable experience. Was this one strike you're out or had he been warned? This married captain was on shore based duty - ran a training center. I think it should make a difference if the affair was with a junior subordinate (major fail), or his next door neighbor. We'll never know.

[msongs]

3. if they fired all the navy people on morals charges the ships would be unmanned lol nt

[hermetic]

4. Wow,

sorry to hear that unhappycamper. Aren't all news sources headed in that same direction, though? Yes, it does smell that way.

[SpiralHawk]

5. "Don't make waves. Move along. Nothing to see here." - Them