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| Photo Credit: AP |
The United States Navy has reportedly dismissed no fewer than five officers in less than a week, The Hill reports. On Tuesday the Navy fired the commanding officer of USS Preble guided missile destroyer. Cmdr. Peter Lesaca was relieved of his role “due to loss of confidence in his ability to command,” The Hill cited a Navy statement.
No reason was given for his dismissal but a statement released by the Navy said
that “Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and
professional conduct” and are “expected to uphold the highest standards of
responsibility, reliability and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable
when they fall short of those standards,” according to The Hill.
Capt. Larry Repass, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron
23, will assume the duties as commanding officer until the permanent and
qualified relief arrives, the Navy noted.
On June 11, the Navy relieved Capt. Jeffry Sandin, the
commanding officer of the Recruit Training Command, “due to a loss of confidence
in his ability to command,” and later reassigned him to Naval Service Training
Command headquarters. He was replaced by Capt. Kertreck Brooks, chief of staff
of Naval Service Training Command.
On June 10, the USS Bulkeley destroyer commanding officer
Cmdr. Devine Johnson and Command Master Chief Earl Sanders were both relieved
“due to a loss of confidence in their ability to effectively function as a
command leadership team,” according to a separate Navy statement, The Hill
reported.
Johnson was the ship’s commanding officer since July 2020
while Sanders served as the command master chief since June 2021
While Johnson was replaced by Capt. William “Mac” Harkin who
is currently Deputy Commodore, Destroyer Squadron Two temporarily “until a
permanent relief is identified,” Sanders was temporarily replaced by Master
Chief Petty Officer Christy Reed who is of CDS-2.
“There is no impact to the command’s mission or schedule due
to this relief,” the statement noted.