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| USS West Virginia (SSBN) Gold Skipper Relieved |
| 2008-12-31 |
| The commanding officer of the USS West Virginia's Gold Crew was relieved of duty Monday because of "a loss of confidence" in his ability to command, Navy officials said. There goes a career. Removed due to "lack of confidence" - ouch! Trident sub Captains are a select group so I guess he just didn't fit in? In-house politics? Officials at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, where the West Virginia is homeported, said there was no specific incident that led to the removal of Cmdr. Charles "Tony" Hill. The decision was made by Capt. Daniel Mack, commander of Submarine Squadron Sixteen/Twenty. Hill completed his first deployment as commanding officer aboard the West Virginia in November. He was commanding officer of one of two crews that alternate patrols aboard the Trident submarine. But it's not the first time a Navy officer has been relieved of duties in the region. Since 1996, there have been at least five instances where local squadron or ship commanders were relieved, according to stories published in the Times-Union. Most recently, Cmdr. Douglas A. Malin, commander of Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Atlantic, was relieved of duty for loss of confidence in his ability to lead the unit. The Navy gave no reason for removing Malin from his command, based at Mayport Naval Station, in February. In 2004, Capt. Steve Squires was relieved of command after his ship, the USS John F. Kennedy, hit and sank a small wooden boat in the Persian Gulf. No survivors were found. Crunch. What was that tiny sound? That was the sound of your career sinking, Cap'n. Cmdr. Guy Maiden, the officer in charge of Navy Fighter Squadron 103, was removed from his command in 2004, for an undisclosed off-duty incident during a port visit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Navy officials said. |
| Posted by:gromky |
| #12 What Besoeker said, although in my ignorance i thought it was following seas (whatever that means). Just as war pitilessly weeds out not only the incompetent but the unlucky, so too must our armed services as soon as they become aware that one or the other holds true, for the sake of those they command. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-12-31 13:58 |
| #11 "Loss of confidence" can be anything, from lousy ship-handling, to poor command climate, to failing to maintain standards. And Ricky bin Ricardo is right - there are a multitude of opportunities to lose command. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-12-31 13:48 |
| #10 sounds like his calm seas will be on his own sailboat |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2008-12-31 10:55 |
| #9 Standards to uphold?? That's un-American! |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2008-12-31 10:10 |
| #8 Unlike our utterly dispicable Congress which exercises civilian control over the military, the United States Navy has standards, safety and progressionalism to uphold. I salute the US Navy and thank Cmdr Hill for his service. I wish him fair winds and calm seas in his future endeavors. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-31 07:57 |
| #7 Maybe all the captain needed was a cookie and a glass of milk. And the Navy was all out of milk... |
| Posted by: badanov 2008-12-31 07:13 |
| #6 ...Keep in mind the USN is seriously touchy (and rightfully so) about its boomers and the guys who run them. If CMDR Hill had a serious case of the stupids AND somehow got through all the safeguards, the relief might have been as much CYA for the Navy as it was for his own sins. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2008-12-31 05:26 |
| #5 Dunno if it's in-house politics or not, but there's an endless list of ways for a navy ship captain or airwing CO to get himself relieved. During my junior-enlisted youth in the mid 70's, I was standing a quarterdeck midwatch with one of our more cynical LTJG's, who told me about an informal poll our CO conducted in the wardroom one day - this was during Jimmuh's administration, when the forces were hemorrhaging experienced personnel (eventually including your humble correspondent) at an alarming rate. The Captain asked the wardroom full of officers how many aspired to command at sea, and was saddened to see only a couple of about 15 officers raise their hands. They all knew that a CO spends his entire command tour riding the edge of a knife, just one small mistake - his or a subordinate's - away from a twilight tour counting sea lions at NAVSTA Adak. And it's probably even worse now, with a fleet less than half the size of the one we had 20 or so years ago. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2008-12-31 00:44 |
| #4 This comment thread has some people who claim to know the skipper, and they say he was a screaming humiliator who berated people day and night whether they deserved it or not. The Navy never says anything in these matters... |
| Posted by: gromky 2008-12-31 00:40 |
| #3 My guess: a little too much drinky-drinky. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2008-12-31 00:35 |
| #2 Whoa - I was looking up the PEARL HARBOR-WW2 BATTLESHIP "WEE VEE" on the Net. ["Twilight Zone" theme here]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-12-31 00:32 |
| #1 One of the biggest reasons for senior naval officer relief from command are "self inflicted zipper wounds". |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-12-31 00:16 |