The Navy is on a tear: it has just relieved its third commanding officer this week. That makes 10 so far this year, putting it well ahead of 2010, when 17 were canned over the entire year. The latest man overboard (the ninth, in fact, was a woman, relieved last Saturday) is Commander Jay Wylie, captain of the destroyer USS Momsen, based in Everett, Wash. His superior said Thursday that Wylie was relieved of command “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command stemming from allegations of misconduct.” He is the fourth in command of a ship to be booted.
Adm. John Harvey, head of U.S. Forces Command, wrote on his blog about the spate of firings. “Most of the Commanding Officers (COs) detached for cause on my watch were for personal misconduct,” he wrote Tuesday. “In every case, each Commanding Officer, whether through personal misconduct, negligence, or exceptionally poor judgment, lost the trust of their subordinates or their superiors and without that fundamental building block in place — trust — they no longer had the ability to command.” The firing frenzy has naval blogs buzzing — are they happening because the Navy is getting tougher, people are getting weaker, or some combination of both?
Full story: Navy Fires Third C.O. — This Week!