By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday May 19, 2007 15:57:30 EDT
  
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.

The troubles began May 11, when the frigate Samuel B. Roberts was coming into port in Argentina after completing the annual UNITAS Atlantic exercise with other Navy and foreign ships. The Roberts experienced “engineering difficulties” and had to be pulled into port by tugboats, said Lt. Cmdr. Jon Spiers, a Naval Forces South spokesman. The frigate is commanded by Cmdr. Marc Weeks.

It’s unclear exactly what caused the frigate to apparently go dead in the water. Spiers would not comment on the specifics of the “engineering difficulties.” He did note that tugboats pulled the ship into port at Puerto Belgrano. There were no injuries onboard, he added.

Navy investigators are in Argentina assessing the ship’s condition and reviewing the incident.

A few days later, the guided-missile destroyer Arleigh Burke ran aground off the coast of Norfolk, Va. Cmdr. Herman Phillips, a 2nd Fleet spokesman, described it as a “soft grounding,” noting the ship was able to arrive in port May 15 under its own power. There was no apparent damage to the vessel, Phillips added.

Cmdr. E.J. McClure commands the Burke. Capt. Ralph “Larry” Tindal, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 2, was also onboard at the time of the grounding, according to the Navy.

The Norfolk grounding is especially odd given the well-charted waters. The Navy declined to provide specifics and is investigating.

The service reported no injuries.

In the fifth skipper dismissal in five weeks, the Navy announced May 16 that Cmdr. William A. Schwalm was relieved of command of the fast-attack submarine Helena.

Capt. Paul N. Jaenichen, commodore of San Diego-based Submarine Squadron 11 and Schwalm’s boss, said he had lost confidence in the commander’s ability to “maintain the Helena crew’s proficiency and level of readiness.”

Jaenichen assigned Cmdr. Daryl L. Caudle, his deputy at the submarine squadron, as the temporary commander of Helena until a permanent skipper is named. Caudle most recently had command of the fast-attack boat Jefferson City.

The latest firing comes on the heels of four others in the past month:

* The captain of an electronic warfare squadron, just nine days after he took command.

* The head of a major recruiting district.

* The commanding officer of a destroyer headed for the Persian Gulf.

* The commander of the historic ship USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” in Boston.

None of the firings was related to mishaps or operational errors.

The Navy has not released much information on the dismissals, but sources have suggested causes range from incompetence to fraternization to an allegation that a captain struck an enlisted crew member.

The Coast Guard reassignment is more straightforward, however. Cmdr. Michael Sabellico, skipper of the 270-foot medium-endurance cutter Escanaba, was arrested in Key West on May 15 after an apparent bar brawl.

According to the police report, Sabellico and several crew members were drinking at bars along the island’s famed Duval Street when they argued with a bartender at an Irish pub.

Sabellico and the crew members allegedly were loitering in an alley when the bartender at Irish Kevin’s asked them to leave. They left as requested, but according to the report, Sabellico returned and scuffled with the man. He then left the scene. Sabellico was apprehended later and charged with simple assault.

Sabellico remains the Escanaba’s skipper, but he was temporarily reassigned to the Coast Guard’s 1st District. Cmdr. Chris Austin has assumed temporary command of the cutter.

Staff writers Patricia Kime and Gidget Fuentes contributed to this report.


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 Out of every 100 men, ten shouldn't even be there, Eighty are just targets, Nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back." - Hericletus, circa 500 BC

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Let's recap that period shall we...

Sept. 2002: Capt. Thomas Hejl, Kitty Hawk’s skipper, fired due to a loss of confidence.

Feb. 13, 2003: Rear Adm. Steven Kunkle, commander of the Kitty Hawk carrier battle group based in Japan, fired for engaging in an ''improper relationship'' with a female junior officer.

March 13, 2003: Capt. Charles P. Martello and his chief of staff, Cmdr. Thomas J. Doughty, relieved of duties commanding Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 10 at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington state. Officials said Martello falsified his flying record and that Doughty participated in the fraud.

March 14, 2003: Cmdr. Steven Ritchie , commander of the San Diego-based amphibious ship Mount Vernon , lost his job after allegations that he was intoxicated during a confrontation with Marines on his ship.

April 10, 2003: Capt. Jason A. Leaver was relieved of command at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach after only six months on the job. Let go by Mid-Atlantic Region Rear Adm. David Architzel, Navy officials said that the admiral lost confidence in Leaver’s judgment.

April 16, 2003: Capt. Alvin Ford , commanding officer of Naval Support Activity in New Orleans, was relieved due to a loss of confidence.

June 3, 2003: Vice Adm. Richard Naughton resigned from his post as the Naval Academy superintendent after officials concluded that he improperly grabbed a sentry and humiliated subordinates.

June 10, 2003: Capt. George M. Koucheravy , commander of the Norfolk-based Naval Support Activity, was fired and brought before a non judicial hearing after a loss of confidence. Koucheravy had been responsible for Navy quality-of-life programs as well as facilities hosting 40 admirals and generals assigned to several locally based commands.

Aug. 26, 2003: Cmdr. Jeffrey W. Hansen , commanding officer of a fighter-jet training squadron at Lemoore Naval Air Station in California, was relieved after allegations of undisclosed misconduct.

Aug. 26, 2003: Capt. Ruth A. Cooper , head of the Naval Station in Newport, R.I., was fired for alleged mismanagement of the base and ''questionable personnel actions.''

Sept. 4, 2003: Capt. W. James Kear, commanding officer of the cruiser Mobile Bay, homeported in San Diego, lost his job due to loss of confidence.

Oct. 15, 2003: Cmdr. Peter A. Pellegrino, commanding officer of a radar-jamming EA-6B Prowler squadron, lost his job after one of his jets ran off the runway at Chambers Field in Norfolk. Pellegrino, commander of the Shadowhawks squadron at Whidbey Island, Wash., was fired for loss of confidence.

Nov. 8, 2003: Cmdr. Christopher R. Van Metre , commanding officer of the submarine Hartford , based in Groton, Conn., and his boss, Capt. Greg Parker , commodore of Submarine Squadron 22 , were fired for loss of confidence after the Hartford ran aground off the coast of Italy on Oct. 25.

Nov. 21, 2003: Cmdr. Bryan Caraveo, commanding officer of the San Diego-based frigate Curts , was relieved of duty for lack of confidence after his ship hit a buoy off Indonesia in July.

Dec. 12, 2003: Cmdr. Tito Dua, commanding officer of the frigate Gary, based in Japan, lost his job for loss of confidence.

Dec. 19, 2003: Capt. Keith Lyles, commander of the Navy’s strategic nuclear missile-weapons system for the Pacific, was relieved of command for ''a lack of confidence'' in his performance at the Bangor Submarine Base in Washington state.

Jan. 9, 2004: Lt. Robert F. Massaro, commanding officer of the Little Creek-based patrol coastal ship Typhoon, lost his job due to a loss of confidence after the drowning death of a crew member.

Jan. 24, 2004: Cmdr. David J. Bartholomew Jr. was relieved of command of the Jimmy Carter, a Groton-based submarine waiting to be commissioned, for loss of confidence.

Jan. 28, 2004: Capt. Richard Mohler was fired from his command at Naval Air System Command’s Training Systems Division in Orlando, Fla., due to a loss of confidence.

Jan. 29, 2004: Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Dodson, accused of assaulting a subordinate, was relieved of command of the Oriole, a minesweeper based in Ingleside, Texas, due to a loss of confidence.

Feb. 27, 2004: Cmdr. Mike Hall, commanding officer of the Mayport, Fla.-based guided-missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts, lost his job for loss of confidence. Navy officials said that during a port visit in Ecuador last month, Hall spent a night off the ship during the liberty call, which was a violation of Navy rules.

Feb. 28, 2004: Cmdr. George Bonsall, commanding officer of the Norfolk-based guided-missile destroyer Stout, was given nonjudicial punishment for personal misconduct during a liberty visit in Mobile, Ala., and was relieved for loss of confidence.

"Let's Go Downtown" - Flight of the Intruder
 

http://www.327infantry.org/second/c_co 

Same Mud Same Blood - NBC documentary filmed 1967 RVN, chronicle Frank McGee

"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman!"  -Homer Simpson

From what I've observed here there is more responsiblity placed on Navy Commanders.  They have broader authority and correspondingly broader responsiblity.

"...my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me." He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: "That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave"

General "Stonewall" Jackson

"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable."

Thorax