In the wake of the deadly collisions of USS Fitzgerald and USS John McCain, the commander of 7th Fleet was relieved of duty. That was somewhat symbolic, as VADM Aucoin was just weeks from retirement.
Today comes the news that subordinate commanders, Commander Task Force 70, and Commander Destroyer Squadron 15, have been relieved as well.
The commander of the Navy’s largest operational battle force and his subordinate in charge of the attached destroyer squadron have been removed from their positions as a result of ongoing investigations into a string of incidents this year that resulted in the death of 17 sailors and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, USNI News has learned.
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Philip Sawyer removed Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Combined Task Force 70, and Capt. Jeffery Bennett, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 15, from their positions on Monday (Tuesday local time) due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command, two Navy officials told USNI News and later confirmed by a statement from the service.
Williams also served as commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 with USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). Bennett’s command included guided-missile destroyers USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) and USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62). Fitzgerald collided with a merchant ship off Japan on June 17 and resulted in the death of seven sailors, while McCain collided with a chemical tanker near Singapore on Aug. 21, resulting in the death of 10 sailors.
“Rear Adm. Marc Dalton, commander of Task Force 76 (CTF 76), assumed duties as commander, CTF 70. Capt. Jonathan Duffy, deputy commander, DESRON 15, assumed duties as commander,” read a statement from the Navy following an earlier version of this post.
The officials told USNI News the removals of Williams and Bennett are part of ongoing accountability actions as part of the Navy investigations into four surface ship incidents – three collisions and a grounding – in the Western Pacific this year.
The relief of a flag officer and a Captain is quite unusual. The command team of USS Fitzgerald was relieved. DESRON 15 was their boss. CTF 70 was DESRON 15's boss. VADM Aucoin was CTF-70's boss. In Army terms, this would be roughly the equivalent of a battalion commander being fired, as well as the BCT, division and corps commanders.
Interestingly, the commander of USS John McCain has not been relieved.
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