The hits keep coming:
A Navy commander cited by police in New York for driving under the influence of alcohol has lost his command.
(He) is the 17th Navy commanding officer this year to be canned, which means the service has now tied the record it set for all of 2010 for CO firings and with four months left in the calendar year.
Until he was fired Aug. 24, (he) was commander of Support Activity Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Officials said Rear Adm. Mark S. Boensel, commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, relieved Bell after losing confidence in his ability to command.
Alcohol also played a part in the firings of two other commanders this year, including (a) commander of Electronic Attack Squadron 129 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., and (the) former commander of Electronic Attack Squadron 141, also at Whidbey Island, according to the Navy.
A shame, really, to have come so far and been laid so low by something so pedestrian as a DUI.
Shouldn’t have come as a surprise, though.
I have no problem with having a good time. None whatsoever, but if a Navy commander, or anyone for that matter, won’t call a cab or one of his buddies…that’s not real smart. This was avoidable, and he made a stupid decision. It is what it is. In the end, maybe he shouldn’t be making decisions. Worse case, he could’ve hitched a ride, if you know what I mean. Stupid mistake. He just ruined more than he thought. Damn!
Agreed, Yabu. All they need to do to avoid a DUI is not drive. It’s so easy to call a cab, ask a buddy for help. When will people stop saying, “It’ll never happen to me”, and simply ask somebody for a ride? It’s such a waste… a dangerous one at that.
If he’d been a pedestrian, he probably wouldn’t have gotten fired!
Are shipmates watching out for each other these days? He may be the Skipper, but he’s still a shipmate.
+1
It continues to amaze me the number of C.O’s who end their career with what can only be classified as stupid mistakes. What is it about pining on the “sherrif’s badge” or “trident” that makes us assume that we are immune to standards of conduct. What gets most CO’s fired is not incompetence but severe laps of judjment.
I was all set to assume command of GITMO back in the day. We had sent out the COC invitations and my predessor was being packed out when I was re-routed to Roosy Rhodes. Why? The gent at Roosy was relieved for poor judgement. All indications were that he was an excellent CO and a boon to relations with the local communities. He just assumed that the rules didn’t apply to him. Go figure!
NSA Saratoga Springs is one of the prototype sites for “baby nukes,” Officer and Enlisted – zero tolerance for substandard behavior. It’s only 2.5 miles to downtown Saratoga, which is in high season in August.
He shoulda shopped local.
Nah, NSA Saratoga runs things like the NEX and the PSD. The baby nukes belong to NPTU Ballston Spa.
One of the article comments made a crude but interesting point. How many of the relieved CO’s have been minorities/women?
At least 1 woman and 4-5 minorities. Plus three of the XOs fired were minorities.
Sigh.
Just.
Sigh.
I just don’t know how to express my dismay at the state of the Navy in which I once served. I recall the Chief who bumped into my old Motobecane Nomade bike, as he was trying to cut corners to make it to the Chiefs’ Mess at 32nd St. Naval Station back in the day. I *could* have turned him in; instead, I let him lose his lunch break, transport me and my bicycle to the nearest bike shop (off base)–hopefully with the lesson that he needed to moderate what he “ate” for his midday repast.
As stated above, aren’t shipmates checking each others’ sixes? At the same time, our leadership (especially those of the old school Navy, not the new social engineering, “global force for good” club) need to learn to keep their own heads on a swivel.
Sigh.
And remember all y’all going to Tailhook next week in Reno, Cabs are a great way to travel!!! See ya there!
-JC
Tough stuff. Times have changed never to go back.
There but for the grace of God went I, on too many occasions.
Greetings:
And where exactly do they park the ships in Saratoga Springs ???
There’s a flooded tunnel that runs from the Hudson in Albany to the D1G ball.
Ah, Saratoga Springs. Good times, good times. D1G not so much. One of my classmates had pens made that said “D1G – Let’s get the ball rolling”.
This thingy? http://iowahawk.typepad.com/bolus/2008/07/ball-of-the–25.html
I was at S8G, so I got to walk past that thing twice a day. Fantasies the ball rolling into the parking lot were a regular feature of my commute.
When were you there, Jeff? We were supposed to be the 1st class though after a long availability in ’85. Wound up doing field day for 6 months waiting for them to finish, then the normal 6 month qual. All told I was there for 15 months.
SJBill, that is the thingy in question.
Arrived in July ’03, qualified that November. Stuck around for the next two years, including a 7.5 month 6-month SRA. Got to enjoy cramming two classes worth of steaming prac facs into the time available for one. Good Times.
Yep. S8G. Lived just outside of Saratoga Springs down by the Northway. Graduated in November of 1982. Then got sent to the USS Michigan. Went to ETC-7 in the middle of my tour (return quota). S8G was the only type of plant I ever operated.
That’s right! Tailhook is the same week as the Gun Blogger Rendezvous.
Last year I bought more than a few young folks in green jammies some brews.
I’ll be the phat old phart in the hospitality room with all of the gunnies/writers.
Not enough ships?
Yes, and too many Chiefs, and not enough Indians.
Apparently the RN has more admirals than ships.
If Our Sailors can keep their wits about them while maintaining and wielding the terrible implements of maritime destruction with which we have entrusted them while they are at sea, I see no problem with letting them blow off a bit of steam when ashore from time to time, and hey, sometimes you have to cover one eyeball when bringing the reactor critical to get under way, so as not to see everything twice.
I put my trust in Navy Training.
I do hope that it still exists, as I think of it.
I am curious, is Big Navy watching our Skippers closer? Or is the new media holding them more accountable? Or is it the “New Navy” and all these various “mistakes” occurred in the past, but the “New Navy” is different? Or have we fallen as a service?
The services are a reflection of the society in general. The rot has truly set in generally, and the services are not immune.
When I tipple too much, I get to a motel/hotel and stay the night. That 300 bucks for the only available suite is much cheaper than DUI or worse. I may feel bad the next day for over consuming and trashing my credit card for that hotel room, but I don’t get the crushing guilt of lost career or at fault accident.
Am I wrong to wonder why action was taken against the commander for only a citation written 10 days ago? Certainly a DUI shows lack of self-discipline and careless disregard of your fellow man but isn’t it just an allegation at the moment?
Oh, they prolly asked him about it. And he told the truth.
Only thing he could do, of course.
It’s so much easier to get a DUI than “back in the day.” Besides, back then if you passed the “attitude test,” a cop might cut you a break. Now LE has zero tolerance. Cops don’t even let other cops or DAs slide. The sooner everyone realizes this, the sooner only real idiots will get DUIs.
There have been cops let other cops, as well as the DA slide. Cops let other cops slide on all sorts of moving violations. And, they certainly don’t want to get on the bad side of the Persecutors either.
They’ve been shitcanning COs and XOs for DUI since the mid-`80s. By now, driving drunk might be deemed as failing the Stupid Test.
I would think that is passing the stupidity test. I guess it is dependent upon the vantage point.