Navy removes ship's command after boozy port visit

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/navy-removes-ships-command-boozy-port-visit-220840738.html

Associated Press – 16 hrs ago

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The commander and top officers of a San Diego-based Navy frigate have been relieved of duty after a rowdy, booze-fueled port visit to Vladivostok, Russia.

Cmdr. Joseph E. Darlak, skipper of the USS Vandegrift, was removed Friday by Capt. John L. Schultz after an investigation "due to loss of confidence after demonstrating poor leadership and failure to ensure the proper conduct of his wardroom officers" during the three-day September stop, the Navy said in a statement.

Executive officer Lt. Cmdr. Ivan A. Jimenez and the ship's chief engineer and operations officer were also relieved "for personal conduct involving use of alcohol and not adhering to established liberty policies," the statement said.

The names of the two lower-ranked officers were not released because their positions are not considered public under Navy policy, and Navy officials did not give specifics on the misbehavior of any of the officers.

In a post on the official Facebook page of the Navy's 7th Fleet, the commander celebrated the visit as it began on Sept. 20.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to visit Vladivostok and experience all the city has to offer," Darlak said in the post. "Our sailors are especially looking forward to making new friends."

The officers were relieved during a port visit in Guam, and they'll be temporarily reassigned in San Diego pending more possible administrative actions, the Navy Times reported.

Darlak's ouster comes just over three months after he assumed command of the Vandegrift. He previously served as executive officer of the destroyer Stethem.

Capt. H. Thomas Workman, a deputy commander from the ship's squadron, has taken over the Vandegrift until it returns to San Diego at the end of its seven-month deployment later this month, the statement said, and the Navy emphasizes that the ship remains fully ready for any mission.

Edited November 4, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Darnell 8,478]

it's been a while, since the last news of a ship's captain being relieved like this.

a long while, IIRC.

wow.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Wonder what the did. Salior has been on a boat for Months and wants to drink and frolic when they get to port. No biigie.

Guess we will do away with terms like, Cuss like sailor drunk as a sailor

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Wonder what the did. Salior has been on a boat for Months and wants to drink and frolic when they get to port. No biigie.

Guess we will do away with terms like, Cuss like sailor drunk as a sailor

Agreed this is kind of weird. The last time a naval officer got relieved of command was when he tried to save American lives in Benghazi.

Edited November 4, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Wonder what the did. Salior has been on a boat for Months and wants to drink and frolic when they get to port. No biigie.

Guess we will do away with terms like, Cuss like sailor drunk as a sailor

A frigate is a ship not a boat.

The captain of my nuclear cruiser sent us on beer runs while we waited for the liberty boat. What has become of the Navy?

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

A frigate is a ship not a boat.

The captain of my nuclear cruiser sent us on beer runs while we waited for the liberty boat. What has become of the Navy?

It's been Obamanized is what's happened. The new politically correct navy. Most likely those naval officers grabbed themselves some Russian hotties when they were in port and that's not politically correct these days. Two guys in the navy having a relationship with each other = ok but some guys chasing some Russian hottie chicks while in port = not politically correct.

Kind of like how it's not politically correct these days to try to save American lives in foreign countries like Libya.

[Ban Hammer 13,406]

cap looks like he's about to spew his cookies.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

It's been Obamanized is what's happened. The new politically correct navy. Most likely those naval officers grabbed themselves some Russian hotties when they were in port and that's not politically correct these days. Two guys in the navy having a relationship with each other = ok but some guys chasing some Russian hottie chicks while in port = not politically correct.

Kind of like how it's not politically correct these days to try to save American lives in foreign countries like Libya.

Let me shed some light on this subject. It has nothing to do with Obama, it wasn't even him doing anything. He was relieved because about 5 of his officer were acting a fool out in public. I know this because I work for the Senior Enlisted Advisor in USTRANSCOM and we were talking about it since we were in VLAD back in May 2010. That vodka is a killer:)

Officers are held to a much higher standard than enlisted personnel so it's easier to get into trouble when you have more eyes on you. As my master Chief has told me, the ship didn't have a good liberty policy in effect when they pulled in. We had to have 3-5 people with us at all time and we had to be in uniform, plus we had a 0000 curfew so no overnight liberty. I bitched about this when we were there but after all of the incidents that happened, I'm glad we had those rules. We were lucky because we had people that looked out for each other when things went south, sounds like these officers didn't have the same mind frame...