| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The U.S. Navy has an integrity problem in the ranks of its commanding officers (COs). Consider these headlines: "Cruiser CO Relieved for 'Cruelty.'"1
"CO Fired, Charged with Solicitation."2
"CO of Attack Sub Fired for 'Drunkenness.'"3
These are just a few cases in a recent deluge of early reliefs of "skippers."
In 2010, twenty-three Navy COs were relieved of command and "detached for
cause," an enormous increase over previous years. The trend continues: twentyone commanding officers were fired in 2011 as of the end of October.4
Even more
worrisome is the fact that a large and increasing percentage of those dismissals
are due to personal misconduct, such as sexual harassment, drunkenness, and
fraternization. Although (as far as we can tell) over 97 percent of the Navy's
commanding officers conduct themselves honorably, the increasing number of
those who do not raises concerns that the Navy must address. Alarms should be
sounding at the highest levels of Navy leadership, but
a review of recent literature reveals only a trickle of
discussion on the subject of personal misconduct by
military commanders. Instead of calling the service to
action, a Navy spokesman said in January 2011 that
there was "no indication that the reliefs are the result
of any systemic problem."5
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