Another Albuquerque Guy Gone Bad

Coming so soon after reports that a USS Albuquerque Sailor had been arrested for passing secrets to foreigners, we read of a JO who did his Division Officer tour on the Albuquerque who also went out of his way to make the Sub Force look bad. From today's New Londay Day:

A Navy officer stationed at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton admitted during a Sept. 21 general court-martial that he deserted a U.S. Army unit at Fort Bragg, N.C., while training to head to Afghanistan this summer.
Lt. Robert J. Loomis III, an instructor at the Naval Submarine School, pleaded guilty to desertion with intention to avoid hazardous duty and dereliction of duty in regard to handling small arms.
A military judge sentenced Loomis to 13 months in a Navy brig and dismissed him from the service. However a pre-trial agreement will limit his imprisonment to 30 days, according to Navy Northeast Region spokesman Chris Zendan.
Loomis' sentence began immediately and he has been transferred from the submarine base to the Navy Consolidated Brig in Norfolk, Va., Zendan said.

For those who aren't familiar with the term, "dismissal" is the officer equivalent of a Dishonorable Discharge -- it's bad ju-ju. Probably what he deserved.

For those wondering -- no, I didn't have to go to Afghanistan, but I sure could have when I did my IA tour just before my retirement. I have no sympathy for the guy. And although the article doesn't mention it, whenever someone is convicted at court martial, a follow-on administrative board will remove the offender's submarine qualification. People like this don't deserve to wear dolphins.