The Chief of the Boat for the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Annapolis (SSN 760) was relieved of his duties April 19 by Cmdr. John Gearhart, commanding officer, USS Annapolis, due to allegations of alcohol-related misconduct while on liberty overseas.Who had "20 days" in the "how long will it be until the next submarine senior leader gets fired" pool? And on a deployed SSN, no less? I don't know any specifics about this case, but it does seem, just based on anecdotal evidence, that the Navy seems to be pulling the trigger a lot faster when any allegations of misconduct come up. (In this case, the official word is that the CO is the one who made the call, and I have no reason to doubt that's the case. I'm assuming he got permission from Groton before he processed the paperwork, though.) Back in the day, I frequently heard the probably apocryphal canard that a new CO was generally granted one "free pass" in firing an officer or Chief before squadron started sniffing around the boat more intently. I wonder if the same rule applied to Squadrons and the CO/XO/COBs of the boats they run? Or if they now just assume that if they don't fire one, Big Navy starts to wonder what's wrong?
There is an ongoing investigation into the alleged misconduct, which occurred while Senior Chief Sonar Technician Submarines (SS) Gregory Cordray was Chief of the Boat for USS Annapolis. The investigation is being conducted by Submarine Development Squadron 12.
USS Annapolis is currently forward deployed in support of combatant commander tasking.
Cordray has been temporarily assigned to Submarine Development Squadron 12 in Groton.
Master Chief Electronics Technician (SS) Ed Durrua will temporarily assume the duties as Chief of the Boat for USS Annapolis. Prior to his new assignment Durrua, was assigned to USS Miami (SSN 755).
This Is Getting Old...
Let's see what submarine-related news has hit the wires in the last few days. Well, on some official Navy websites, we see that USS Missouri (SSN 780) had a change of command, PCU Mississippi (SSN 782) is on track for commissioning this summer after successfully completing Alpha and Bravo Trials, and... wait for it... another COB just got detached for cause: