Navy relieves commander after grounding near Sochi

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/02/navy-relieves-commander-after-grounding-near-sochi



Cmdr. Dennis Volpe was reassigned to another job.

Navy relieves commander after grounding near Sochi
By Pauline Jelinek
The Associated Press
© February 26, 2014

WASHINGTON

The commander of the U.S. Navy ship that ran aground while deployed near the Olympics has been relieved of his command.

Navy officials in Europe issued a statement Tuesday saying Cmdr. Dennis Volpe was relieved due to loss of confidence in his ability to command. The Navy says the Taylor, one of two U.S. warships dispatched to the Black Sea before the Sochi Winter Olympics, remains under repair in the Turkish port at Samsun. It ran aground there Feb. 12 while preparing to moor.

The guided missile frigate arrived in the Black Sea early this month with the Mount Whitney, an amphibious command ship. The Pentagon announced the planned deployment in January, after terrorist groups threatened to disrupt the Olympic Games in Russia.

Volpe was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 14, a Navy news release said.

[MADem]

1. Annnnnnnnnd.....another opportunity for Commander Command opens up!!!!

They waited two weeks to can him; often they don't wait that long.

Gotta feel badly for the guy--but that's a "No forgiveness" crime in this day and age. Years ago, particularly if they got unstuck quick and there was no damage, it might be regarded as a learning experience...but no more. He'll probably take orders to "CIVLANT" within the next year or two. He's got enough time to be able to retire and not get the boot, four years at the Academy and eighteen on ACDU. I'm betting he feels like shit, too. Poor basstid:

The investigation hasn’t turned up any egregious mistakes by Volpe, said Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty, but the responsibility for the grounding falls on him and raises questions about whether the ship would be able to safely navigate under his command.

“When something like this happens, the ability for him to maintain command is going to be questioned,” she said.

So far Volpe is the only person implicated. Flaherty said further administrative or disciplinary action will be determined after the investigation is complete.

Volpe has been temporarily reassigned to a staff position at Destroyer Squadron 14, based in Mayport. Cmdr. Chris Cigna has been named as the ship’s interim CO.

Volpe is a 1996 Naval Academy graduate who has served aboard the destroyer Spruance and the cruiser Gettysburg, and as the executive officer on the Taylor from April 2011 to October 2012, according to his official bio.

http://www.navytimes.com/article/20140225/CAREERS03/302250017/Frigate-Taylor-CO-fired-2-weeks-after-running-aground