Monday, May 11, 2009

The removal of a commanding officer is not common

Really?

Over the weekend, Matt Byrne of the Boston Globe told us Captain relieved of command. Mr. Byrne wrote,
The captain of a Boston-based . . . cutter on patrol in the Caribbean was relieved of his command yesterday after his superior officer lost confidence in him, . . . officials said last night.
What caught my eye was the last paragraph of Mr. Byrne's article:
The removal of a commanding officer is not common, [Lieutenant Eric Halvorson, a spokesman for the First District in Boston] said. "It's not something that's regularly done, but it's certainly something that can be readily done if the area commander believes it's necessary."
Not common? Well I guess it depends on your definition of common. It seems like we're getting one relief a quarter. That's four a year. And for the size of the fleet, I'd say that's pretty darn common.

Anyone out there keeping track of the actual numbers? I'd certainly be interested.

1 comment:

  1. I hadn't seen this, but Daren Lewis posted it to my Facebook page: Anchorage Coast Guard Commander relieved (http://www.uscgalaska.com/go/doc/780/273018/). The Sector Anchorage CO bites the dust...

    Damn. That's all I can say. Damn.

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