The three-star head of all Navy surface forces is expected to move up his retirement date to this week ahead of a recommendation that he be fired after two deadly collisions in the Pacific took the lives of 17 sailors last year, according to a report published Tuesday afternoon.
Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, head of Naval Surface Forces, is leaving two to three weeks before his planned retirement was to take effect. Adm. James Caldwell had recommended his ouster as part of a report on the collisions and the steps the Navy needs to take to prevent them, Defense News reported.
Rowden had announced Jan. 9 that he would retire from his post in late January or early February. He has served in this role since August 2014 and oversees ships’ equipment, staffing and training of sailors.
Rear Adm. Richard Brown, head of Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tenn., is expected to take over for Rowden.
Besides the collisions involving the destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain, another ship was involved in a minor collision while another ran aground.
Caldwell, the head of naval reactors, was appointed to oversee remaining disciplinary actions following investigations into the incidents. Leaders on both destroyers were fired, along with the three-star head of 7th Fleet, the carrier strike group commander and the commodore of the destroyer squadron there. Adm. Scott Swift, head of Pacific Fleet, also announced he was stepping down.
