The Navy has fired an admiral and a captain amid investigations into the two separate and deadly collisions involving the destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald in the Western Pacific this summer, according to a report Monday.
Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Combined Task Force 70, and Capt. Jeffrey Bennett, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 15, were removed by 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Philip Sawyer on Monday for their roles in separate crashes that killed 17 sailors and left hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the vessels, USNI News reported.
The Navy later put out a statement Monday confirming the firings. The statement said they were relieved “due to loss of confidence in their ability to command” without citing the destroyer collisions.
Williams will be replaced by Rear Adm. Marc Dalton, commander of Task Force 76. Capt. Jonathan Duffy, deputy commander of DESRON 15, replaces Bennett.
The Williams and Bennett are the fifth and sixth officials to be dismissed in relation to the incidents.
The Fitzgerald’s top three leaders — commanding officer Cmdr. Bryce Benson, executive officer Cmdr. Sean Babbitt, and Command Master Chief Brice Baldwin — were fired after the June incident.
Former 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was also sacked in response to the McCain’s August collision.
Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson are scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday about four recent surface ship incidents.
In addition to the firings, USNI News cited sources saying that Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, head of Naval Surface Forces, has put in a request to retire two months early. His early retirement is not directly related to the collisions, but Rowden reportedly told Richardson he wants to allow fresh leadership to take over. He will stay in his position until a replacement is named.
