Sunday, January 27, 2013

Second Commanding Officer Fired in 2013

Rear Admiral Rick Breckenridge, Commander, Submarine Group TWO, fired Commander Luis Molina, commanding officer of USS PASADENA (SSN 752) on January 25, 2013 due to "loss of confidence in executing his duties as the submarine's commanding officer."

The admiral said, "I have lost confidence in Commander Molina's ability to effectively lead USS Pasadena through its maintenance overhaul."

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why don't NIOC Commanding Officers ever get fired?

Is our screening so good that they all just do a fantastic job?

Or do we sweep issues under the rug and let them move on to something else?

When is the last time we fired one for failing to complete the mission or lack of confidence?

It is worth asking...

Anonymous said...

Agree that everything is not perfect but I ask you a question, what in particular makes you ask the above?

Anonymous said...

They do get fired. You just dont read about it in the papers. I recall NIOC TX CO was fired right before his COC and there was no ceremony. He walked out and the new guy walked in. Greg Haws was the new guy, I think.

Anonymous said...

I ask because maybe something can be learned from this. In my memory, I can't recall a single NIOC CO being fired, ever. If true, what does that mean? We have a superior selection process? Or do we sweep things under the rug?

Never heard about the NIOC TX CO getting fired. What were the circumstances?

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 29 Jan 13 6:09

Loss of confidence in the CO's ability to lead.

Anonymous said...

Why wasn't it made public? This is a O-6 command, correct? I find the public announcements of CO firings somewhat reassuring. It shows me that we are holding leaders to a standard and that, yes, some do fail.

Mike Lambert said...

Anon @ 29 Jan 8:36 AM

Can't say why it was not made public. Can't even confirm it actually occurred.

It was an O5 command at the time and that CO was selected for O6, though he declined the promotion.

Anonymous said...

Not so sure he declined so much as wasn't authorized...

Anonymous said...

The outgoing NIOC Texas CO, as I understand it, was given a choice between retiring or facing charges. He chose to retire as a CDR and forego official action related to several official TADs that were in fact personal trips while he was a geo-bachelor.

The problem with giving people the choice between official action and voluntary retirement is, as is the case in this instance, they are free to become government contractors in spite of having previously displayed unethical behavior.

Mike Lambert said...

I can only tell you what he told me. He wanted to spend more time with his family. They had been separated for some time.

Anonymous said...

Separate, but related, questions about firings:

As background from an AP article dtd 21 Jan 13: "...There...are varying degrees of publicity when such action is taken...in many... cases, particularly...those below the rank of general, there is little public notice if the senior officer is in the Army or Air Force. The Navy, however, issues a public statement every time a commander is removed from a job..."

The questions: Why is Navy compelled to make these public notices? What is gained?

Anonymous said...

Optimist
It lets our constituents know that we are truly good stewards and we affirm that we will not tolerate the weak among our ranks.


Pessimist
Unfortunately, there are some that stay on the straight and narrow only for fear of the consequences. Publicity lets them know that they will be held accountable.

Anonymous said...

@ Anon, Feb 1, 1210.

Optimist / Pessimist: So, in your opinion, Navy uses publicity to support / do what should be done by leadership as a matter of routine and should not, in my opinion, normally see the light of day outside the service. I think the public has more of an "Oh, great. There's another one" point of view instead of "Good on ya, Navy." Disappointing.