Navy no longer will announce when a commander is fired for misconduct

Tom Vanden Brook | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Navy has halted its practice of announcing the names of commanders relieved for poor performance or misconduct, a step back from the transparency the service had championed and a move that comes in the wake of one of the worst bribery scandals in Pentagon history.

The Navy's practice had been to announce on its website the names of commanders it had fired. It then broadcast the action in emails to news outlets and generally referred to the reason as a loss of confidence in the officer’s ability to command. The new practice puts the Navy in line with the other armed services, which do not regularly announce discipline of their senior leaders.

"Navy Public Affairs will continue to respond to every query on reliefs in a timely and thorough manner,” Capt. Greg Hicks, the Navy’s top spokesman, said in a statement about the Navy’s new practice. “As a practice, we will do so taking the necessary diligence to safeguard security, ensure information accuracy and stay within the bounds of both policy and privacy."

Rep. Jackie Speier of California, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, criticized the Navy's change in practice.

“I’m disappointed that the Navy is running away from the transparency they espoused just a few months ago," Speier said. "The American people have a right to know when senior officers exhibit ethical lapses or commit fraud and cost the taxpayers untold millions of dollars. The public expects that officers will be appropriately punished and not simply given a slap on the wrist. They have every right to that expectation.”

Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, told reporters Tuesday that the change in practice had been "overblown," and that the Navy values its relationship of trust and confidence with sailors and the American people.

"Perhaps there’s more being made of that than you’ll see in practice," Richardson said.

Hicks added: "The Navy continues to acknowledge reliefs of Navy leaders -- although in a more measured way -- when they occur and there has not been a relief we have not disclosed to the press."

The Navy has been reeling from the fallout of the “Fat Leonard” scandal, a bribery scheme that has ensnared top officers and civilians. For years, defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis lavished money, prostitutes, pricey meals, booze and lodging on sailors from the 7th Fleet in exchange for classified information he used to gouge the Navy for servicing its ships.

Francis, who owned Glenn Defense Marine Asia, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the government of tens of millions of dollars and is cooperating with authorities. More than 17 senior Navy and Pentagon officials have pleaded guilty to criminal misconduct. The Navy has established an office to determine whether hundreds of Navy officers who allegedly received something of value should be prosecuted. The office already has adjudicated more than 300 cases, according to the Pentagon inspector general.

“This is one of largest and most complex public corruption criminal cases in (Department of Defense) history, and it involves disturbing and widespread ethical lapses throughout the Navy’s 7th Fleet,” Pentagon Inspector General Glenn Fine said in prepared remarks to a House Armed Services hearing on senior leader misconduct.

The new practice will not change how the Navy deals with commanders who fail to measure up, Hicks said. Questions about officers who have been relieved will be answered.

"The United States Navy will continue to hold leaders accountable when they fail to meet the high expectations placed upon them in their unique positions of authority and responsibility,” Hicks said. “These accountability actions reflect the seriousness in which the Navy views and holds public trust and confidence in our commanding officers, executive officers and command master chiefs.”

What other services do

Over the past several years, the percentage of commanders relieved has been small, about 1.5% of officers and senior enlisted personnel the Navy considers its front line leaders. The Navy tends to empower lower-level officers with more authority than the other services, putting the commander of a ship at sea in the position of boss, judge and jury, according to a Navy official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The other armed services vary in their practices of naming officers fired for bad conduct.

The Army responds to questions about misconduct among senior officers in “a timely and transparent manner,” said Cynthia Smith, an Army spokeswoman.

The Air Force has no official policy but usually issues a news release when a wing commander or an officer of higher rank is relieved, said Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokeswoman. Wings often are commanded by colonels.

The Marine Corps weighs legal, security and privacy concerns when announcing officers who are fired, said Maj. Brian Block, a Marine spokesman.

Speier has proposed an amendment to the annual Defense Appropriations Act to require the Pentagon to name senior officers who have committed serious acts of misconduct.

She offered the measure after holding a hearing in February on misconduct among senior uniformed and civilian military officials.