Head of Gitmo Bay Navy base fired amid probe

Navy Times

The Navy has relieved the commander of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay amid suspicion that he was having an affair with a woman whose husband's body was found floating off shore, according to a U.S. official.

Capt. John Nettleton was relieved of command Wednesday. He is being investigated in connection with an alleged affair with a woman on the base and the recent death of her husband, federal officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said Wednesday.

Rear Adm. Mary Jackson, head of Navy Region Southeast, fired Nettleton "due to loss of confidence in Nettleton's ability to command," the region said in a press release. Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, operated by a federal joint task force, is located within the naval air station but Nettleton had no role in its operation.

"Due to an ongoing NCIS investigation, it is not appropriate for the Navy to provide additional details concerning the relief," the statement said.

Other officials said Nettleton is under investigation in connection with the death of Christopher Tur, who was found dead Jan. 11. The U.S. Coast Guard found Tur, a civilian, dead in Guantanamo Bay waters on the western side of the base.

His wife, also a civilian, had reported him missing the day before, officials said.

Mike Andrews, spokesman for Navy Region Southwest, also said he could not comment on the reasons for Nettleton's dismissal while the Navy criminal investigation continues. Jackson removed Nettleton after preliminary findings.

Officials said the alleged affair between Nettleton and Tur's wife was discovered during the course of the NCIS investigation into Tur's death. Officials did not provide any details on the cause of Tur's death.

Nettleton began his service as an enlisted Marine infantryman and was commissioned as a helicopter pilot in 1989. He has deployed aboard the carriers Theodore Roosevelt and Saratoga and is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.

He took command of the controversial naval station in June 2012. Nettleton, who has been temporarily reassigned to Navy Region Southeast in Jacksonville, Fla., did not immediately respond to e-mail seeking comment.

Tur worked at the Navy Exchange on the base and his wife is the director of the Navy Fleet and Family Services Center, officials said. They arrived on the base in 2011.

Nettleton is the first Navy commanding officer to be fired in this year. Last year, about two dozen were fired for reasons ranging from striking a channel buoy to remaining holed up for long stretches of an overseas deployment.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, in Washington.