The head of a U.S. naval station in Italy was fired this week for "improper civilian hiring practices," according to the Navy. Cmdr. Regina Cox, the commanding officer of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, was relieved of her duties due to loss of confidence in her ability to command following an investigation into the matter, according to a statement released Tuesday by U.S. Fleet Cyber Command. Additional information about the investigation wasn't immediately available. It wasn't clear which civilian employees may have been hired improperly or whether Cox would face other disciplinary action. Cox -- who was relieved by Vice Adm. Jan E. Tighe, the head of the command and 10th Fleet -- has been reassigned to Naval Information Dominance Forces in Suffolk, Virginia, the release states. Cmdr. Robert Matthias, executive officer of NCTS, has temporarily assumed command in her place, it states. The station provides secure and reliable telecommunications in support of command, control, computer, communications and intelligence to U.S. naval, joint, inter-agency and coalition operating forces in U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Central Command theaters of operation, according to the Navy.

--Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com.