Fireproof Commanding Officers
Fireproof Commanding Officers by Lieutenant Lawrence Heyworth, Proceedings.
Naval officers relieved for cause have made headlines too often lately, with major newspapers highlighting the ethical violations and personal misconduct leading to such relief. Most recently, several post-command officers have been implicated in a Pacific Fleet bribery scandal. Seeing these frequent headlines could cause many junior officers to develop a disproportionate understanding of the frequency of such events. Further, junior officers likely begin to question both the quality of our commanding officers and their own ability to avoid these same pitfalls, the details of which are rarely described at much length.
Statistics reveal no endemic problem with the Navy’s commanding officers, yet these unfortunate incidents bring discredit to the service and more important, hamstring sailors by destroying command climate. Sailors deserve so much better from their commanding officers, and the law demands excellence as well…
