US Navy officer in charge of sailors held by Iran reassigned

[rangerrebew]

iefly captured by Iran in January (pictured), had been relieved of command and reassigned (photo by HO/IRAN'S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS WEBSITE/AFP/File)
US Navy officer in charge of sailors held by Iran reassigned

The officer in charge of 10 US sailors who were briefly captured by Iran in the Persian Gulf was relieved of his command, the Navy announced.
 
The officer in charge of 10 US sailors who were briefly captured by Iran in the Persian Gulf was relieved of his command, the Navy announced. Commander Eric Rasch "was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the Navy said in a statement, adding he has been temporarily reassigned to a new role. The decision is the first time a sailor has been held publicly...
Author AFP Posted May 13, 2016 00:35 GMT

Commander Eric Rasch "was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the Navy said in a statement, adding he has been temporarily reassigned to a new role.

The decision is the first time a sailor has been held publicly accountable after two US riverine patrol boats veered off course into Iranian territorial waters off Farsi Island in the Gulf.

Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Tim Hawkins said other sailors have also been held accountable, but he would not say who these were because the incident remains under investigation.

"The commander of US Fifth Fleet took administrative action involving personnel assigned under his authority," Hawkins told AFP.

"Administrative action can range from verbal counseling to a formal letter of reprimand."

The Navy probe is expected to be wrapped up by the end of the month and will be released publicly soon after.

Though the sailors were held for less than 24 hours, the incident was a major embarrassment for the US Navy and President Barack Obama.

The United States carefully avoided escalating the situation, maintaining a conciliatory tone with Tehran days ahead of the implementation of a historic international deal over Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian media broadcast humiliating im ages of the American sailors during their detention, showing them kneeling on their boats at gunpoint with their hands on their heads.

The US military says the incident was caused by navigational and mechanical problems.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse//sites/almonitor/contents/afp/2016/05/us-iran-military.html#ixzz48X8gAN7b

[rangerrebew]

One positive aspect of someone being relieved is that we now have at least one person who will likely be willing - at some point - to spill the beans as to what actually happened.

He may have avoided having his career skuttled by promising to not do what you just suggested.

[rangerrebew]

What I was implying was he can retire assured all his benefits intact without waging war against the government.

[Free Vulcan]

The Navy has fired the commander who was responsible for the 10 sailors captured by Iran in January for a period of 15 hours.

Commander Eric Rasch will now be reassigned, reports The Associated Press. Navy Officials cited several reasons for firing Rasch under the umbrella of lost confidence in anonymous comments to the AP, including failure to provide proper leadership, failing to properly oversee the situation and not keeping up with standards.

Details of Rasch’s conduct are unknown at this point, specifically in regards to how he did not provide adequate leadership. The incident, which occurred in January after two U.S. Navy riverine patrol boats ended up in Iranian territorial waters off Farsi Island, sparked a major public relations disaster for the Obama administration.

Read more:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/05/12/navy-fires-commander-of-the-10-sailors-captured-by-iran/

[driftdiver]

Fall guy

[Free Vulcan]

Thread already here in the military forum.

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,206385.msg878889/topicseen.html#msg878889

I'll merge them...