The Navy relieved 16 commanding officers in 2023
"The term ‘loss of confidence’ has real meaning in the Navy."
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED JAN 18, 2024 5:37 PM EST
Once again, the Navy demonstrated in 2023 that it will not hesitate to fire commanding officers when it feels they have not lived up to the service’s standards.
In 2023, the Navy relieved a total of 16 commanding officers of command: 14 were fired “due to a loss of confidence” in their ability to command, and two were relieved for medical issues unrelated to their performance, according to the Navy, which did not release the two officers’ names due to privacy concerns.
Of the 14 commanding officers who were fired: Eight were in charge of ships, five were in shore billets, and one led a squadron of Navy E/A-18G Growlers.
In addition to those commanding officers, the destroyer USS John Finn’s executive officer was also relieved of his position last year.
That may sound like an awful lot of senior leaders getting sacked in just one year, but it’s par for the course for the Navy, which holds commanding officers rigidly accountable for their performance as well as the conduct of the sailors and Marines whom they lead.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-commanders-relieved-2023/