At Least 80 Navy Officers Relieved

The Navy has relieved at least 80 commanding officers for performance problems since 1999, a number that includes a recent increase attributed to inappropriate personal behavior by about two dozen officers, Navy officials said Wednesday.

Those behavior problems include adultery, alcohol abuse and inappropriate relationships with subordinates, according to a survey by the Navy inspector general.

The report did not attribute the rise in behavior problems to any particular cause.

Other commanders lost their jobs for poor performance for actions such as grounding their ship or colliding with another vessel at sea, according to the survey.

Many of the officers were ship and submarine captains, aircraft squadron commanders or shore post chiefs. Those included in the Navy report held a rank as low as lieutenant or as high as captain.

The Navy has 1,291 command jobs for people in those ranks.

Navy officials pointed to the report as evidence the service would not tolerate poor performance or personal misbehavior.

“The behavior of the commanding officer has to be proper,” Adm. John Nathman, the vice chief of naval operations and the service’s No. 2 officer, told reporters.

A number of those with behavior problems held the rank of captain, which the report called “particularly troubling” because of their seniority.

The root of the problem is unclear, the report said.

“We could not conclusively determine whether the significant rise in reliefs from adultery and alcohol-related incidents was due to a recent increase in such behavior, or rather, from a growing intolerance for such behavior in COs,” the report said.