Navy unfires minesweeper CO

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - 8:18 AM Share

Two years ago the Navy fired the skipper of the USS Devastator for not maintaining readiness standards. Now, I am hearing, his removal has been overturned.  

I admire the Navy for maintaining the tradition of relief. But if they really want to be old school, they should give the guy a ship to command. (Last night I cam across yet another Army general in WWII who was relieved of command of a division in combat, only eventually to get another one, and in 1951 became superintendent at West Point. His name is Frederick Irving. Frankly I had never heard of him.)

While we are on the subject, these cats did a nice overview of Navy firings of ship captains.

navytimes.com

EXPLORE:MILITARY
 

RVN SF VET

5:13 PM ET

June 15, 2011

MG TERRY ALLEN

MG MG Terry de la Mesa Allen relieved along with Theodore Roosevelt from command of the Big Red One after extremely successful combat record, but his troops "lacked discipline." Next commanded the extremely successful 104th Infantry Division. Never got above MG.

His son, a battalion commander in the Big Red One was killed in RVN.

 

TOM RICKS

9:06 AM ET

June 16, 2011

Yes, this is a big part of the tradition

Relief works best when it is common but not terminal. By my count, at least five Army generals were relieved of division command in combat in World War II yet given other division commands in combat later in the war (Allen and Irving, plus Ward, Watson and Brown). Also Millikin was releived of a corps command yet took it like a sport and was given a division just before the war ended.
Best,
Tom

 

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military for the Washington Post from 2000 through 2008.

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