Posted on 10/25/2007 7:39:15 PM PDT by blam
Nuclear Submarine Commander Removed
Friday October 26, 2007 3:16 AM
By CHELSEA J. CARTER
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The commanding officer of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Hampton was relieved of his duty Thursday because of a loss of confidence in his leadership, the Navy said.
Cmdr. Michael B. Portland was relieved of duty after a U.S. Navy investigation found the ship failed to do daily safety checks on its nuclear reactor for a month and falsified records to cover up the omission.
``His oversight of the crew's performance did not identify these issues'' on his own, Navy Lt. Alli Myrick, a public affairs officer, told The Associated Press. Portland's commanders identified the problems during a routine review, she said.
It appears from a preliminary investigation on the Hampton that sailors in Submarine Squadron 11 had skipped the required analysis of the chemical and radiological properties of the submarine's reactor for more than a month, even though a daily check is required.
The Hampton, a Los Angeles Class submarine assigned to Submarine Squadron Eleven, is the most advanced nuclear attack submarine in the world, carrying a torpedo, cruise missile, and mine-laying arsenal, according to information on the Navy's Web site. The submarine is docked in San Diego.
Portland's dismissal as commander is effective immediately. Myrick said Portland will be temporarily assigned to squadron duty and the Hampton will not conduct operations until the Navy can confirm the operational standards have been met. Myrick said at no time was the submarine conducting unsafe operations.
``He has not been charged with any offense nor has he received non-judicial punishment,'' Myrick said.
There was no phone listing for Portland in San Diego, and the Navy did not immediately respond to an AP interview request.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
I saw that coming the day the story broke. In that biz, there is no second chances. Screw up once and you’re history.
Sorry, just reading that name sent chills down my spine...
Dead link
Gee,one wonders why the Guardian,of all news sources,chose to feature this story.Can anyone help me out here?
Same thought, I need to google her to see her age!
Please let us know what you get!
In many professions, it simply means that someone wanted him gone, and after looking for faults they finally nailed him on something that everyone does occasionally.
But I don’t know the nature of submarines. Perhaps he was a bad commander.
Same here. Sounds like the worst of the worst.
Steely-eyed Killers Ping.
Apparently they were radioing the nuke logs. Not career-enhancing at all.
"Portland is the fourth commanding officer of a submarine to be relieved of duty this year. The other three, who were relieved for various unrelated actions, were: Cmdr. Edwin Ruff of the USS Minneapolis St. Paul, Cmdr. Matthew Weingart of the USS Newport News and Cmdr. William Schwalm of the USS Helena."
High risk command, for sure.
We are not allowed to post any real information like address because of problems.
“Apparently they were radioing the nuke logs.”
Is that anything like gun decking the logs?
The was a pretty easy call by the Navy on a very serious matter. Even though HAMPTON is a high-profile command, the same would have happened to any CO on any boat.
Yeah, that’s a whole lot like gun-decking the logs.
Lucky for the sailors involved that Rickover’s not around anymore.
Hey Mike- I think it’s www.monster.com.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.