Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, the new commander of the Seventh Fleet, relieved the commander of Task Force 70 (CTF-70) and commander of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON)-15, the Navy said Monday.
Sawyer relieved CTF-70 Commander Rear Adm. Charles Williams and DESRON-15 Commodore Capt. Jeffrey Bennett “due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command,” the service said in a statement. They are being replaced by Rear Adm. Marc Dalton, commander of Task Force 76 (CTF-76), and Jonathan Duffy, deputy commander of DESRON-15, respectively.
These are only some of the repercussions of recent naval collisions. The USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, collided with a commercial vessel east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on Aug. 21, and in June the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) collided with a merchant container ship near Yokosuka, Japan. Both events caused severe damage to the destroyers and the death of a number of crew members (Defense Daily, Aug. 21).
Williams previously commanded the USS Firebolt (PC-10) and USS Sethem (DDG-63) before rising to first deputy commodore in Destroyer Squadron 15, commodore and Strike Force Anti-Submarine Warfare commander for CTF-70, and chief of staff to the commander of the Seventh Fleet. He gained command of CTF-70 last year.
Bennett has commanded the USS Stockdale (DDG-106) and MCM Crew Constant. He also served as Senate Director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for legislative affairs and as a defense fellow for former Senator and current Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Earlier, Sawyer replaced Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin as commander of the Seventh Fleet on Aug. 23 due to a loss of confidence in Aucoin’s ability to lead following a series of surface vessel collisions and deaths in the fleet’s area of operations (Defense Daily, Aug. 23). Sawyer was originally scheduled to take over the position in September.
Last Month the Navy also announced it relieved of duty the Fitzgerald’s top three commanders because of inadequate leadership, which contributed to the lack of watchstander preparedness and readiness leading up to the collision (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).
The Navy is conducting multiple investigations into the individual collisions while the U.S. Fleet Forces commander Adm. Phil Davidson conducts a comprehensive review (Defense Daily, Sept. 25) and Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer directs an independent strategic review (Defense Daily, Sept. 5). On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the naval mishaps with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and Spencer.