Navy Dismisses Pearl Harbor Submarine Commander Due To ‘Loss of Confidence’
Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager was the second commander of a Pearl Harbor-based vessel to be relieved of command this month.
The commander of the USS Charlotte was relieved of command after an investigation found serious problems aboard the Pearl Harbor-based submarine under his leadership.
The dismissal of Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager on Tuesday聽came after a member of the Charlotte’s crew was found dead on March 15 of what the Navy called 鈥渁n apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound鈥 while guarding the sub at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.聽The Naval Criminal Investigation Service opened an investigation into the sailor’s death.
Capt. Michael Majewski, commander of Submarine Squadron 7, also launched a command investigation into the Charlotte that “revealed leadership and command climate problems” that led to “a loss of confidence” in Lautenslager’s聽ability to serve as commanding officer, according to a press release sent Wednesday.
Lautenslager took command of the Charlotte in March 2019.聽Cmdr. Christopher Hedrick, deputy commander of Submarine Squadron 7, has assumed temporary command of the Charlotte until the Navy finds a permanent replacement.
“Commanding officers are held to a very high standard,” the Navy said. “Their position requires the utmost responsibility, reliability and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable in cases where they fall short of those standards.”
Earlier this month, the Navy also relieved Cmdr. Kathryn Dawley, the commander of the Pearl Harbor-based guided missile destroyer USS Hopper,聽due “to a loss of confidence in her leadership.鈥澛燦avy officials said low morale played a significant role in the decision to relieve Dawley.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the military has increasingly wrestled with morale problems as commanders and troops weigh virus mitigation strategies with ongoing operations around the globe, putting unique strains on the force.
A spate of apparent suicides also has put the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Submarine Force under increased scrutiny.
The sailor found dead while guarding the Charlotte on March 15 was Petty Officer 3rd Class Manuel Julian.聽Earlier this month,聽Lt. Cmdr. Russell Cruz, a senior聽Supply Corps officer assigned to the Naval Submarine Support Center at Pearl Harbor,聽took his own life at the Kahala Hotel & Resort during a standoff with police.
Navy officials promised reforms after Gabriel Antonio Romero, a 22-year-old sailor聽assigned to the attack submarine USS Columbia, killed two civilian workers and wounded another before shooting himself during guard duty at Pearl Harbor in December 2019.
An investigation didn’t definitively determine Romero’s motive, but found serious mental health concerns among the crew and expressed deep concerns about how the sub’s leadership treated such issues. Authors of that investigation found聽鈥渢he organizational culture tolerated a below-average command climate.”
Over the summer the Pentagon also acknowledged that it as service members and their families juggled the combined pressures of stay home orders and continued training and deployments.
