The top enlisted sailor at the California-based 30th Naval Construction Regiment has been relieved of command because of professional misconduct, Navy officials said.
Command Master Chief Frank Palmer was removed from his post on Monday due to on-the-job administrative issues only two months after he first reported to the command in Port Hueneme, California.
"Master Chief Palmer's misconduct and unprofessional behavior were not reflective of what our Navy requires of command master chiefs," said said Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, spokeswoman for Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.
"Part of their responsibility is to actively teach, uphold and enforce standards," she said.
Capt. Jeffrey Kilian, the regimental commodore, made the decision to relieve Palmer.
Command Master Chief Frank Palmer pictured here in April in Dili, Timor Leste, was fired Monday for professional misconduct.
Palmer has already faced disciplinary action at captain's mast, but Cragg said it would be inappropriate to comment on the charges or outcome until Palmer's right for appeal has been exhausted.
Master Chief Marvin Melbourne, also on the staff at the 30th Naval Construction Regiment will step in as the interim command master chief until a permanent CMC is identified.
The 30th NCR has operational control over Naval construction forces deployed to the 7th Fleet in the Pacific region.
Palmer is a native of Tacoma, Washington and a career-long Seabee. He joined the Navy in 1993. After boot camp in San Diego, he trained as a Seabee in Gulfport, Mississippi. Since then, has served the entirety of his operational career as an equipmentman on the West Coast, much of it in units at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California.
He was selected to be a command master chief in 2014 and served first as the senior enlisted sailor at the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 from 2014 to 2016 before reporting to 30th NCR in October.
Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.
