The blue crew executive officer of the ballistic missile submarine Alaska was fired Monday, Submarine Force Atlantic officials said.
Lt. Cmdr. Bryan P. Watson was relieved following preliminary findings of a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation into the officer’s personal misconduct came to light, SUBLANT spokesman Cmdr. Sarah Self-Kyler said Tuesday.
Watson was dismissed by Capt. T.R. Buchanan, the head of Submarine Squadron 20.
Gold crew executive officer Lt. Cmdr. Chad Ingle, who is nearing the end of his assignment on the Alaska, will assume duties for both crews in the interim, Self-Kyler said.
Self-Kyler said the investigation into Watson’s misconduct was ”very recently opened.”
The O-4 was commissioned in 2003 and had stints on the submarines New Hampshire, Louisiana and Michigan during his career, according to Navy Personnel Command records. Watson reported to the Alaska in March.
The relief marks the second submarine command firing for the Navy this summer.
Cmdr. Steven Everhart was fired as leader of the submarine Pennsylvania’s blue crew in June.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
