The commander of Singapore-based Military Sealift Command Far East was fired yesterday for allegedly fraternizing with a junior officer.
Capt. Stephen Fuller was officially relieved for loss of confidence by Rear Adm. Dee L. Mewbourne, who commands MSC, after Mewbourne reviewed the preliminary findings of an investigation into the alleged misconduct, according to Tom Van Leunen, spokesman for MSC.
The investigation is still ongoing, he said, and Van Leunen was unable to comment further on the nature of the misconduct.
Sources familiar with the investigation, however, tell Navy Times that the preliminary investigation into Fuller found enough evidence to support the allegations that he was fraternizing with a junior officer under his command.
Fuller has been administratively reassigned to Military Sealift Command Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, pending the legal and administrative adjudication of his case.
He is being replaced by Capt. John Wilshusen, who has been serving as MSC’s reserve officer coordinator, until a permanent replacement is identified.
Fuller, who took command in June 2016, is a native of Durham, New Hampshire, and a graduate of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Program at the University of Notre Dame.
He is a nuclear-qualified surface warfare officer who commanded two frigates — the Hawes, on which he was the decommissioning CO, and the Nicholas, which he led through a counter-drug deployment to Fourth Fleet.
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.
