Capt. Jeffrey Korsnes, the commanding officer of Naval Hospital, Beaufort, South Carolina, was relieved Oct. 15 after an inspector general’s assessments revealed a poor command climate.
He’s been replaced by Capt. John Lamberton, who had been assigned to the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington, D.C.
Navy officials confirmed the firing came following multiple complaints from command members to the Navy’s inspector general, resulting in a command-wide assessment by the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Navy Medicine East, the hospital’s immediate superior command.
“That assessment concluded there were leadership issues at the command,” the official said. “This pattern of substandard leadership was confirmed by the most recent command climate survey in September.”
Naval Hospital Beaufort provides medical care through branch clinics at both Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
“Meeting and maintaining high standards for command climate is as critical as meeting our high standards of providing quality care and achieving operational readiness,” said Capt. Brenda Malone, spokesperson for the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine. “A positive command climate is essential to ensuring the safe delivery of patient care.”
Korsnes, a native of Plymouth, Michigan, is a career dental corps officer and a periodontist by specialty. He was commissioned in March 1987 after graduating from the University of Michigan, and was promoted to his current rank in 2008.
His prior assignments include serving as the director for Dental Services and deputy director for Branch Clinics at Naval Medical Center San Diego in 2012, and he became the executive officer of Naval Hospital Okinawa in 2014.
He had been in command at Beaufort since August 2016.
He has received multiple awards of both the Meritorious Service Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
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.
