The commanding officer of the Hawaii-based destroyer Hopper was fired Monday in connection to allegations of fraternization, Navy officials said.
Cmdr. Jeffrey S. Tamulevich was relieved due to "evidence of misconduct involving alleged fraternization," Naval Surface Force Pacific spokesman Cmdr. David Russell told Navy Times.
Russell declined to offer further details on what the evidence entailed, citing an ongoing investigation.
Tamulevich had led the Hopper since July and has been temporarily reassigned to Navy Region Hawaii.
Capt. Joseph Ring, Destroyer Squadron 31’s deputy commodore, has been named to be the ship’s temporary commanding officer until a permanent relief is identified.
Russell said Tamulevich declined to comment.
“Commanding officers are entrusted with essential responsibilities to their Sailors and their ships, and are expected to maintain the Navy’s high standards for leadership,” Russell said.
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Tamulevich is the second SURFPAC skipper to be fired this month, and at least the fourth Navy command firing, according to service reports.
Cmdr. Tammy Royal was fired as commander of the dock landing ship Harpers Ferry on May 17 after her superiors believed she could no longer effectively lead the San Diego based ship, SURFPAC officials said.
Another surface warfare officer, Capt. Heedong Choi, was fired as head of the Navy ROTC program at the State University of New York’s Maritime College on May 3 due to a “loss of confidence,” chief of naval personnel officials said.
Officials didn’t provide further details on the specific reasoning behind those two firings.
On the enlisted leadership side, Master Chief Jeremy Embree was relieved as command master chief of Naval Air Facility El Centro on May 1 after officials said he crashed and damaged an ATV on the California base.
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.
