The former commander of a Connecticut-based submarine who pleaded guilty last year to a conduct unbecoming an officer charge visited the bedroom window of an enlisted subordinate’s wife, engaged in “inappropriate conversation there” and also sent “inappropriate electronic messages,” on June 11, 2018, according to recently released Navy records.
Another Navy member also lodged a military protective order against Cmdr. William B. Swanbeck that same day, according to Naval Criminal Investigative Service records.
Swanbeck, 43, was fired as commander of the fast attack submarine Montpelier a week later.
At his December court-martial, Swanbeck was sentenced to a reprimand and forfeiture of $1,500 a month for 11 months, Navy officials said.
But Swanbeck’s charge sheet shows he initially faced several conduct unbecoming specifications in connection to events in Groton, Connecticut, on June 10 and 11, 2018.
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Swanbeck was originally charged with visiting the window of an enlisted subordinate’s wife on June 11, 2018, where he was accused of reaching into the woman’s shirt, “requesting to touch” her breasts, “requesting to enter” her bedroom and kissing her, charge sheets state.
He was also charged with offering to release an unidentified woman’s “husband from the hospital in exchange for a photo of (the woman’s) breasts,” according to the charge sheet.
Because victim names are redacted in the charge sheet provided to Navy Times, it remains unclear how many people accused Swanbeck of wrongdoing.
In a statement to Navy Times, Swanbeck’s Navy attorney, Cmdr. Nathaniel Gross, said the officer “made an isolated mistake while under the influence of alcohol.”
“CDR Swanbeck is extremely remorseful for the pain and embarrassment he brought to the other party, his family, and the Navy,” Gross wrote. “His actions are not reflective of his service or his character. He has used this unfortunate experience in a positive manner to get other senior officers help with alcohol addiction and looks forward to putting this incident behind him.”
Navy Times shared the NCIS record with Swanbeck’s attorney, who wrote that “the evidence in the case did not support the narrative of actions that is described in the documents provided to Navy Times.”
While Swanbeck pleaded guilty at a special court-martial, Gross said “the other party in this case supported resolution at (non-judicial punishment).”
NCIS has yet to release its full investigation into Swanbeck’s actions in response to a Navy Times Freedom of Information Act request.
But a highly redacted investigative summary released this month offers more details into the events of June 11, 2018, that led to the NCIS investigation.
That record states that the NCIS probe initially pertained to Uniform Code of Military Justice violations that included bribery, abusive sexual contact, housebreaking and conduct unbecoming.
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According to the two-page NCIS summary, agents were told that Swanbeck came to an unidentified woman’s master bedroom window on that date and “made several efforts to kiss (the woman) despite her verbal objections, and that he also placed his hands down her shirt in an effort to unclasp her bra.”
Agents were shown “a collection of messages sent to her via a cellular telephone number attributed to Swanbeck,” as well as from a Kik social media app believed to belong to Swanbeck, according to the records.
Messages from the accounts “make a series of sexually graphic statements and requests,” and included several requests for nude photos, according to the records.
The woman told agents that during phone calls, Swanbeck requested nudes in exchange for help with a situation, the specifics of which were redacted by NCIS.
When agents contacted Swanbeck on June 11, 2018, “he invoked his right to counsel at the onset of the interview and no information was garnered,” agents wrote.
A military protective order was issued against Swanbeck that same day by a Navy member whose name is redacted.
It barred Swanbeck from contacting another individual whose name is also redacted.
A submarine warfare officer with more than 20 years in service, Swanbeck is no longer assigned to the Los Angeles-class sub Montpelier.
He was reassigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 4 on June 18, 2018 while pending administrative action, according to Vice Chief of Information Rear Adm. Paula Dunn.
Update: This article has been altered to show that Cmdr. William B. Swanbeck has been reassigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 4, correcting an error in the service records provided to Navy Times.
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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.
