The commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer Preble was relieved Tuesday after being “arrested on suspicion of DUI,” Navy officials have confirmed.
Before he was fired this week, Cmdr. Peter Lesaca had been in command of Preble since October.
“Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct,” Naval Surface Forces spokesman Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson said in a statement. “They are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards.”
Abrahamson did not respond to questions regarding whether Lesaca was facing additional disciplinary action from the Navy.
The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the DUI arrest and reported that San Diego Sheriff’s Department records indicated Lesaca was arrested June 4.
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Sheriff’s department officials had not responded to Navy Times’ query by deadline.
Lesaca is at least the fourth CO to be relieved in the past nine days.
On June 8, the Navy ousted the commanding officer of Electronic Attack Squadron 137 due to a loss of confidence. The squadron is currently deployed with the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group.
Additionally, the commanding officer and command master chief of the guided-missile destroyer Bulkeley were removed from their duties on June 10, and the head of Recruit Training Command Great Lakes was relieved June 11. The Navy said the leaders were removed due to a loss of confidence.
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.
