Navy fires fifth officer in less than a week due to 'loss of confidence'

June 15 (UPI) -- The Navy announced it has fired its fifth officer in less than a week with little explanation other than "loss of confidence."

In a statement released Tuesday, the Navy said Cmdr. Peter Lesaca of the destroyer USS Preble was relieved of his role "due to loss of confidence in his ability to command."

The Navy's official statement for each of the firings blamed "loss of confidence."

"Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct," the statement said. "Officers 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."

In Lesaca's case, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Arlo Abraham provided more detail to Military.com saying the commander's removal came after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

On Saturday, the Navy fired Capt. Jeffry Sandin, the commanding officer of the Recruit Training Command and reassigned him to Naval Service Training Command headquarters.

The Navy fired two other officers Friday. Cmdr. Devine Johnson, who served as the USS Bulkeley commanding officer since August 2021, and Bulkeley commander master chief Earl Sanders, who served since June 2021, were both relieved of their duties.

Both Johnson and Sanders have been temporarily reassigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic. The Navy's statement on their firings noted "There is no impact to the command's mission or schedule due to this relief."

On June 8, the Navy reassigned Cmdr. Matthew McCormick, who served as the commanding officer of Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-137 since September 2021, to Electronic Attack Wing Pacific at Naval Station Whidbey Island in Washington.

As with the other firings, the Navy's statement said McCormick was relieved of his duties "due to loss of confidence in his ability to command."