Navy fires captain of California-based medical training unit

Navy fires commanding officer of California-based medical training unit

Capt. Mathew Loe was removed from his post for a “loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

The Navy removed the head of a medical training unit from his post after only a year on the job. On Friday, the Navy announced that Capt. Mathew Loe had been relieved as the commanding officer of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Lemoore following a “loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

Rear Adm. Kevin Brown, head of Naval Medical Forces Pacific, removed Loe, who has been temporarily reassigned to Naval Medical Forces Pacific. Loe took over as head of the command in July 2025.

The command’s executive officer, Capt. Robin Bennett, was named the interim leader.

“The relief of the CO does not impact the command’s operational readiness,” the Navy said.

The Navy did not elaborate on why Loe was relieved. The Navy uses “loss of confidence” to cover a range of issues tied to the firing of commanders. The term can be used for everything from poor performance to misconduct.

Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Lemoore, located at Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California, is a training unit for medical staff that support Navy and Marine Corps units. It also operates Naval Health Clinic Lemoore, providing care for thousands of active-duty and veteran service members and their families. According to Navy Medicine, the command provides care to more than 30,000 people.

According to his Navy biography, Loe has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing and years of experience as a civilian nurse. He joined the Navy and deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, serving several medical or training roles. He was head of deployment health at Naval Branch Health Clinic Gulfport, Mississippi, as well as several positions with the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

Before taking over at the Lemoore training command, he had been the executive officer at the command and deputy director at the clinic at the base. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and 2009 Association of the United States Navy Bea Ratner Nurse Corps Junior Officer of the Year, among others.