The commanding officer, executive officer and senior enlisted leader of a Navy ship repair facility in Yokosuka, Japan, have been fired, service officials announced on Wednesday.
Capt. Wendel Penetrante, Capt. Edwin Catubig and Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Dean Howell were relieved of their duties on Wednesday as commanding officer, executive officer, and command master chief, respectively, a Navy news release says.
They were all assigned to the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center, which provides intermediate-level and depot-level repair for Navy ships and U.S. 7th Fleet.
Navy officials said the three were relieved “due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command” but provided no further details on the exact reason for their firings.
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Military services often attribute such firings to “loss of confidence” rather than providing the exact reason why officers and senior enlisted leaders have been relieved. The euphemism typically covers a range of reasons for firings, including problems at work and personal issues.
Relief of an entire leadership team is relatively rare.
A May 12 Navy news release lauded the maintenance and repair facility for returning seven ships — two mine countermeasures ships, three destroyers, and an amphibious transport dock — to the 7th Fleet this year “on time or ahead of schedule.”
Penetrante assumed command of the facility on Feb. 3, 2025, according to his official Navy biography. He became an engineering duty officer in 2012 after serving aboard submarines and an aircraft carrier.
Catubig served as an enlisted sailor before being commissioned in 2003, his Navy biography says. He has served aboard an aircraft carrier and amphibious warfare ships.
Howell enlisted in the Navy in 2001 and has served on destroyers and an amphibious assault ship, his biography says.
