--- title: "Three Navy commanders relieved of duty in the past week" date: "2022-06-11" modified: "2022-06-11" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/three-navy-commanders-relieved-of-duty-in-the-past-week/" categories: - "Frigates" - "Military Branches" - "Navy" - "News" - "Ships" - "Submarines" - "Tech & Tactics" --- # Three Navy commanders relieved of duty in the past week ![]() *The USS Bulkeley, part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. Photo courtesy DVIDS.* The leader of the Navy’s Recruit Training Command is out of the job, the latest in a string of firings in June. The Navy announced on Saturday, June 11 that Capt. Jeffry Sandin was relieved of his duty by Rear Adm. Jennifer Couture, head of Naval Service Training Command. Capt. Kertreck Brooks, the chief of staff for the overarching Naval Service Training Command was named as the new interim head of the Recruit Training Command. The Navy did not get into specifics, but said that the NSTC lost confidence in Sandin. The Navy’s Recruit Training Command base in Great Lakes, IL, is the basic training center for the service. It originally opened in 1911 and has been the sole recruit training base since 1994. The base just held its latest boot camp graduation ceremony on Friday, June 10, with 417 new sailors graduating into the service. Brooks was the special guest at the ceremony. The replacement of Sandin is the Navy’s third high-profile removal from a post in the past week. On Friday, Cmdr. Devine Johnson was relieved of command of the destroyer Bulkeley by the commodore of Destroyer Squadron 2. Johnson had taken over the ship in August 2021 after serving as the executive officer. Capt. William Harkin, Destroyer Squadron 2’s deputy commander, took over the Bulkeley in the interim. Command Master Chief Earl Sanders was also relieved alongside Johnson. Loss of confidence in their leadership was cited as the reason. The term can have many meanings, from a literal one to shorthand for major screw ups by those in command. The Navy did not disclose further details on the situation. And on Wednesday, June 8, the Navy relieved the commander of Electronics Attack Squadron 137, which is part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. Cmdr. Matthew McCormick had led “The Rooks” since September 2021; the squadron operates EA-18G Growlers. Again the Navy cited a loss of confidence. USNI News [reports]() that it was in part for inappropriate behavior that is still being investigated. This past week’s firings come as the Navy is dealing with staffing, equipment and morale challenges. Desertions are up, with double the number of sailors [deserting in 2021]() over 2020. Barracks repairs at Naval Air Station Key West in Florida left sailors having to find their own [expensive off-base housing](). The USS George Washington saw [nearly a dozen deaths]() in the last year, with at least one being a suicide; three other cases are being investigated as potential suicides. The Navy is also trying to streamline its operating costs, in part by possibly [getting rid of]() nine Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships it is set to decommission. There have also been serious accidents; of the [five aviation crashes]() in the last two weeks, two involved Navy vehicles and one was fatal. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Someone apparently** [**leaked classified Chinese tank schematics**]() **to win an online argument** - [**Flip-flop-wearing Air Force commandos saved 2 lives**]() **on the way back from training** - [**How Ukraine is using artillery**]() **to stop Russian forces in their tracks** - **The Navy might have a garage sale for the Littoral Combat Ships** [**they just built but don’t want**]() - **Ukrainian fighter calls US soldier for help** [**fixing Javelin missile launcher**]() **Want to write for Task & Purpose?** [**Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on** [**our homepage.**]() ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()