Posted on Jul 14, 2015
USS Pinckney CMC relieved of duty - Could we see more of this?
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Reliefs seem to be occurring more frequently as the military continues its downsizing...will we see more reliefs for lack of confidence of leadership abilities?
The command master chief of the San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney has been relieved of duty, the Navy said in a statement Monday.
Command Master Chief Ralph S. Crowder III was relieved by Carrier Strike Group 9 commander Rear Adm. Patrick Piercey due to a loss of confidence in Crowder's ability to fulfill his role and responsibilities, the statement said.
Crowder, of Baltimore, Md., had been the Pinckney's command master chief since February 2013. He previously served on the USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson and the USS John C. Stennis. His awards include the Navy Commendation Medal and Navy Achievement Medal.
In April, the Pinckney assisted in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing weeks earlier. In July, the destroyer joined ships and aircraft of the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group to participate in drills with the South Korean military.
Command Master Chief Medea Dudley has been appointed the Pinckney's enlisted leader.
http://www.stripes.com/news/navy/uss-pinckney-cmc-relieved-of-duty-1.357824
The command master chief of the San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney has been relieved of duty, the Navy said in a statement Monday.
Command Master Chief Ralph S. Crowder III was relieved by Carrier Strike Group 9 commander Rear Adm. Patrick Piercey due to a loss of confidence in Crowder's ability to fulfill his role and responsibilities, the statement said.
Crowder, of Baltimore, Md., had been the Pinckney's command master chief since February 2013. He previously served on the USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson and the USS John C. Stennis. His awards include the Navy Commendation Medal and Navy Achievement Medal.
In April, the Pinckney assisted in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing weeks earlier. In July, the destroyer joined ships and aircraft of the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group to participate in drills with the South Korean military.
Command Master Chief Medea Dudley has been appointed the Pinckney's enlisted leader.
http://www.stripes.com/news/navy/uss-pinckney-cmc-relieved-of-duty-1.357824
Posted in these groups: 
Leadership
Navy
Leadership Navy
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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SGM Matthew Quick I don't think it is more frequent... I think we just have better access to everyone's business. Commanders and senior NCOs have been getting relieved for as long as I can remember... Look at how a Union General lasted in the Civil War. It seems in these times of mass media 24/7... someone is relieved daily... I am not sure it is more often.
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COL Charles Williams
LCDR Rabbi Jaron Matlow - That is interesting, because was we discuss command responsibility in class, clearly in the recent articles and studies we read, the Navy seems to relieve more than anyone, and you think that has gone up?
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MCPO Douglas Pennington
I knew of a few that should have been relieved while i was on Active Duty and weren't. Them just seemed to be stashed until the "coast was clear" and then sent somewhere else. I do believe that now with younger and less experience people getting promoted to higher levels like the CMC they really are not ready for a leadership role of this magnitude.
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Suspended Profile
Master Chief, I agree with you 100%. COL Charles Williams yes, I think the rate of firings has gone up since 9/11. In the last few years it has soared. You are correct, in your assessment, that the Navy seems to fire more COs/XOs/CMCs than the other branches...
LCDR (Join to see)
From what i understand, there is a no-kidding billet called the “firefighter” in CO screening boards. That prospective CO gets the call when...yes when...a CO in their group gets fired. At least that was the case 3 years ago.
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To be honest, I think a lot of it is that the PC leadership in DC is driving this. Seems that if you say something out of line with their thinking, you are fired. A "poor command climate" can mean so many things. Is it just the CMC's fault? No. That would go all the way up to the CO. If they can show that the CMC is contributing to the bad attitude on board (I always had a bad attitude, so did most of the nukes I knew) then yeh. But the XO probably should have been discussing the issues with the CMC long before it got to this point.
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CAPT (Join to see)
I don't disagree with you necessarily, but would have to add that in the very competitive military world there are dozens of folks both ready and willing to step into one of those leadership positions. We need to ensure that the military is on a higher moral and ethical high ground than society writ large.
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I worked for an outstanding Col. at Eglin AFB in the late '60s. He said that he had been relieved of command of a base in Germany while still enroute to replace the previous commander.
It seemed that the previous commander was strict on scramble times in order to maintain high operational readiness ratings. Weather was not allowed to delay a scramble, and the weather in Germany was frequently terrible. Two interceptors were scrambled and took off into the teeth of a storm and went down with loss of aircrew. The commander was relieved of his command.
Then the weather was bad again when my commander was enroute to take command of the base; two more interceptors were scrambled and took off into the teeth of the storm following established procedures, and were also lost. Someone's head had to roll for it, and my commander was fired before he even reached the base to take over.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have hurt his career; he was one of the best officers I had the privilege of serving under.
It seemed that the previous commander was strict on scramble times in order to maintain high operational readiness ratings. Weather was not allowed to delay a scramble, and the weather in Germany was frequently terrible. Two interceptors were scrambled and took off into the teeth of a storm and went down with loss of aircrew. The commander was relieved of his command.
Then the weather was bad again when my commander was enroute to take command of the base; two more interceptors were scrambled and took off into the teeth of the storm following established procedures, and were also lost. Someone's head had to roll for it, and my commander was fired before he even reached the base to take over.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have hurt his career; he was one of the best officers I had the privilege of serving under.
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COL (Join to see)
Being relieved need not be a career ender. Happened to me once and it gave me a new unit with new leadership and a better climate to grow in. Turned out fine.
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CAPT (Join to see)
It depends on the reason. There are some things that are irrecoverable in a military organization.
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Capt Seid Waddell
CAPT (Join to see), agreed, sir. It does seem to be rather arbitrary at times though, IMHO.
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CDR Michael Goldschmidt
I'd like to see one example of a Navy CO being relieved and its not affecting his career.
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