Commander Edward Byers, USS DALLAS commander fired
Bobo sends us link to a Navy press release about the latest Navy officer to bite the big one. Commander Edward Byers, until recently the commander of the USS DALLAS, a Los Angeles-class attack sub, famous for it’s inclusion in Tom Clancy’s “Hunt for Red October”.
Cmdr. Edward Byers was removed from his position by Capt. Oliver Lewis, Commander, Submarine Squadron 12. Byers has been administratively reassigned to the staff of Commander, Undersea Warfare Development Center, Groton, Connecticut.
Capt. Jack Houdeshell, deputy commander at Submarine Squadron 4, has been assigned as commanding officer. Houdeshell previously served as commanding officer of Dallas prior to Byers.
The press release says that his commander lost confidence in his ability to drive a boat underwater or something. Byers took command of the boat in November, 2014. The picture at the top is from that happy day. You probably should take care to not confuse this Edward Byers with the Edward Byers who is getting the Medal of Honor.
Category: Navy
NAVCHINFO should be fired!
This POS has same name as SOCS(SEAL) Edward Byers.
They could have changed the commanders name to Edith Dumfucski easy enough.
So, anyone searching for the future MoH recipient on the Google Web may turn up this underway flunkee!
Good call US Navy Chief of Information (NAVCHINFO) … Way to control the data!
LIKE!
Always include the middle initial, when possible.
Master Chief I was thinking the same thing. I also believe that the Chiefs community today is failing in their overall job looking out for the Troops, Officers and keep Officers out of Jail. This started back when a certain MCPON wanted all chiefs and above to be like DIVOS.
Damn straight on that… use to be that the Mess straightened out the junior Sailors and “educated” the JO’s to be successful leaders. Now it’s just one big happy meal for all….
When I was a boot Chief, my OIC used to like to say that we Chiefs were part of his wardroom.
THAT was NOT a popular sentiment among the goats and we loudly informed him of that.
That information will be in google for 100 years.
Someone’s head should be chopped for this.
Trust me, someone at SUBLANT is getting their ass handed to them by NSWDG, NSW and JSOC … And NAVCHINFO ENS. Jerkoffski who authored and release the press release is having a bad day!
Well, bye!
Hmmm, I wonder if the *lost confidence in his ability to drive a boat underwater* involved the seafloor ala the *Bouncin Billy Bates*?
Doesn’t that make it 3 sub drivers in 34 days this year?
Something like that.
GEORGIA went bump (again) and ran aground coming into King’s Bay. No tug killed this time.
OKC’s CO got fired for the nebulous, “loss of confidence”, whatever that means. Talking to folks who serves with him, he seemed like a decent guy, which leads me to believe ORSE, etc., had something to do with it.
Must be the latest fashion trend among high ranking military officials, i.e. relieving their Officers.In the meantime, the Commander In Chief carries on….with his former Secretary of State waiting to fill his shoes.
Good point but the Military is above that BS or should be.
Oh Gawd… please put a spew warning before saying shit like that!
Brilliantly played, sir!
Dysfunction surrounding something named “Dallas”? Coincidence? ha!
That captain has got to be mad, he just left as the C.O. and now has to go back!!
Yeah, sea duty is not a bed of roses, but there is no job better in the USN than command at sea.
He might be thanking his lucky stars that he gets to drive a boat again.
Two thoughts.
1. Is there an ideological purge underway? Lots of firings of high rankers. Sometimes with little or shoddy info on why.
I’m reminded of that surge not so long ago when everyone who drew this regime’s ire got some kiddy porn discovered on their computers, often with indicators of it being placed by remote access.
2. If these are legit firings, how the fuck did they reach the ranks that they did before getting found out as incompetent/criminal?
Seems to me that if these are legit firings at this rank level, there is a serious need for heads to roll in the vetting for promotion process.
No purge. The Navy has just gotten back into the zero defect style of leadership. Add in that the Navy it’s easier to get fired for things like safety violations, your command fails a few inspections (like nuclear power program or material condition) or even the simple mis management of the operating funds. Not all of these firings are criminal or even incompetence. In the Navy we assume that you’re a big kid when you put that command at sea pin on. From which you get held accountable for all the mistakes even if they were done three CO’s ago.
There is talk about the vetting process internally and questions about those folks who have problems with the bottle and thier zippers. Yet, the question as well for other command officers is, if your career depends on 90% of your officer corps advancing and Lt Joe Navy did have that one booze filled incident in Naples, but otherwise was good. Do you sink them or pass them and hope it was a one time event?
Spot on assessment.
US Genuine’s used to have a very rigorous internal vetting program. It was called Chief’s initiation.
Now it was not perfect, but it made very strong leaders who looked out for the Navy, and thus CO’s, XO’s and Their Junior Troops.
Gone are those days, MCPON after MCPON has bowed to making us more like the Officers is one quote I heard. Or we need to change our tactics for the new generation. F that. It was you needed to meet our standards or SCREW.
Sometimes a WTF is the best thing you can do, no matter what the rank. Not sure if there are enough of those Chiefs around.
The Navy cannot stand up without a backbone, That is the Chiefs mess, at least that is what I was taught. So a lot of these firings can be seen as a failure of the Chiefs Mess.
The mess can make a CO have a successful tour (afloat or ashore) or they can make it Hell for them (and get them relieved)… saw the latter happen twice while a member of the Mess.
Bingo.
Many and various are the ways a CO can stomp on their cranks, and there are always plenty of guys behind you ready to take your place.
Navy screening is a bit different than some processes.
Assuming you stay in after your JO tour and SOAC, chances are pretty good you’ll screen for Department Head and go back as Engineer, Weps, or Nav.
Avoid stepping on your crank there or your post-DH shore tour, and you’ve got about a 40-50 percent chance of screening for XO, but no guarantee you’ll ever serve as one. If you don’t, buh-bye. Ditto with screening for CO–only about 1/2 of those with a successful XO tour pass screen, and not all of those who do get that command pin.
And even when you do, all it takes is a bad ORSE/TRE, bad yard period, even too many of your crew getting into trouble, all will screw your career over.
Nimitz ran his ship aground as a junior officer and survived. But that was a different military.
Damn straight on that… he would have been ran out on a rail if it happened today.
@ Charles:
Thank you, many muches, sir.
It is good to know that the system isn’t fubar as it often appears for those of us not involved in the daily, but only hearing when things go sideways or don’t pan out as expected.
Maybe he’ll see those ad’s for truck drivers.
Sorry John but there is never any confusion between a Senior Chief and a CDR.
One walks on water and does the impossible daily.
The other one asks the Senior Chief how he does it.
Sad. When you have a solid MC your life can change for the better. One put me right. Now it seems like there are anxious bed-wetters running things.