Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Spring cleaning of Navy officers, and weird ceremony at Travis Air Force Base

The skipper, XO and command master chief of the USS Bainbridge were fired for having commercial fireworks aboard the ship and for tolerating gambling in the wardroom.

Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 11.13.29 AM
Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 11.13.29 AM

The skipper, XO and command master chief of the USS Bainbridge were fired for having commercial fireworks aboard the ship and for tolerating gambling in the wardroom. Yes, that’s the ship that helped rescue Tom Hanks.

The skipper, XO and command master chief of the USS Bainbridge were fired for having commercial fireworks aboard the ship and for tolerating gambling in the wardroom. Yes, that’s the ship that helped rescue Tom Hanks.

More seriously, the Navy charged an active duty lieutenant commander with espionage, lying and adultery. Seems like it was a China thing. Lots of EP-3 secrets may be in play.

And the public affairs officer for the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command — a Navy captain! — was fired. Why a backwater command in Norfolk needs an 0-6 to answer the phone, I just don’t know.

Meantime, a retired master sergeant was pushed out of a ceremony at Travis Air Force Base. This is just weird.

Fwiw, I think that the idea of General Mattis running for president is wrong. My bet is that he does too. He’s not this year’s Chuck Norris.

Image credit: Screengrab from video

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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