Military reliefs, ousters, and such

I didn’t think I’d be running another one of these roundups so soon, but news keeps popping up about military misdeeds.

— A Navy commander dressed as Santa Claus for a Christmas party but became a Bad Santa.

— A different Navy commander got 18 months in the pokey and a $50,000 fine for his role in the “Trump-sized Leonard” scandal. He also lost his civilian Department of Defense job as deputy chief of staff for Special Operations in the Pacific. He accepted dinners, hotel stays and the services of prostitutes, and then lied like a rug about it. According to court documents, he was the biggest user of prostitutes caught up in the scandal.

—T he Navy booted two more officers in the chain of command over ships involved in recent collisions of the USS Fitzgerald and the USS McCain. Between mishaps and Leonardic fallout, the Navy’s Pacific Command has been getting hit hard lately.

— An Army lieutenant colonel was relieved of command of a training battalion at Fort Stewart, Ga., after an investigation of sexual assault charges, but won’t face a court martial.

— Similar move against the commander of a Fort Benning training battalion, though just for lack of confidence etc.

— A Canadian Coast Guard vessel was fined for going too fast in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Speeding ships can kill whales.

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