The head of 5th Fleet on Friday fired the commander of the task force in charge of the riverine squadron involved in a high-profile debacle that led to 10 sailors' arrest by Iran in January.
Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan ousted Capt. Kyle Moses for his role in the January incident, the details of which will be briefed to Congress and the public in the coming days. The disciplinary action against Moses, who headed Task Force 56 in the Persian Gulf, follows up on a previous administrative reprimand, Donegan said in the release.
"Several weeks ago, I had initially taken what I felt was appropriate administrative and corrective action involving Capt. Moses based on the preliminary results of the investigation, which I began immediately after we recovered our Sailors," Donegan said. "However, after thoroughly examining the findings of the final, comprehensive investigation, I determined that this additional action was necessary."
Task Force 56 leads the riverine squadrons in theater, as well as Seabees and explosive ordnance disposal units.
The firing is the second in what sources say will be a series of disciplinary measures for what has been a high-profile embarrassment for the U.S. Navy, which came on the eve of a nuclear deal with Iran.
The Navy release did not elaborate on specific problems or shortcomings by Moses that had led up to the sailors' arrest, which Navy leaders have said was the result of training and supervision lapses. Moses could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.
The Navy's investigation into the incident has been closed after months of review, said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Mike Kafka.
"The investigation is complete, and is being referred to appropriate commands for adjudication," Kafka said in a statement.
Ten riverine sailors were captured Jan. 12 and their high-speed special mission boats were seized when they drifted into Iranian waters around Farsi Island, a remote Iranian military outpost in the middle of the Persian Gulf. During their 16 hour detention, one of the U.S. sailors appeared to apologize while being videotaped, which became part of the flurry of Iranian propaganda publicized in the wake of the arrests.
Navy officials believe that a navigational error, along with some baffling errors in judgment on the part of the crew, led to their capture. Officials have suggested that the crew may have been taking an unauthorized shortcut through Iranian waters to meet up with a U.S. Coast Guard vessel for refueling.
Iran has awarded medals to the Revolutionary Guard Corps commandos involved in the sailors' arrest, which U.S. leaders have called illegal. Iran plans to commission a statue to commemorate the arrests.
