In January, America’s new deal partner Iran captured two U.S. Navy vessels moving between Kuwait and Bahrain and detained 10 sailors. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the boats had entered Iranian waters illegally and added insult to injury by releasing photos of the sailors held at gunpoint along with video of them apologizing to Iran.
Iran capped off the incident by awarding the Fath (“Victory”) medal to the head of the navy of the Revolutionary Guard and four commanders involved in the incident. The officer in charge of the two boats that were captured, however, didn’t fare so well.
U.S. Navy fires commander of sailors held by Iran https://t.co/EXWw1ucYCa pic.twitter.com/xqEpwEz5Bz
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 12, 2016
CNN: Navy fires officer in charge of sailors detained in Iran
https://t.co/rFETfaBres— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) May 12, 2016
CNN reports that Cmdr. Eric Rasch was relieved of his position of commanding officer due to his failure to provide effective leadership and a loss of confidence in his ability. He remains in the Navy but has been reassigned. In his previous position, Rasch was responsible for the training and readiness of more than 400 sailors.
Navy fires commander who got 10 sailors captured by Iran https://t.co/a2s26LVQev pic.twitter.com/QAVbK5CSXC
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 13, 2016
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Further, Navy officials added that the sailors involved could still face disciplinary action. The sailors “did not conduct a standard operational briefing for themselves prior to setting sail, during which they would have fully reviewed their route and navigation plan,” reads the Navy’s report on the incident.
this is a disgrace
— rsherwin (@rsherwin2) May 12, 2016
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