The commanding officer of the destroyer The Sullivans was fired Wednesday, three weeks after his ship mistakenly fired at a fishing boat during a gunnery exercise, the Navy said.
Cmdr. Mark Olson was relieved of command of the Mayport, Fla.-based destroyer by Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, 2nd Fleet commander, due to “a loss of confidence in his ability to command,” 2nd Fleet said in a release.
He is the 18th commanding officer fired this year, surpassing last year’s total.
Olson was in command on Aug. 17 when the ship was conducting a gunnery exercise at the Cherry Point Operating Range Area, off the North Carolina coast. During the exercise, The Sullivans mistook a fishing vessel for a towed gunnery target and began firing inert rounds at the vessel. They landed close but did not strike the boat. None of the fishermen was harmed, 2nd Fleet said.
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