Navy Cmdr. Michael P. Ward II has ended his career as the captain of a nuclear submarine with something of a crash dive. Ward reportedly first had an affair in violation of Navy rules and then tried to end his affair by sending a fake email from a friend informing the mistress that Ward, 43, had died. When the woman went to his house to give her condolences, she learned that he had moved with his family to Connecticut to assume control over the USS Pittsburgh.
Ward lasted only a week as captain of the nuclear submarine when he was relieved of his duties.
For the misconduct, Ward received a letter of reprimand for adultery and other military violations, and he is being mustered out of the Navy. There is no clear crime in these actions since he did not commit fraud to gain any financial or economic benefit. Indeed, this is the opposite of the usual military pick line — he is lying to end a relationship.
Ward had previously worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, but appears to have passed all testing (and presumably a lie detector) to assume control of a billion dollar nuclear submarine. He reportedly met the woman on a dating site and he had learned that the twenty-something woman was pregnant. She later lost the baby due to complications.
It would be interesting to see if the mistress wanted to pursue a lawsuit for emotional distress due to the claimed fatality.
Source: Ny Daily News
I would think a sub commander has to be moderately courageous, since I know I wouldn’t ever want to ride in one myself. Given that and his refusal to face the woman in question, his lack of courage and honor made him unfit to serve.
The traditional licentious sailor meets Church Lady Regulations, and a chill falls upon the Navy, as a new fleet prepares for warming Arctic duty.
No rubbing noses y’all …
My brother enlisted during Nam and retired 20 some years later full Col. He did a stint with the Joint Chiefs and then with several other branches on special assignments.
Every great once in awhile he would talk about so and so who got himself involved in an affair, lost his clearance, and command. All these guys know the risk they’re taking when they start such relationships. I suspect with the increased number of women in the service (as opposed to the numbers during my brother’s career) that females are losing commands also.
I have no sympathy for Cmdr. Ward, he knew he was putting his command and career in jeopardy. He figured he could outsmart ’em all.
Bron 1, September 20, 2012 at 8:23 am
Dredd:
I am freezing my tukus off right now in Ole, Virginny. Come on global warming a 0.2 degree rise in temp is what I am praying for. I am tired of the cold.
Melt that ice, raise that temp.
=============================================
One of the early climate scientists, circa the late 19th Century, was from Sweden (Svante Arrhenius) and he held that same sentiment you do.
Hence the phrase “All Weather Is Local“.
Idealist707 is probably a descendant of his. 😉
notice how e-harmony has started having meet-ups?
Dredd:
I am freezing my tukus off right now in Ole, Virginny. Come on global warming a 0.2 degree rise in temp is what I am praying for. I am tired of the cold.
Melt that ice, raise that temp.
I had no idea that when you were in the military you had no personal life. The whole thing seems personal to me. One other reason it’s a good thing I never went in the military (I also can’t take orders or get up early). Sheeesh! They can’t pay enough for all that.
As for him not wanting to face a distressed woman. He may have thought she was the kind who would go ballistic and all fatal attraction on him.
There are more important affairs to deal with:
(What Gets Gone First). The Navy should give up the religiosity and notice that even though high tide is lifting all their boats, it is a different high tide, exactly as one of their Admirals said at the Pentagon (Navy Hoax?). Gives new meaning to “we build our ports at sea level”.
Honor under pressure seemed to escaped him…..
He will miss those trips through the Northwest Passage … with no ice (Arctic Sea Ice Loss).
ID707, discipline is a slippery term actually, economic capital punishment (firing) is discipline too. Keeping others in line, ‘maintaining good order’, is a valid use of penalties in a group endeavour. It gets kind of redundant in some applications though. It depends on what the folks in power want to accomplish. His career is toast in either event.
They discipline for the reason most are disciplined in civit society. A sort of “reward” and “moral consolation” to those who are “sin-free”. Deterrent value is negiigible I feel.
This use of nuclear sub is vague or I am vague. All subs are presumably nuclear-powered. But their are ones who are nuclear armed, or are all subs so armed?
In which case the designation “nuclear sub” would mean the full shebang. ????
When it comes to positions where a security clearance is required the spectre of being subject to blackmail and coercion and/or a pattern of lack of respect for lawful authority (which covers a whole bunch of territory and generally means ‘we just don’t know what this person will do’) can get your security clearance pulled in no time. His behaviour also calls his mental health into question which is a matter that has the potential to get his clearance pulled instantly. Once the clearance is gone the job evaporates. They didn’t have to discipline him at all, just yank the clearance. Clearance decisions can be mitigated by favorable recommendations from ones superiors though.
His lack of conventional morals exposed he could never have the position to command people again. This would follow him even on retreat posts, and make him unplaceable.
The max of one year imprisonment seems mild in comparison with that for other violations.
Darren,
Coincidentally I encountered that marine incident in my reading last night. It was one marine on the security detail who got involved with a Russian translator who worked inside the Embassy Why they used a Russian national for translation INSIDE the embassy was not explained. Rules then prohibeted russian girl/boyfriends. Every exposed honeypot up to that point had been proven to be KGB operations.
Patric
Yes it is interesting. I would imagine such a relationship might, in the view of the Navy lead possibly to officers of great respnosibility being compromised and possibly blackmailed and thereupon being vulnerable to outside influence and control.
I remember reading I don’t remember when but it seems it was over 20 years ago or so where Marines guarding the US Embasy in Moscow were seduced by women who were agents of the KGB and it was they who were pumped and prodded, for information that is; which caused a breach of security.
Isn’t it interesting that this highly-educated warrior – who would probably relish the chance to go mano-a-mano with the craftiest submariner in the former Soviet nuclear sub fleet – literally could not face the reality of dealing with a single, highly-stressed adult female.
Fallout reaction by US Pentagon stemming from Tailhook incident in 1991 in LV NV – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailhook_scandal
A sub’s commander should have much higher standards of moral turpitude than this. He would expect no less from his men (and now women on subs).
I have been receiving weekly e-mail news summaries from Military.com for several years now. For the past year or two, the Navy has been relieving Ship’s Captains at a rate of about one per month. Most of these have involved Captains who are fooling around with young women assigned to their ships. Also, the incidence of young Servicewomen in all branches of the military being raped is absolutely appalling.
It seems that Captain Ward allegedly might have been nicked under General Article (134) Clause 2 (Adultery) of the UCMJ. (I have never been in the military and I only have cursory experience with the UCMJ so this might not be completely accurate)
Here is a link UCMJ on About.com
Essentially it would seem the allegations are that this conduct would constitute casting a bad image on behalf of the Navy as described “Discredit means to injure the reputation of the armed forces and includes adulterous conduct that has a tendency, because of its open or notorious nature, to bring the service into disrepute, make it subject to public ridicule, or lower it in public esteem.”
One of the factors to be considered is the rank and position of the accused. A person as a submarine commander and formerly assigned to the joint chiefs of staff would be more significant in the eyes of the UCMJ than that of a Petty Officer. Morale issues are something the military also considers.
While this does not constitute a crime, as I am interpreting it, it does fall within the General Article which covers essentially disciplinary issues that are not otherwise specifically denoted in other articles.
The effective preable of Article 134 reads …
“Though not specifically mentioned in this chapter, all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special, or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court.”
The maximum punishment under the adultery clause is a Dishonorable Discharge, monetary penalties and imprisonment up to one year.