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| USS Freedom (File Photo) |
By: Sam Fellman
The head of the surface Navy on Thursday fired the commanding officer of a littoral combat ship that damaged one of its main propulsion diesel engines in July.
Vice Adm. Tom Rowden cashiered the CO of Crew 106 of LCS Freedom, Cmdr. Michael Wohnhaas, “due to loss of confidence in his ability to effectively lead and carry out his assigned duties,” Naval Surface Force Pacific said in a Friday release announcing the removal.
“The loss of confidence followed an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding damage to the ship's number 2 main propulsion diesel engine (#2 MPDE) that occurred in the operation areas off the coast of southern California on July 11,” the SURFPAC release said. “No final decision has been made yet on the options for follow-on repairs to Freedom related to the July 11 engineering casualty.”
Navy Times’ sister publication Defense News reported in August that the Freedom’s diesel engine was damaged by a crewmember's error and would need to be completely rebuilt or replaced entirely.
Read the full story at NavyTimes