The commander of a West Coast-based aviation logistics squadron was removed from his post on Friday due to dissatisfaction with his performance, according to an announcement from 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, out of Miramar, California.
Lt. Col. Michael Hernandez, commanding officer of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 11, was relieved by 3rd MAW Commanding General Maj. Gen. Mark Wise, "due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to continue to lead," according to the announcement.
"This was a strictly performance-based decision; there was never any concern of misconduct, a 3rd MAW spokesman, Capt. Kurt Stahl, told Military.com.
Stahl said the decision to relieve Hernandez had been under consideration for some time, but was not the result of any kind of investigation.
It's not clear who will take over permanent leadership of the squadron, but Stahl said Maj. David Donnell, executive officer of MALS-11, would command the squadron in the interim.
Hernandez did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
According to his official Marine Corps biography, Hernandez joined the Marine Corps as an enlisted service member in 1990 and received a commission in 1996 after attending Officer Candidate School.
He served in Iraq in 2007 as the deputy inspector general to the commander of Multinational Force Iraq, Army Gen. David Petraeus. Prior to taking command at MALS-11, he served at the Wing Aviation supply officer and Aviation Logistics Department plans officer for 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Japan.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
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