The Navy fired the commander of one of its guided-missile submarines Friday, the service announced in a statement Monday.
The Navy fired the commander of one of its guided-missile submarines Friday, the service announced in a statement Monday.
The commanding officer of the USS Georgia sub's blue crew -- Capt. Geoffry Patterson -- was relieved by Rear Adm. Thomas Buchanan, the commander of Submarine Group 10, "due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the Navy said.
Patterson appears to be the first Navy commander to be removed from command this year.
The Navy's statement did not offer any more information about why Patterson was removed from leadership, outside of the usual remark that the service expects its commanders "to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards."
When asked for more details, a Navy spokesperson said he was not able to offer anything that wasn't in the official statement.
The USS Georgia is homeported at King's Bay, Georgia. According to data from the Camden County Sheriff's Office, where King's Bay is located, Patterson was arrested in the early hours of Jan. 9 on charges including driving under the influence and improper lane change.
According to the sheriff's website, Patterson was released on bond after a payment of more than $1,800.
Patterson took command of the submarine's blue crew in May 2022.
The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Georgia's last deployment appears to have wrapped up shortly after that, in September 2022. The submarine had been forward-deployed for more than two years -- 790 days.
The Navy currently has four guided-missile submarines that were converted from Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. Instead of nuclear missiles, the four boats instead carry up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and train to deliver special operations forces on covert missions.
Each Navy ballistic and guided-missile submarine has two sets of crews, blue and gold. They take turns manning the submarines and taking them on patrol.
According to the Navy, "this maximizes the [submarine]'s strategic availability, reduces the number of submarines required to meet strategic requirements, and allows for proper crew training, readiness, and morale."
The Navy said that Capt. Christopher Osborn, the commanding officer of USS Georgia gold crew, is now in charge of the boat and noted that "there is no impact to operations."
Related: Navy Fires Commander of Ballistic Missile Submarine over Loss of Confidence