A new report from the Navy says that Capt. Kyle S. Moses, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT)’s Task Force 56, has been relieved of duties.
Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, took this action after review of the investigation of a January incident in which 10 U.S. Sailors were detained by Iranian maritime forces.
“Several weeks ago, I had initially taken what I felt was appropriate administrative and corrective action involving Capt. Moses based on the preliminary results of the investigation, which I began immediately after we recovered our Sailors,” Donegan said in a statement. “However, after thoroughly examining the findings of the final, comprehensive investigation, I determined that this additional action was necessary.”
The firing is to be the first in a series of disciplinary measures that will ensue following the incident that’s been called an embarrassment for the U.S. Navy.
According to Navytimes, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Mike Kafka has called the investigation of the incident closed after months of review.
“The investigation is complete, and is being referred to appropriate commands for adjudication,” Kafka said in a statement.
On Jan. 12, 10 U.S. sailors were captured after they drifted into Iranian waters off Farsi Island, a remote Iranian outpost in the middle of the Persian Gulf.
The sailors were detained for 16 hours. During the detainment, footage of a U.S. sailor apologizing was captured by videotape, which Iran subsequently utilized to make numerous propaganda videos. The sailors were eventually released following intervention from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Navy officials attributed navigational error, as well as “some baffling errors in judgement” on the part of crew members to the capture.
