US Navy fires two commanders

WASHINGTON: The US Navy dismissed two senior officers on Monday after a series of collisions involving Seventh Fleet warships in Asia. Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, and Captain Jeffrey Bennett, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, were fired by Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer, the Navy said. In August, Sawyer replaced fleet commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, who was fired after the accidents.

The shakeup in the Seventh Fleet command followed a pre-dawn collision between guided-missile destroyer USS McCain and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia on Aug 21, which killed 10 sailors and was the fourth major incident in the US Pacific Fleet this year. —