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Destroyer CO fired while on way to Persian Gulf

A destroyer skipper was sacked Tuesday while headed for a deployment in the Persian Gulf war zone because commanders lost “confidence in his ability to command,” the Navy said.

Cmdr. Jeffrey Menne, commanding officer of the destroyer Higgins, was relieved of command by Capt. Adam Levitt, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 23, in “an administrative matter” that the Navy says is under investigation.

Capt. Roy Kitchener, operations officer for Carrier Strike Group 11, has taken over as acting commanding officer aboard the Higgins. Menne has been temporarily assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11.

Menne’s dismissal was not because of an “operational incident or mishap,” said Lt. Denise Garcia, a public affairs officer at Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “It’s under investigation, and we cannot discuss the details of it,” she said.

The Higgins, based in San Diego, recently entered the 5th Fleet area of operations with the aircraft carrier Nimitz and its escorts to relieve the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group.

Menne had command of Higgins for seven months. His relief came less than a month after another skipper in the Middle East was relieved at sea: Cmdr. Christopher Rankin, who commanded Electronic Attack Squadron 140 for nine days aboard the Eisenhower, was relieved on April 16, also for “loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

The Higgins had not entered the Persian Gulf at the time of Menne’s relief, Garcia said.