Sources: 3-star shakeup in the works - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Sources: 3-star shakeup in the works

As many as nine of the Navy’s 26 three-star admirals could retire by the end of summer as part of a series of moves by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, sources tell Navy Times.

Confirmed by Navy Times as hanging up his uniform in 2008 is Vice Adm. Terrance T. Etnyre, who commands both Naval Surface Forces and Naval Surface Force, Pacific Fleet, in San Diego. His request to retire in March was approved on Tuesday, according to an official Navy message received by Navy Times. Also on the way out is Vice Adm. Robert T. Conway Jr., commander of Navy Installations Command in Washington, D.C., who is expected to retire in August, sources say.

In addition, Chief of Navy Reserve Vice Adm. John Cotton is expected to leave his position by summer — a move that is seen as part of the normal rotation.

But Navy Times has also learned that as many as six other three-stars will be out by the beginning of fiscal 2009 — and that all have been notified of their pending retirements in the past two weeks.

Cmdr. Pamela Kunze, Roughead’s spokeswoman, neither confirmed nor denied reports that significant flag retirements are in the works.

“Conversations between the CNO and his flag officers are done at a high level, and I would not have visibility on pending flag moves until the official notifications were released,” she said.

“This is a very significant event,” said one retired naval officer familiar with the situation. “Though it’s fully within the rights of a CNO to do this, it’s really fairly unsettling to replace so many in one move.”

In all, that’s more than one-third of the Navy’s three-star admirals who could be replaced by October, a year after Roughead took command.

In contrast, Adm. Mike Mullen only made one immediate replacement when he took over as CNO in July 2005.