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NECC civil affairs group CO fired

The commanding officer of a year-old civil affairs group was relieved of duty Friday after commanders “lost confidence” in his ability to command.

Capt. Kenneth J. Schwingshakl, commander of the Maritime Civil Affairs Group, was relieved by Rear Adm. Mike Tillotson, commander of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.

Schwingshakl was relieved after an internal investigation concluded he had “misused his command authority,” said Lt. Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a spokeswoman for NECC.

Schwingshakl has been temporarily reassigned to NECC. NECC’s training officer, Capt. Bob McKenna, has temporarily taken command, according to a Navy announcement. The unit is based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va.

The civil affairs group, composed of more than 300 sailors, was created to help the Navy work with foreign officials in maritime tasks such as port management, channel construction and other such jobs. Schwingshakl was the plankowner skipper of the unit.