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Stethem CMC firing came after alleged DUI

The command master chief of the Japan-based destroyer Stethem has been fired after being arrested in connection with a drunken-driving incident, according to a 7th Fleet spokesman.

The relief of Command Master Chief (SW/AW) Kelvin Coleman on Jan. 22 marks the second firing of a command’s top enlisted sailor so far this year. Both firings were related to drunken driving.

On Jan. 5, Senior Chief Yeoman (SS) Savan Patel, chief of the boat of the attack submarine Louisville, was fired one day after being arrested and charged with drunken driving in Hawaii.

“Coleman has been temporarily reassigned to [Destroyer Squadron] 15, pending the outcome of disciplinary and administrative actions,” said Jeff Davis, spokesman for 7th Fleet in Japan.

Davis said Coleman was caught at a checkpoint set up in a military housing area near Fleet Activities Yokosuka.

“There is zero tolerance for drinking and driving in Japan,” Davis said. “We enforce that by aggressive use of command-authorized checkpoints.”

Coleman, 38, is a native of Scottsburg, Va., and has been in the Navy since Jan. 28, 1991.

A cryptologic technician (collection) by training, Coleman has done multiple tours in Japan over his 20-year career. His previous underway assignments were on the cruiser Bunker Hill and the amphibious assault ship Saipan. He was selected for the command master chief program in 2010 and attended the Command Leadership School in Newport, R.I., before reporting to Stethem in April.

His awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal; two awards of the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal; and three awards of the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal.