Naval Support Activity CO fired after arrest - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Naval Support Activity CO fired after arrest

The commanding officer of Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was fired Wednesday following an Aug. 20 driving while intoxicated arrest, the Navy said.

Cmdr. Laredo Bell was relieved by Rear Adm. Mark Boensel, commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, due to a “loss of confidence in his ability to command,” according to a CNRMA news release provided early Wednesday evening.

Bell is the 17th Navy CO fired in 2011, a total matching all of 2010’s firings, according to a Navy Times database.

Bell, a native of Birmingham, Ala., enlisted in the Navy in 1981 and rose to the rank of chief petty officer before earning his commission as a limited duty officer, or LDO, in October 1992, according to an official biography posted online.

He was cited for driving under the influence by the Albany Co., N.Y., Sheriff’s Department in the “early morning” of Aug. 20, CNRMA said. No other details were provided.

Replacing Bell is Cmdr. Rosario McWhorter, the deputy commander of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. McWhorter will fill the job until a permanent replacement is named, CNRMA said.

Bell has been temporarily assigned to Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn., pending adjudication of the DUI citation in civilian court, CNRMA said.