The commanding officer of the frigate Vandegrift has been relieved amid an investigation into an alleged sexual assault that occurred during a port visit to Panama City, Panama.
Cmdr. Luis Alva, 41, is accused of grabbing the buttocks of the wife of one of his chief petty officers at a bar Monday night, according to a preliminary incident report that was confirmed by Navy officials.
Naval Surface Force Pacific said he was relieved Tuesday due to a loss of confidence.
"Cmdr. Luis Alva, was relieved of his duties as commanding officer Thursday by the commodore of Destroyer Squadron 23, Capt. Paul Hogue, due to loss of confidence in his ability to command," to release said.
The Oct. 6 incident generated two incident reports. The first indicates that the incident involved a physical altercation between Alva and his alleged victim.
"The commanding officer appeared at an unknown social event at a bar with an unknown number of chief petty officers from USS Vandegrift," the message said. "Over the course of the evening the commanding officer became intoxicated, and at some point he is alleged to have assaulted the victim by shoving/pushing in the face."
The second incident report detailed an alleged sexual assault. An NCIS investigation is underway, which officials confirmed.
The Vandegrift deployed in May on an in independent deployment to the 4th Fleet area, which includes South and Central America.
Alva is a 1996 Naval Academy grad who has served on board the cruisers Cape St. George and San Jacinto, as well as the frigate Fahrion. He served as executive officer of the frigate Reuben James before assuming command of Vandegrift.
Alva did not respond to emails seeking comment.
His shore tours include a stint at U.S. Strategic Command as the operations branch chief for ballistic missile defense and as an instructor at Dam Neck, Virginia.
A previous Vandegrift CO was fired in 2012 after alcohol-fueled misbehavior on the part of his wardroom during a port call in Vladivostok. The ship's executive officer, operations officer and chief engineer were also canned.
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
