The former commander of the fast-attack submarine Bremerton was fired last year after he allegedly “ordered” 10 “local provocatively dressed females” to a Subic Bay hotel during a port call, according to portions of a Naval Criminal Investigative Service report released to Navy times.

Cmdr. Travis Zettel’s downfall began during the boat crew’s first night of liberty there on March .

A member of the oceanographic survey ship Able, which was also in port there at the time, told an NCIS agent that Zettel said he had “requested/ordered” 10 “girls to arrive at the hotel,” according to the two-page executive summary of the report.

While dining later in that hotel, an unidentified person claimed to have seen Zettel outside the hotel’s front door meeting about 10 “local provocatively dressed females" and another unnamed sailor from the Bremerton wandering around, saying “hi” to his shipmates with three women on his arm.

The NCIS report said that on July 19, Zettel “was interviewed and admitted culpability in the payment of female accompaniment.”

The other sailor allegedly told NCIS that he didn’t participate in prostitution and requested an attorney. The report indicates that this person was not pursued for disciplinary action and the investigation was closed.

Zettel declined comment to Navy Times.

Details about Zettel’s firing were first published by the Kitsap Sun.

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On Sept. 7, 2018, Zettel received a punitive letter of reprimand but the NCIS summary does not detail what it said.

Three weeks before he received the reprimand, Zettel was relieved as the commander of the Bremerton, which was awaiting decommissioning at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Amanda Gray, a spokeswoman with Submarine Group 9, told Navy Times only that superiors lost confidence in Zettel due to unspecified “questions of inappropriate personal conduct.”

Although Gray said that a squadron probe and possible disciplinary sanctions had not concluded, Zettel’s name has never appeared on any court-martial dockets. That indicates he likely was never charged with violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s ban on “Pandering and Prostitution,” which is what triggered the NCIS investigation in the first place.

NCIS has released only a highly-redacted executive summary, not what likely is a much larger dossier of ancillary material, including interviews with witnesses in the Marianas, Philippines and Washington about Zettel’s command of the Bremerton during the sub’s final deployment.

A full NCIS investigation into allegations of hiring prostitutes might include supplementary sections detailing the field work of special agents who accompany crews when they arrive in the Philippines. Those records might show that an agent checked the identifications of all local women who attended events with sailors at hotels and other establishments.

As for Zettel’s actual letter of reprimand, it also might list concerns about his judgment or an appearance of impropriety but carry no allegations that he violated military law.

NCIS has promised to release more records in the coming weeks.

Geoff is the editor of Navy Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.

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