The officer in charge of an aviation training unit at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina was fired Thursday.

Lt. Col. Christopher Kinsey took command of the Center of Naval Aviation Technical Training-Marine Unit New River in 2017, according to officials.

Few details were available this week regarding why Kinsey was fired.

Navy Cmdr. James Stockman, a spokesman for Naval Education and Training Command, said Kinsey was relieved “due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command.”

The firing came after Brig. Gen. Benjamin Watson, head of Marine Corps Installations East and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, had ordered a command investigation, but Stockman would not say when that investigation was ordered or what it found.

Stockman said that the probe is finished but it would be “inappropriate to discuss any future disciplinary or administrative actions” against Kinsey.

Kinsey declined comment via a Marine Corps spokesman.

The unit’s executive officer, Maj. Anthony Ripley, has been assigned as the acting CO.

Kinsey has nearly 28 years in service, first enlisting in 1991 and then receiving his commission in 1998 to become an aircraft maintenance officer.

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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