House Democrats criticize Navy over private firing of USS South Dakota leadership

Reps. Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Adam Smith (D-WA) bashed the Navy’s leadership for privately firing the top three commanders of the nuclear submarine USS South Dakota, without notifying Congress.Courtney, the ranking member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, and Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter expressing their “deep frustration” to the Navy after finding out it had fired the commanding officer, executive officer, and the chief of the boat of the USS South Dakota on Oct. 14. They only found out about the sacking this week through a media report, which was published nearly a month after the firing. The revelation was prompted by a question from the Connecticut newspaper the Day on Nov. 11, which inquired about the leadership of the nuclear sub.Cmdr. Dan Goodwin was relieved after just four months on the job. The Navy attributed the firing to a “loss of confidence,” allegedly due to a grounding incident. The Washington Examiner reached out to the Navy for comment.“Failing to provide timely notifications to Congress is counterproductive to good policymaking and undermines the Department’s stated goals of transparency and accountability and put leadership judgement into question,” Courtney and Smith wrote.They complained that the Department of the Navy still hasn’t provided Congress with an official notification about the details of the dismissal, and the lack of transparency could have cascading effects.“The Navy’s lack of transparency leave many outstanding questions about not only what occurred, but the impact of the events leading the triad’s dismissal on the structural health of SOUTH DAKOTA, the well-being of the crew, and whether the incident laid bare any systemic issues with training to standard procedures that must be addressed,” they wrote. “As a result of the Navy’s failure to communicate, what should have been a standard exercise in information sharing has instead raised questions about the Navy’s commitment to transparency and its commitment to a productive working relationship with Congress.”The representatives set a Nov. 20 deadline for the Navy to answer a list of questions about the firings and the circumstances that led to them.ANDURIL AND THE NAVY ANNOUNCE $6.6 BILLION INVESTMENT IN NEW FACILITY TO BUILD CRITICAL COMPONENTS FOR SUBMARINESSubmarine groundings aren’t unheard of, given the uniquely treacherous depths in which they operate, but collisions with the sea floor are uniquely hazardous for the structural integrity of the vessels.The Navy has been plagued by several high-profile accidents in recent years, including collisions, groundings, and technical failures. The mishaps have added to the sense of urgency around the United States’s struggle to maintain its naval dominance against China and other adversaries.