Navy relieves CO, XO of USS Montgomery without explanation

The commanding officer and executive officer on the USS Montgomery were relieved with minimal explanation late last week.

CO Richard J. Zamberlan and XO Phillip Lundberg were relieved from their posts on the littoral combat ship on Dec. 30 due to a “loss of confidence in their ability to command,” the Navy said. The Navy offered no further reasons for the decision, and said both would be reassigned to commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The Navy Times reported that the two men were relieved because of how they handled a sexual harassment investigation.

In November, the Navy fired the top commanders of the USS Connecticut after a report found that the Seawolf-class attack sub hit an underwater mountain. Three commanders were fired due to a resulting “loss of confidence.”

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