Amphib skipper fired after grounding in gulf

[CommunityEditor]

SAN DIEGO — The skipper of the dock landing ship Pearl Harbor was fired Sunday after running aground July 21 while in the Persian Gulf, according to the Navy.

Cmdr. Xavier F. Valverde, a Bronze Star recipient who started his career as an enlisted sailor, was relieved by Rear Adm. Kendall Card, commander of the Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group.

“Following a preliminary inquiry after a recent grounding incident in the Arabian Gulf, Rear Adm. Card expressed his loss of confidence in Valverde’s ability to command,” said a statement released by Naval Surface Forces in Coronado, Calif. “No injuries or damage occurred as a result of the incident.”

Dave Hostetler, SurFor spokesman, said the incident occurred while the ship was operating off the coast of Kuwait.

Valverde has been “temporarily assigned” to the Naval Forces Central Command staff until the formal investigation into the incident is completed, officials said. Card tapped Capt. Mike Slotsky to replace Valverde as Pearl Harbor’s commanding officer. Slotsky is listed as the executive officer of Destroyer Squadron 9, according to that command’s Web site.

Valverde took command of Pearl Harbor in November 2007, replacing Cmdr. Victor Cooper. The ship deployed from San Diego on May 4 with the strike group, which includes the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton.

While at sea May 30, Valverde led his crew in a celebration of the ship’s 10th anniversary. “The ship continues today what she started 10 years ago — good work through the efforts of her crew,” Valverde said, according to a June 2 Navy News article. “Pearl Harbor has aged gracefully.”

The strike group arrived in the Persian Gulf in late June.

Valverde enlisted in the Navy in 1982 and was a machinist’s mate until his commissioning in 1990. Eight years later, he was Pearl Harbor’s first lieutenant at the time of the amphib’s 1998 commissioning, making him a “plank owner.”

According to his biography, Valverde in 2005 took part in the Joint Manpower Exchange Program and served as an Army operational planner for the staff of III Corps, based at Fort Hood, Texas. That unit deployed to Iraq in 2006 and Valverde worked on the staff of Multi-National Corps-Iraq.

Besides the Bronze Star, Valverde’s personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (one gold star), Navy Commendation Medal (one gold star), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (one gold star), National Defense Medal (one gold star), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal and Humanitarian Service Medal.


Article: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/0...kipper_072808/

[litebeer]

This is not the first incident where this CO has caused damage to a vessel under his Command.

[BoxKicker]

You would think with GPS and all of the technology they put on board the ships this would not happen anymore, I'm sure there's a lot more to it than just a grounding. Was the OOD being a lil darefull? Was the OS/QM asleep? "I seen this happened" Did the QM put the right route in the GPS? I'm not blaming any of these guys/gals of this being their fault and ultimately is the CO's fault but we have all gone to the pilot house and seeing them playing around once in awhile.

[Warrior]

I sat back and read the Navy Times article on the relieving of the X-Man, it bothers the hell out of me that there are so many excuses on how he could have ran aground and how it's possible for a ship to run aground. Bottom line is there is no damn excuse! As CO of a vessel, you are entrusted in making the right decisions, you are giving the tools to make those decisions, such as well trained sailors, a CHEIF that has been navigating for more years than the Navigation Officer has probably been alive, great navigational equipment that tells you the depth of the water, the exact spot where your ship is.
After serving under this guy before I can almost bet which tool he refused to use. The same tool that he refused when he ran his vessel into a pier in Belize. Now, I may sound a little bitter, and I probably am, but he should have been relieved at that point. It is also very ironic to me that he made the front page of the Navy Times the same day that the Chief results were posted... How ironic is that? That was a tool that from experience he refuses to use.....

You have been X-ed

[Warrior]

I sat back and read the Navy Times article on the relieving of the X-Man, it bothers the hell out of me that there are so many excuses on how he could have ran aground and how it's possible for a ship to run aground. Bottom line is there is no damn excuse! As CO of a vessel, you are entrusted in making the right decisions, you are giving the tools to make those decisions, such as well trained sailors, a CHEIF that has been navigating for more years than the Navigation Officer has probably been alive, great navigational equipment that tells you the depth of the water, the exact spot where your ship is.
After serving under this guy before I can almost bet which tool he refused to use. The same tool that he refused when he ran his vessel into a pier in Belize. Now, I may sound a little bitter, and I probably am, but he should have been relieved at that point. It is also very ironic to me that he made the front page of the Navy Times the same day that the Chief results were posted... How ironic is that? That was a tool that from experience he refuses to use.....

You have been X-ed !

[CDE]

I'm not in any way trying to deflect heat from the CO...but...I'm curious to know how many officers were on the bridge and what the heck the OOD was doing. There's always a series of failures in these things.