The commanding officer of the Navy ROTC unit at the State University of New York’s Maritime College was fired last week due to a loss of confidence, Navy officials confirmed Tuesday.
Capt. Heedong Choi’s May 3 firing “was based on alleged personal misconduct that is the subject of an ongoing investigation,” Chief of Naval Personnel spokeswoman Capt. Amy Derrick said in an email.
“Commanding officers are expected to uphold the highest standards of personal and professional conduct at all times,” Derrick said. “At a ROTC unit, meeting these high standards of conduct is critical to developing the military leaders of the future.”
Choi came aboard the command in July 2016, according to personnel records.
He has been administratively reassigned to the NROTC unit at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York, pending further investigation, Derrick said.
Capt. David Wright, the current commander of Rutgers’ NROTC unit, has taken on command of the Maritime College NROTC unit until a permanent replacement is named.
A surface warfare officer, Choi made captain in 2012 and commanded the destroyer Chaffee for two years starting in April 2008.
Before being assigned to NROTC in July 2016, Choi was a student at the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center for two weeks, and before that he spent about three years at Naval Service Training Command, according to Navy personnel records.
