The commanding officer and executive officer of the littoral combat ship Montgomery’s blue crew were relieved of command Thursday “due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command.”
An official statement on the firing of the CO, Cmdr. Richard Zamberlan, and his second-in command, Cmdr. Phillip Lundberg, does not indicate why the two were relieved.
However, a Navy official with knowledge of the situation told Navy Times it was connected to their handling of a sexual harassment investigation.
That official requested anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss specifics of the firings, which came about following a command investigation.
Zamberlan and Lundberg have been reassigned to Naval Surface Force Pacific, and Cmdr. Dustin Lonero, of the littoral combat ship Coronado, has assumed temporary command of the ship until a permanent relief is identified.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military 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.