US Navy Fires Fleet Commander After Second Deadly Warship Collision In Last Three Months [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports:

The U.S. Navy dismissed the commander of the Asia-based 7th Fleet on Wednesday after a series of warship accidents raised questions about its operations in the Pacific. A two-sentence statement said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, had relieved Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

The move follows four Navy accidents in the Pacific since late January, including two collisions that left sailors dead and missing. “While each of these four incidents is unique, they cannot be viewed in isolation,” Swift said earlier. The Navy said that Rear Adm. Phillip Sawyer, who had already been named as Aucoin’s successor, would assume command immediately.

On Monday, the destroyer USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided off Singapore, injuring five sailors and leaving 10 others missing. Seven sailors died in June when the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off Japan.