The US Navy has formally relieved the commander of the ten US Sailors who strayed into Iranian territorial waters, resulting in their being held captive for fifteen hours.
In yesterday’s statement, the Navy revealed that they have lost confidence in the command abilities of CDR Eric Rasch, former Executive Officer to the squadron involved in the January incident.
According to NBC, a Navy official said that Rasch failed to provide effective leadership, resulting in slipshod operations, complacency and lack of oversight that helped lead up to the crews’ capture. The official was not authorized to discuss the details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rasch -who was promoted to commander of the unit in April- has been relieved of command duties and reassigned, with a high possibility of others in the unit to be disciplined as well.
The sailors -a crew of nine men and one woman- were detained after their boat “drifted” into Iranian waters near Farsi Island, a port for Iranian gunboats since the Reagan era.
The capture caused both political and military-centric outrage, with critics coming down on every aspect- from the President’s handling of the situation to the sailor’s complete lack of professional bearing in the face of their captives.
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