Senior US Naval officers in Okinawa sacked

February 16, 2018

Washington-The US Navy said Thursday that it had sacked the command triad of its mobile construction unit in Okinawa Prefecture following "an incident of private misconduct."

The three belong to the California-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, currently deployed to Camp Shields in the southernmost Japan prefecture. The Navy did not disclose details of the incident.

According to the Navy Times, Lt. Cmdr. Jason Gabbard, the unit's executive officer, was found intoxicated and walking naked in the woods on the base.

Commanding Officer Cmdr. James Cho and Command Master Chief Jason Holden were also relieved for their handling of the incident, which they attempted to cover up, the military paper quoted a source as saying.

"Trust is the foundation for everything we do as military professionals, and we expect our service members to conduct themselves with the integrity and character to justify that trust," said a Navy spokeswoman in a statement.

"When there are any indications that those values are not being followed, we conduct appropriate investigations and take action as necessary," she added. Jiji Press