Category: Navy

CBS News reports that they spotted Trump White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer when he reported for drill this weekend at the Pentagon in uniform;

Spicer, a commander in the Navy Reserve, is currently assigned to the Joint Staff’s naval reserve contingent in D.C. He joined the reserve in 1999, and graduated with a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in 2012. Spicer in the past has worked as a media planner for joint exercises in Guam, Germany and Sweden, and oversaw media coverage of Navy operations at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, according to the Military Times.

The Spicer sighting comes as President Donald Trump is away at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, weighing the possibility of intervening in North Korea if that country tests its nuclear program in the days ahead.

Military.com reports that Navy Captain Alan Damian Dorrbecker, a submarine warfare officer assigned to Submarine Force Atlantic, is going to a court martial for attempting to seduce and sexually assault a child under the age of 16 back in 2015;

On two separate occasions, once in November and once in December 2015, Dorrbecker is accused of meeting the victim without her parents’ knowledge and attempting to commit multiple sexual acts on her. He used his government-issued Blackberry phone to arrange the meeting, the charge sheet alleges.

Dorrbecker’s alleged activities “disgraced him personally and seriously compromised his standing as a Naval Officer,” the document states.

According to the article, he had commanded the submarine USS Greeneville from 2007-2009 and he worked in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

Thanks to Bobo and Jeff for the link.

To those of you complaining about my deeming Brian Losey a coward: I stand by what I said. I will not retract it, nor will I apologize.

There is enough corruption in this world to fill an encyclopedia. It’s visible in the news every day, in every part of society, and that includes law enforcement and the military. How many officers were slammed in the Fat Leonard business? How many senior NCOs and GOs have been caught with their pants down for abusing subordinates? How many cops have been charged with criminal and civil complaints over their behavior? How many politicians in office have been busted and dismissed or still hold office?

I did not base what I said on a newspaper article. I said what I said based on the DoD IG report, to wit: “We concluded that RDML Losey viewed the complaint as a personal attack against him
and reprised against Complainant in violation of Title 10, United States Code, Section 1034, as
implemented by DoD Directive 7050.06, “Military Whistleblower Protection.” “Losey was “livid” after receiving the complaint, and he called him into his office and told him to deliver a message to “the locker room” and tell them to: “play nice and wait until I’m gone. Smile. Act like you’re going to work … but if you continue to undermine my authority as a commander, I’m going to bury each one of them. I’m going to come after them and I’m going to make it very unpleasant.”
The IG’s conclusion:

“VII. CONCLUSION

We conclude, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that RDML Losey relieved
Complainant from his position as [redacted] and failed to place him in another position
commensurate with his rank, in reprisal because he suspected Complainant of filing an IG
complaint against him, in violation of 10 U.S.C. 1034

Note that Losey decided this individual was at fault without proof, based solely on his own suspicions. As indicated in the DoDIG report, when he met with the Complainant and asked him if he was the whistleblower and the Complainant said he was not, Losey refused to believe that and removed him from his position, subsequently transferring him elsewhere.

To see someone at Losey’s level of seniority engage in personal revenge against any subordinates because he simply suspected anyone of filing an anonymous complaint for his misuse of travel regs, with no real evidence beyond his own suspicions – which is what he did per the DoD IG report — shows a serious lack of integrity and a bullying personality that seems to have been hidden from most of the people who worked with him.

He went ballistic over an anonymous whistleblower. He used his position of authority to try to damage someone whom he singled out over the report of a petty error on his part, even though the object of his ire had nothing to do with blowing the whistle on him. That is unacceptable behavior in anyone at his level.

Abuse of authority by those in positions of authority is unacceptable, period. I expect better. I have a right to expect better. At Losey’s level, I expect integrity, which he has clearly demonstrated that he lacks.

This member of the Admiralty knew better, but ignored morality. He reacted exactly the same as a drunken 300-pound Chicago cop who beat the crap out of a female bartender when she refused to serve him any more liquor – because he had a badge and a gun, so he could do that and get away with it.

Before you say ‘oh, that’s different’, no. It is exactly the same thing. It is an abuse of authority to get your own way. Period. Losey abused his authority. There is no question of that.

Cowardice comes in many forms. It is not related solely to war zones or military decorations. Any abuse of power or authority is the act of a bully and a coward.

If you don’t recognize that, you are not paying attention.

I stand by what I said.

Rear Admiral Brian L. Losey was promoted to that rank after he retired November 1, 2016 by the Navy in defiance of members of Congress that had opposed the promotion because of Losey’s search for the person who had ratted him out for a minor abuse of travel regulations. This is from a Washington Post article dated October 2015;

Rear Adm. Brian L. Losey was investigated five times by the Defense Department’s inspector general after subordinates complained that he had wrongly fired, demoted or punished them during a vengeful but fruitless hunt for the person who had anonymously reported him for a minor travel-policy infraction, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The Navy was bound and determined to promote the SEAL commander, though. According to a newer Washington Post article, Ray Mabus, the Navy Secretary approved Losey’s promotion in his final days in office;

The documents obtained by The Post, however, show that Mabus later reopened the case. On Jan. 12, during his last week in office as an Obama political appointee, Mabus signed a memo boosting Losey’s rank from a one-star to a two-star admiral.

Losey, 56, will stay retired, but the documents show that his promotion will benefit him financially for the rest of his life.

His higher rank entitles him to a bigger annual military pension. It will swell to about $142,000 this year, an increase of $16,700, according to Defense Department figures.

He will also receive a one-time check for about $70,000 in back pay because the Navy dated his promotion retroactively to the date when he first became eligible for a second star.

He gets a pay raise which is equal to many enlisted retirees’ pensions. I’m not making a judgement as to whether the Admiral deserves the promotion or not, but it’s typical that the taxpayers are getting screwed with no real benefit to their extra 16 grand a year.

Thanks to Chief Tango for the tip.