The commanding officer and executive officer of the Los Angeles-class attack submarine Jacksonville have been relieved of their duties. Rear Adm. Phillip Sawyer, commander of Task Force 54, fired Cmdr. Nathan Sukols and Lt. Cmdr Lauren Allen in the aftermath of a Jan. 10 collision between the Jacksonville and another vessel in the Arabian Gulf. Sukols and Allen received non-judicial punishment at Admiral’s Mast held Feb. 10 in Manama, Bahrain, and have been reassigned to desk jobs at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Commander Richard Seif temporarily succeeded Sukols as Jacksonville’s commander; Lt. Cmdr. Todd Santala is serving temporarily as the submarine’s XO. No one was injured in the mishap. Jacksonville sustained damage to one periscope, which has since been repaired.
