By WYATT OLSON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 29, 2021 FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii The commander of the Pearl Harbor-based submarine USS Charlotte was relieved Tuesday in the wake of a command investigation sparked in part by a sailor’s suicide last month, the Navy said Wednesday. Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager was dismissed from the fast-attack sub by Capt. Michael Majewski, who heads Submarine Squadron 7, after losing confidence in his ability to command, the Navy said in a news release. Majewski took the action after an investigation “revealed leadership and command climate problems,” the Navy said. Lautenslager took command of the Charlotte in March 2019. He has been temporarily assigned to the staff of Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Navy said.
Hawaii-Based Navy Submarine Commander Relieved Over Morale Problems
Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager is piped ashore during the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Charlotte (SSN 766) change of command ceremony in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Mar 15, 2019. (Bryan Carlson/U.S. Navy)
29 Apr 2021
The commanding officer of a Navy fast-attack submarine based in Hawaii was removed from his position Tuesday over a loss of confidence in his ability to lead.
Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager, commanding officer of the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine Charlotte, was relieved by Capt. Michael Majewski, head of Submarine Squadron 7, Navy officials announced Wednesday. A command investigation revealed leadership and command climate problems, which caused Majewski to lose confidence in Lautenslager s ability to lead, according to the news release on the relief.
USNI News
Hawaii Attack Boat CO Removed Amid Command Climate Investigation After Sailor Death
April 29, 2021 4:19 PM
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility successfully undocked USS Charlotte (SSN-766) on Jan. 26, 2021. US Navy Photo
The commander of a Hawaii-based submarine was removed during an investigation prompted with the suicide of a sailor last month.
Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager, commander of USS
Charlotte (SSN-766), was relieved by Submarine Squadron 7 commander Capt. Michael Majewski “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to serve as commanding officer,” reads a late Wednesday release from the Navy.
Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager
A Navy official told USNI News the relief was due in large part to “command climate and leadership failures,” revealed in an investigation following the March 17 death by suicide of a sailor on watch aboard the submarine.
Cruz, shot himself in a Honolulu hotel–Kahala Hotel & Resort–according to a Navy release.
The career Naval officer had enlisted in the Navy about a month after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
About 100 people were gathered into a ballroom for hours while Cruz remained barricaded in a fourth-floor room. Police said Cruz fired through the door multiple times but no one was injured.
The center he was assigned to provides operational support for Pearl Harbor homeported submarines, their crews, families and staff of Submarine Squadrons One and Seven, Navytimes reported, adding:
“Every member of our Navy team is important; this is a painful time for our local community and the U.S. Navy,” Cmdr. Cindy Fields, a spokeswoman for the said.
Navy sailor who shot himself in a Hawaii hotel was from New York The Associated Press 8 hours ago In this Nov. 15, 2020, file photo, people are seen on the beach and in the water in front of the Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu. (Jennifer Sinco Kelleher/AP) HONOLULU The U.S. Navy sailor who shot and killed himself at a luxury Hawaii resort was assigned to the Naval Submarine Support Center in Pearl Harbor.
Lt. Cmdr. Russell Cruz, 40, of New York, died from a self-inflected gunshot wound in a room at the Kahala Hotel & Resort after a standoff with Honolulu police over the weekend.