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US Navy fires CO, XO of USS Montgomery

littoral combat ship in San Diego
Illustration: US Navy file photo of USS Montgomery

The US Navy fired the commanding officer and executive officer of Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) on December 30, citing a “loss of confidence in their ability to command.”

Capt. Marc Crawford, Commander, Surface Division Eleven, relieved Cmdr. Richard J. Zamberlan as commanding officer of USS Montgomery and Cmdr. Phillip Lundberg and the executive officer. The two were in charge of the blue crew of the LCS, which employs the blue-gold crewing model.

While the navy did not provide additional details, the CO and XO were relieved of command over their mishandling of a sexual harassment investigation, a Navy Times report quoted an unidentified official as saying.

Cmdr. Dustin Lonero, from USS Coronado (LCS 4), was assigned as commanding officer until a permanent relief is identified. Zamberlan and Lundberg will be reassigned to Commander, Naval Surface Force, US Pacific Fleet.

USS Montgomery belongs to Surface Division Eleven, the first division of the Littoral Combat Ship fleet to be designated with a specific warfare focus. The division also includes USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), and USS Omaha (LCS 12).