Gitmo Sex Scandal: Commander Fired, Dead Body IDed

[su_r_sky_ad]This is not exactly the reason for which we would have expected a Guantànamo officer to make headlines:

The officer in charge of the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been fired for a “loss of confidence” after he allegedly had an affair with a woman whose husband was recently found dead in the waters off the base.

Captain John Nettleton was relieved of command on Wednesday by Rear Adm. Mary M. Jackson, commander of Navy Region Southeast, “due to loss of confidence in Nettleton’s ability to command,” according to a statement from the Navy.

The statement declined to give additional details because of an ongoing investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), which is focused on the death of Christopher Tur, a civilian employee at the Navy Exchange on the base who had moved to Guantanamo with his family in June 2011.

Tur, 42, was found dead in the waters off the base on the morning of January 10, a day after he had been reported missing, said Navy Region Southeast spokesman Mike Andrews. A U.S. official said there was no obvious cause of death.

NBC News is suggesting that the Navy has a little more than a mere “loss of confidence” in the commander:

But U.S. officials said Nettleton is under investigation in connection with the death of Christopher Tur, who was found dead January 11. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

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D.B. Hirsch

D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.