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The captain of the USS Constitution was relieved of command Thursday morning.</p>
<p>Cmdr. Thomas A. Graves, 20-year veteran of the Navy was removed from command of the Navys floating historical relic. A specific reason for the relief was not provided by the Navy, attributing the action to an administrative matter....
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<p>Oh, oh......</p>
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The former commander of the frigate Constitution, who was relieved of duty after allegedly assaulting an officer then forcing him to lie, faces a naval hearing Thursday and could go to prison if convicted of all charges.</p>
<p>Thomas Graves, 43, of Marblehead, goes before the military equivalent of a grand jury to face charges of assault, cruelty and maltreatment, forcing someone to falsify a record and making a false statement.</p>
<p>Graves was fired in May after allegedly striking a petty officer who, according to Graves attorney, failed to note in the ships morning report that a shipmate had been late....
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<p>When I was at my USNA welcome aboard for the Greater Boston Parents Club in May 2006, CDR Graves gave all the new appointees a tour of the ship. Scary. I actually met the man.</p>
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assaulting an officer
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striking a petty officer
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<p>So which is it, or was it both?</p>
<p>Journalism at its finest. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Reminds me of Patton...</p>
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A lawyer for the former commander of the historical frigate Constitution, who was fired and later charged with assaulting a petty officer, blamed the incident on a group of immature and lazy sailors.</p>
<p>Charles Gittins, the civilian attorney for Cmdr. Thomas Graves, said his client cracked the whip, and the sailors didnt like it.</p>
<p>Graves faced a two-day Article 32 pretrial hearing Sept. 6 and 7 in Boston. He faces charges of assault, cruelty and maltreatment, forcing someone to falsify a record, and making a false statement....
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Graves lawyer, Charles Gittins, told the Boston Herald, The petty officer was incompetent and, in frustration, the captain handed the papers back to him, allegedly hitting him in the chest with them.</p>
<p>In his mind, he didnt hit the sailor, Gittins said.
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<p>So the shoving of the papers at the Petty Officer, while extremely unprofessional, may or may not actually constitute "striking". Guess that's a matter of interpretation.</p>
<p>It's the falsifying a record and making a false statement that is the real offense. BUT, having the PO change the record to reflect that the other sailor was late when he truly was late would not be "falsifying" a record", would it? Also, if the "striking" did not actually occur, then asking the PO to say it didn't happen would not constitute "forcing him to make a false statement". either.</p>
<p>How unfortunate if the CMDR loses retirement and/or incurrs punishment at this stage of his career over something that may not have even really happened. From the article it sounds like he was trying to run a tight ship and that was not received well by the crew. He's already been relieved of his command - it will be interesting to see how this is resolved. </p>
<p>Hope the truth comes out - hate to see a career ruined over something that may or may not have really happened (i.e. "shoving papers" v. actually "striking" someone).</p>
<p>Somehow, referring to one of his junior female sailors as his "trash b*tch" doesn't quite sound like how we teach our graduates to lead. In addition, the entire crew of USS CONSTITUTION is hand-selected and screened, so the depiction of a lazy and incompetent crew isn't quite accurate.</p>
<p>Please read more than one article before you decide.</p>
<p>Additional sources:
<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/08/captain_sought_a_tight_ship_lawyer_says/%5B/url%5D">http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/08/captain_sought_a_tight_ship_lawyer_says/</a></p>
<p>Thanks Navy1974. I read the three that had been posted previously. None of them included the "vulgar name" specifically.</p>
<p>I agree the skipper's conduct was certainly unprofessional, inappropriate & "unbecoming an officer". I'm just saying that it is unfortunate to see a career ruined so close to retirement. Maybe the guy deserves it - hence my comment about hoping that truth comes out, especially if his retirement is at stake.</p>
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A Navy commander accused of striking a sailor and then forcing his crew to deny the incident will not be going to court-martial. Instead, the matter was resolved through an administrative proceeding, Navy Region Mid Atlantic spokesman Mike Giannetti said.</p>
<p>Cmdr. Thomas Graves was accused of assault, cruelty and maltreatment, forcing someone to falsify a record, and making a false statement. Until he was relieved of command May 10, Graves was the 69th commander of the 210-year-old floating museum USS Constitution, known as Old Ironsides, the oldest commissioned ship afloat. The ship is docked in Boston and rarely sets sail. It has a crew of 65 sailors and officers....
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