US Navy fires top two officers of USS Montgomery

January 4, 2022, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

The US Navy has relieved two top officers of the Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Montgomery (LCS 8) “due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command”.

Illustration. The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16). Photo: US Navy

On 30 December 2021, 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 on LCS 8.

Although no further details have been disclosed, reports say that the two men were fired due to their handling of a sexual harassment investigation.

Cmdr. Dustin Lonero, from the Independence-class LCS USS Coronado (LCS 4), is assigned as commanding officer until a permanent relief is identified, the navy informed.

Zamberlan and Lundberg will be reassigned to Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Commander, Surface Division Eleven is the first division of the LCS fleet to be designated with a specific warfare focus. The division includes USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Montgomery (LCS 8), USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), and USS Omaha (LCS 12).