Today, the U.S. Navy relieved two commanding officers of two of its afloat vessels, Cmdr. Alexa Jenkins, commanding officer of USS Carney (DDG 64) and Capt. Michael D. Nordeen, commanding officer of San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19); both were relieved due to a loss in confidence of ability to command. The press releases read below:
“Cmdr. Jenkins served as commanding officer since June 2022. Capt. Aaron Anderson will be temporarily assigned as commanding officer until a permanent relief is identified.
Cmdr. Jenkins will be temporarily reassigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Squadron 14. There is no impact to the command’s mission or schedule due to the relief.
The 13th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Carney is homeported in Mayport and named after Adm. Robert Bostwick Carney. The ship shifted homeport to Mayport in July of 2020 after completing a five-year Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe deployment to Rota, Spain, as part of Destroyer Squadron 60.”
“Nordeen assumed command of Mesa Verde in Aug. 2022 and will be temporarily reassigned to Commander, Naval Force Atlantic, in Norfolk, Virginia. Capt. Gregory Baker, ESG-2 Chief of Staff, will be assigned as commanding officer until a permanent relief is identified.
There is no impact to the command’s mission or schedule due to the reliefs.
Mesa Verde is located at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va. The command’s mission is to transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies, by embarked air cushion or conventional landing craft or expeditionary fighting vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Mesa Verde supports amphibious, special operations, as well as expeditionary warfare missions.”
