Three members of an elite US Navy SEAL special forces team have been removed from their leadership positions in the aftermath of accusations of alcohol abuse on deployment as well as rape accusations against a senior enlisted member of the group.
“Commander, Navy Special Warfare Command Rear Adm. Collin Green relieved the three senior leaders of SEAL Team Seven from their positions Sept. 6.,” US Navy Capt. Tamara Lawrence, a spokesperson for Naval Special Warfare Command, told CNN in a Friday statement.
“Green relieved the unit's commanding officer, Cdr. Edward Mason; executive officer, Lt. Cdr. Luke Im; and the team's top enlisted leader, Command Master Chief Hugh Spangler, due to a loss of confidence that resulted from leadership failures that caused a breakdown of good order and discipline within two subordinate units while deployed to combat zones,” the spokesperson added.
In late July, a senior Navy official told the New York Times that a senior enlisted member of Navy SEAL Team 7 had been accused of sexually assaulting a female member of the platoon.
“When commanders began investigating the allegations [of rape], the entire platoon invoked their right to remain silent,” the anonymous naval official told the Times. “At that point, the official said, commanders decided to send the whole platoon home, including the lieutenant in command.”
The unit was on deployment in Iraq at the time, sent there as part of the US…
