A recently fired Navy guided-missile submarine commander was arrested for driving with a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit less than a week before he was relieved of command, police records show.
Capt. Kurt Balagna, who until last week was the commanding officer of the USS Ohio sub’s gold crew, was arrested March 5 by Washington state police for driving with a blood alcohol content of around 0.24%. The legal limit is 0.08%.
Balagna is the third commander the Navy has relieved this year for driving under the influence. Another submarine commander was relieved in January and a Navy SEAL commodore was fired this week.
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Task and Purpose was the first outlet to report the details of Balagna’s arrest.
A Navy spokesman told Military.com that, despite the recent spike in DUIs among its commanders, the service is not concerned that it indicates a growing problem or trend.
Instead, the spokesman noted that “there is no change to the U.S. Navy accountability policy” and reiterated the usual statement that the service’s commanders “are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards.”
Police records reviewed by Military.com show Balagna was driving on an interstate heading into downtown Seattle when he…
