Commander in Top Colorado Information Operations Post Sacked by Navy

The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of its Colorado-based Info Operations Command, in response to a statement released Thursday.

Cmdr. Christopher Johnson was relieved from management of NIOC, a subordinate command of Naval Info Operations Command Pacific headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, by Capt. Chelsey Zwicker, the commodore of the Hawaii headquarters.

Johnson is the third commander of a Navy data warfare command to be eliminated by the service within the final six months, although the earlier two commanders ran schoolhouses whereas this was an operational command.

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In November, the sea service relieved the commander of the San Diego-based schoolhouse for data warfare, and in January the Navy fired the commander of its Norfolk-based data warfare faculty in two unrelated firings.

Johnson’s reduction, which was formally over a “lack of confidence in his capacity to command,” seems to be the Navy’s second firing of a commanding officer this 12 months.

Lack of confidence is a boilerplate motive supplied by the navy providers that may embody something from constant poor efficiency by a commander on key evaluations to non-public actions like drunken driving.

A Navy official instructed Army.com on situation of anonymity that the rationale for the firing was over performance-based points and never any misconduct on the a part of Johnson.

NIOC Colorado relies at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, and “offers a variety of knowledge warfare help to the fleet” that features sailors skilled in amassing alerts intelligence, digital warfare and cyber operations, according to its official website.

Based mostly on public bulletins, it seems that the Navy fired 14 commanding officers in 2024. In 2023, the official reduction complete was 15. There are at present round 1,600 commanding officers within the active-duty Navy throughout all communities.

According to his official Navy biography, Johnson was commissioned by means of the service’s Officer Candidate College after finishing his bachelor of science diploma in physics from the College of Michigan.

Johnson’s profession included working with EP-3E alerts intelligence assortment squadrons in Misawa, Japan, and Bahrain within the Center East, in addition to three sea deployments aboard the plane carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Johnson additionally accomplished two deployments to Afghanistan in help of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Previous to coming to NIOC Colorado in Might 2023, Johnson served as the manager officer of the Navy’s Info Warfare Coaching Command at Corry Station in Pensacola, Florida.

His {qualifications} embrace data warfare officer, floor warfare officer, and naval aviation observer. His awards embrace the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, amongst others.

In response to the Navy’s assertion, Cmdr. Mark Tuner, the naval data forces liaison officer to U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, will briefly function NIOC Colorado’s commanding officer till a everlasting alternative is designated.

Associated: Navy Relieves Another Information Warfare School Commander in Unrelated Firing

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