Navy fires head of Leadership and Ethics Command San Diego

The head of the Navy’s Leadership and Ethics Command (NLEC) San Diego was fired Wednesday over a “loss of confidence” in his ability to command, according to a service statement.

Capt. Lester Brown Jr. was relieved of his duties and has been reassigned to Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Navy said, offering no other details behind the dismissal.

Capt. Richard Zeber, of Naval Leadership and Ethics Center Newport, has been temporarily assigned to command of NLEC San Diego.

Brown assumed command of NLEC San Diego in September 2022. The command’s mission is to provide training and education for officers not yet in a leading role, as well as courses for the Navy’s enlisted leader development program.

He had also previously served as the executive and commanding officer of the destroyer McFaul, according to his official Navy biography, which has since been taken down.

The Navy, which has suffered a string of high-profile firings over the last year, rarely reveals why it makes such decisions other than noting a “loss of confidence.”

Last month the service ousted both the commanding and executive officers of a U.S. naval ship repair facility in Yokosuka, Japan. In March the SEAL commodore for Navy Special Warfare Group Eight was let go, as was the commanding officer of the USS Ohio guided missile submarine. And in January and February the Navy dismissed the commanding officer of the submarine USS Georgia’s blue crew and the head of the Japan-based Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard, respectively.