NEWS RELEASE
U.S. COAST GUARD
*************************
CLEVELAND — The U.S. Coast Guard temporarily relieved Lt. Cmdr. Joel Wright, commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Spar Thursday.
Rear Adm. Jon Hickey, commander of the Coast Guard’s Ninth District, relieved Wright due to a loss of confidence in his ability to execute the responsibilities of a commanding officer.
“The responsibility of a commanding officer is absolute, and they are accountable for the operations, safety, administration, stewardship, efficiency and well-being of the cutter and crew,” said Hickey. “There was a loss in confidence of the command’s ability to ensure accountability and a failure to act consistently with our Core Values.”
Lt. Cmdr. Kent Hunt has temporarily assumed command of Spar.
Spar remains fully operational and there is no degradation to mission success or cutter capabilities. An investigation is ongoing.
Spar is a 225’-foot multi-mission buoy tender homeported in Duluth, Minn. Its primary missions include aids to navigation, ice breaking, law enforcement and search and rescue. Spar also performs marine environmental protection and port security and safety missions. It is primarily responsible for Lake Superior and upper Lake Michigan but operates throughout the Great Lakes.
*************************
