The commanding and executive officers of the Naval Justice School were fired Tuesday “due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command,” according to a Navy news release.
While that release is short on details regarding why the CO, Capt. Amy Larson, and her second-in-command, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Bret Swaim, were fired, it states that the move came “following an assessment of the current (Naval Justice School) climate.”
“Neither officer was involved in misconduct,” the release states. “Their relief will not impact the (Naval Justice School) mission or execution of its training schedule.”
Neither officer is facing disciplinary action, Judge Advocate General Corps spokeswoman Patricia Babb said.
Larson took command of the school less than eight months ago, while Swaim had been assigned to the school in various roles since 2020.
Larson has been temporarily reassigned to Naval Legal Service Command headquarters, while Swaim’s new assignment has not been released.
Capt. Mark Klein, currently the legal service command’s deputy commander, will serve as the school’s interim CO, while Cmdr. Abigail Myers will serve as the acting XO until the Marine Corps identifies a permanent relief, according to the release.
Based in Newport, Rhode Island, the Naval Justice School trains lawyers for each of the services, while providing military law training to civilian personnel and Navy unit commanders.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
