Captain William Sherrod has been relieved of duty as commander of the amphibious assault ship USS Somerset because of loss of confidence in his abilities to lead and perform the duties he was assigned.
Captain Sherrod took command of Somerset on November 2, 2017 and was relieved of command on April 12, 2018. Before serving as commander of Somerset, he was executive officer (second in command) of Somerset since mid-2016, reports Carl Prine of the San Diego Union Tribune.
He was not relieved for any specific action, but for command climate, or culture of the ship.
Captain Brian Quin, chief of staff of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, will command Somerset until a permanent commander can be found.
Somerset is the third US Naval ship honoring those murdered in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It is named for Somerset County, where hijacked United Flight 93 crashed.
