NAPLES, Italy - Cmdr. Ray Hartman was relieved as commanding officer of the amphibious dock-landing ship USS Fort McHenry on Monday.
Vice Adm. Frank C. Pandolfe, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, directed the accelerated change of command due to an investigation into allegations of misconduct by Cmdr. Hartman.
Cmdr. Hartman, who took command of Fort McHenry in May 2011, has been temporarily reassigned to the staff of Destroyer Squadron 60 pending the results of the investigation.
Cmdr. Eric Kellum took over from Hartman. Kellum has served as the ship's executive officer since April 2011. The ship’s new executive officer, Cmdr. Thomas Ulmer, has checked aboard the ship.
Fort McHenry, homeported out of Little Creek, is currently deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.
