thedrifter
03-15-06, 01:48 PM
1st MC District commander fired
By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer
The commander of 1st Marine Corps District was relieved March 9 due to “a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command,” according to a district spokesman.
Col. Raymond T. Bright is the subject of a command investigation into allegations of personal misconduct involving inappropriate relationships “not with any males,” said Eastern Recruiting Region spokesman Maj. Billy Canedo. He said Bright is the only Marine involved.
District spokesman Capt. Don Caetano said Bright is married.
The allegations stem from Bright’s last assignment as the chief of staff for the base at Quantico, Va., and the National Capitol Region. However, Canedo said the scope of the investigation “is not limited to Bright’s time at Quantico,” meaning investigators will determine if these alleged relationships followed him to his command assignment in Garden City, N.Y.
Maj. Wes Hayes, Marine Corps Recruiting Command spokesman, said Bright’s relief and the allegations against him have nothing to do with his performance as commander of the district and that he had been assigned there ahead of schedule to turn around a failing command.
The numbers back this up. The district has met its contracting goals twice in the last five months, missing the mark in February and last November and October by a combined total of 69 contracts. When Bright took command June 4, 2005, his predecessor had missed contracting mission by 270 in the previous month by 194 the month before that.
Canedo said Brig. Gen. Richard Tryon, commanding general of recruiting command’s eastern region, had dispatched his assistant chief of staff for recruiting, Col. Craig Marshall, to the district as interim commander. Bright has been reassigned to administrative duties at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., pending the outcome of the command investigation, which is expected to take 30 days, Canedo said.
Ellie
By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer
The commander of 1st Marine Corps District was relieved March 9 due to “a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command,” according to a district spokesman.
Col. Raymond T. Bright is the subject of a command investigation into allegations of personal misconduct involving inappropriate relationships “not with any males,” said Eastern Recruiting Region spokesman Maj. Billy Canedo. He said Bright is the only Marine involved.
District spokesman Capt. Don Caetano said Bright is married.
The allegations stem from Bright’s last assignment as the chief of staff for the base at Quantico, Va., and the National Capitol Region. However, Canedo said the scope of the investigation “is not limited to Bright’s time at Quantico,” meaning investigators will determine if these alleged relationships followed him to his command assignment in Garden City, N.Y.
Maj. Wes Hayes, Marine Corps Recruiting Command spokesman, said Bright’s relief and the allegations against him have nothing to do with his performance as commander of the district and that he had been assigned there ahead of schedule to turn around a failing command.
The numbers back this up. The district has met its contracting goals twice in the last five months, missing the mark in February and last November and October by a combined total of 69 contracts. When Bright took command June 4, 2005, his predecessor had missed contracting mission by 270 in the previous month by 194 the month before that.
Canedo said Brig. Gen. Richard Tryon, commanding general of recruiting command’s eastern region, had dispatched his assistant chief of staff for recruiting, Col. Craig Marshall, to the district as interim commander. Bright has been reassigned to administrative duties at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., pending the outcome of the command investigation, which is expected to take 30 days, Canedo said.
Ellie