NORFOLK (Tribune News Service) — After completing commanding officer school last summer, Cmdr. Ed Handley traveled to Djibouti on his way back to the James E. Williams.
Handley, who joined the Navy as a seaman, was about to reach the capstone of more than 30 years in uniform: command of a guided missile destroyer.
He came highly recommended — described by one of his bosses as a "superstar" and "one of our community's best and brightest."
But on Sept. 5, as Handley prepared to board the oiler that was to take him to his warship, orders came down to reverse course.
He didn't know it yet, but his time as executive officer aboard the Williams had come back to haunt him. By mid-October, he and two other senior leaders on the ship — the skipper he was about to replace, Cmdr. Curtis Calloway, and Command Master Chief Travis Biswell — had been found guilty of violations at commodore's mast, a nonjudicial punishment disciplinary hearing.
Handley is now fighting to clear his record, trying to get his punitive letter of reprimand rescinded, and hoping to resume his shot at command — all of which would be a rare occurrence for an officer relieved of command for cause.
Handley declined to discuss the case, but his wife, Kate Handley, a retired chief petty officer, calls the proceedings against her husband deeply flawed and says he is being held accountable for the climate on board the ship after he'd left.
"He can't speak out, but I can," she said. "My husband had a stellar 33-year career. [He was] days from reaching the pinnacle, and it's ripped from him and our family. This legal process has not been fair to us."
Handley was originally brought up on two charges, according to documents in his case, which was first reported by Navy Times.
Capt. Fred Pyle, the commodore of Destroyer Squadron 2, acquitted him on one but found him guilty of dereliction of duty for failing to report a drunken episode by the command master chief, something that "jeopardized good order and discipline."
Kate Handley said the charges are unsubstantiated and the proceedings were unfair. Her husband's appeal, which included letters of support from colleagues, was rejected by Pyle's boss, Rear Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of Carrier Strike Group 12.
In a brief statement to the newspaper, Ed Handley said he believed that the nonjudicial punishment against him was initiated because of unlawful command influence from senior leaders and not because the initial investigation called for it.
In an interview with The Pilot, Pyle said his determination to relieve Handley was based on a rigorous command investigation that found significant leadership failures, and he made the decision to conduct a commodore's mast.
"We set conditions on board where sailors are treated with dignity and respect and there is a safe environment for sailors to work," Pyle said. "There was not a climate of dignity and respect. There was not a climate of safety on board. There was a possibility of mission failure here based on the climate on the ship."
Handley deployed with the ship when it left Norfolk in May but stayed aboard for just two days before his 14-month term as executive officer ended. He left to attend prospective commanding officer school in Newport, R.I., and was scheduled to return in a few months to relieve Calloway.
Less than three weeks after Handley left the ship, a sailor committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. Her death sparked a subsequent investigation into command climate, which found senior enlisted sailors had been abusive and corroded the crew's trust in them.
The report included an allegation that during a port call, in violation of military law against fraternization, several chiefs had sex with a junior crewmember.
The investigation cited the three top leaders — Calloway, Handley and Biswell — for failing to change the corrosive climate.
Most of the incidents cited in the investigation occurred after Handley left or without his knowledge, his wife said.
The report said the sailor who committed suicide claimed retaliation after filing an equal opportunity complaint. Pyle charged Handley with running an ineffective equal opportunity program but didn't find him guilty on that.
It also detailed an allegation that Biswell had been seen drunk and shirtless at a bar in Norway during a multinational exercise.
The allegation, made by a sailor assigned to a different ship, wasn't handled formally, but Calloway eventually received an email about the incident.
He apparently decided not to act on it.
Still, Pyle found that Handley was derelict of duty for "failing to provide forceful backup" in connection with the Biswell allegation. In a written response, Handley said he wasn't told about the allegation and couldn't provide backup because no action had been taken.
The report attributed the unrest on board to poor leadership and a troubled command climate. Shipmates who wrote letters in support of Handley's appeal blamed the problems on something else: operational tempo.
The former combat systems officer said Handley and Calloway led the ship through a grueling period during which it completed basic certifications, was examined by the Board of Inspection and Survey, participated in the European exercise and then deployed.
In the middle of all that, a senior chief died of a heart attack and the crew barely had time to grieve. The junior officer said the ship made it through all the challenges because of Handley and Calloway.
"The schedule for the James E. Williams upon returning from our 2012 deployment was brutal to say the least," the lieutenant wrote. "If Cmdr. Handley is not fit for command then we as a Navy need a long overdue command stand down because no one is truly fit to command."
Pyle said the operational tempo of the ship, while intense, was not more vigorous than other ships under his command.
Another junior officer wrote that Handley had the support of the ship's officers.
"With all the recent scrutiny being placed on the USS James E. Williams, it is easy to attribute blame to the leadership," he wrote.
"Cmdr. Handley built up a fine crew and a fine warship during his time as XO, one that still maintains high morale following a harsh command investigation."
In his appeal, Handley argued that he was not informed that he was under investigation when he gave a statement to an investigator via telephone, and was not read his rights. Handley also argued that he and the other men were wrongly told that they were not allowed to opt for court-martial. But Pyle said Handley had no such right, because each was on sea duty.
Pyle said Handley was not under suspicion when he was first interviewed. Handley was given three days to prepare a defense for his commodore's mast. He also requested that his appeal be considered by someone outside his immediate chain of command for an objective determination. Pyle and Lewis rejected the request.
Pyle stands by his determination: "It all comes back to the main point of loss of confidence, based on what the facts were in the command investigation," Pyle said. He added that Handley's actions, or inaction, made him lose confidence in Handley's ability to assume command of the Williams.
The Williams returned to Norfolk in January after an eight-month deployment with entirely new leadership. The skipper, Cmdr. Heidi Haskins, was brought in after Handley was sent home. Pyle said he is happy with the climate on board the ship now, though some junior sailors have said in letters that the ordeal has shaken their faith in the Navy.
Handley, now assigned to a desk job, is waiting to hear whether he'll have to convince a panel of senior officers that he deserves to stay in the Navy.
Handley confirmed that he plans to file a request that the finding against him and his letter of reprimand be purged from his record, arguing that his case is tainted by unlawful command influence.
He also intends to push for a new investigation through the inspector general and to ask U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes to request a congressional inquiry into his case.
"I have 33 years of honorable service to our Navy," Handley wrote in his appeal, "and as XO, led the best performing destroyer in the Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic in the training cycle. I intend to faithfully carry out my oath to this country and continue to serve for many years ahead."
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