Royal Navy: Commanding Officer "removed elsewhere" after review discovers workplace culture concerns

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key told the defence select committee today (March 18) that a high-ranking officer had to be “removed elsewhere” as the culture they set on board their ship was not right. The Royal Navy has intensified such procedures to clamp down on sexual harassment and bullying against female sailors, in an effort to make the force a more welcoming place to work.

“Doing things after the fact and later does not help those who are experiencing it at the time,” the First Sea Lord said. “Culture visits are regularly taken on all units, particularly those coming back from long deployments to find out whether or not the leadership on board was appropriate.”

The head of the Royal Navy added that double the amount of teams have been assigned to determine if personnel have met the force’s standards. If they haven’t, it would then be decided if rehabilitation can be made or if further action is necessary if they have transgressed. Sailors have been discharged in the past for cases involving sexual assault, harassment and bullying.

In response to the culture visits, Labour MP and former RAF officer Calvin Bailey said: “That is all very positive, but that is all in response to things which have happened. We need to see evidence of proactive picking out of people to improve the culture.” Michelle Schrogham, Labour MP for Barrow and Furness, asked if the commanding officer was sacked or moved to another unit.

The First Sea Lord responded: “They were removed elsewhere.” He added: “There’s a difference between responding to unwelcome sexual behaviour that has happened, in which case we discharge unless there are significant extenuating circumstances, which for a commanding officer I couldn’t think of what that could be.

“Or, the proactive work where we identified that command culture doesn’t feel quite right. It doesn’t mean deliberate acts have gone awry, but it feels like that individual is struggling to create on board the sort of climate where people feel acknowledged for what they contribute, recognised for who they are and can feel perfectly safe about coming to work and giving their best.

“If what being set on board is counter to that, it can lead to people being fearful to raise their hand if they encounter inappropriate behaviour, and then we need to proactively change the leadership on board to create the right climate so there is that safety net. To believe all of this behaviour has been eradicated is naivety of the first order, so we have to be really clear and act swiftly when it’s encountered, but most importantly, we have to create a climate and a culture where you reduce the chances of it ever happening.”

Ms Schrogham responded: “My concern is are we just moving the problem elsewhere. If there is an issue with that Commanding Officer and the way they deal with that in one position, is that just not moving it somewhere else? What checks and balances are going in place.?

First Sea Lord said: “I draw a distinction between a Commanding Officer who has not handled something correctly, which arguably is a tolerance of wrong that will lead down to administrative sanction of some form or another, and a Commanding Officer that is falling short of creating the right culture who may not have the where with all. We may have not selected them correctly. All the evidence would indicate someone with the right potential, but they have just fallen short. You either provide mentoring to help recover that position, or if you feel they’re not going to make it, you remove them.

“We can’t make it a career jeopardy. We’ve decided they're just not up for command and can’t lead broader groups of people. They haven't done anything wrong, so to then career check them so completely would feel inappropriate, and would be open to complaints the other way.”