Navy board says fired skipper should retire honorably

NORFOLK

A Navy skipper who was fired earlier this year from the amphibious ship Ponce should be allowed to retire honorably at her current pay grade despite findings that she favored female officers, verbally abused others and repeatedly put her crew's safety at risk, a Navy board has decided.

Cmdr. Etta Jones, who was removed from the transport dock in April, faced a panel of three captains at Norfolk Naval Station on Thursday. The hearing followed a Navy investigation that substantiated sailors' claims that she humiliated officers in front of their subordinates, failed to report incidents of hazing, and mishandled the ship, safety procedures and a loaded weapon.

In a statement Friday, Jones' lawyer, Grover Baxley, said Jones "successfully refuted the majority of the allegations against her, particularly with regard to her alleged abusive behavior and preferential treatment."

Baxley specifically noted that the board found no evidence of malicious intent by Jones. He sharply criticized the Navy's investigation as one-sided, saying it contained "a great deal of misunderstood, exaggerated, and even fabricated conduct, generated by a wardroom dissatisfied with their commanding officer."

In her own statement, Jones took responsibility for mishandling both a hazing incident and her 9 mm sidearm but denied engaging in any abusive behavior or favoritism.

"For any distraction that my situation has created, I issue a very personal apology to the crew members of the Ponce," she said. "I wish to thank the board for their careful consideration of my case."

The panel's determination will be forwarded to the secretary of the Navy, who has the final say, Baxley said.

Jones enlisted in the Navy in 1985 and took command of the Ponce, which is about to be decommissioned, in October 2010. She was removed while the ship was in the Mediterranean Sea on its final deployment. Soon after she was placed in a shore job, she filed paperwork seeking retirement.

Corinne Reilly, (757) 446-2949, corinne.reilly@pilotonline.com