U.S. Navy Relieves a Deployed Littoral Combat Ship CO of Command

The commanding officer of a Bahrain-based littoral combat ship crew has been relieved, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command announced Thursday. 

Cmdr. Adam Ochs, an Illinois native and father of four who took command of the USS Santa Barbara's Blue Crew in 2023, was removed from his duties. As is customary, the Navy refrained from releasing details beyond a "loss of confidence." 

"The Navy maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them accountable when those standards are not met," the service said in a statement. 

Since littoral combat ships have two crews, Ochs' replacement will be rapid. The commanding officer of the ship's Gold Crew, Cmdr. Linzy Lewis, is scheduled to take over the vessel on Friday. In the meantime, the Blue Crew's executive officer is in temporary command. 

Ochs, formerly XO aboard cruiser USS Leyte Gulf, has now been reassigned to Naval Surface Group Southwest in San Diego. It is typical for officers relieve of shipboard command to be moved ashore for a temporary administrative assignment. 

USS Santa Barbara is one of the first Independence-class LCS hulls to deploy with the long-awaited minehunting suite, a bolt-on mission package that began development in the 2000s and deployed for the first time earlier this year. It will replace the Navy's MH-53 mine countermeasures helicopter platform and the aging Avenger-class minehunting vessels, primarily used to counter the Iranian mine threat in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.