The Coast Guard has permanently relieved the commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego following an investigation into allegations of a toxic work climate at the unit.
Capt. James Spitler was temporarily reassigned in October along with the sector’s command master chief, Michael Dioquino, for “loss of confidence” in their leadership.
According to the service, Spitler was relieved permanently on Tuesday, while Dioquino was permanently relieved in January.
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District Eleven Commander Rear Adm. Joseph Buzzella recommended the dismissal following an investigation into failures of “leadership, judgment and integrity,” according to the service. Pacific Area Commander Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson supported the dismissal, which was approved at the Coast Guard Headquarters level.
In October, District Eleven public affairs officer Lt. SondraKay Kneen said leadership had received reports from personnel at the unit of unfair treatment and complaints regarding “actions against staff” that were “unfair and inappropriate” and “interfered with work performance or created an unwelcome work environment.”
Sector San Diego spans more than 165,000 square miles, including 120 miles of the Pacific coast and the maritime border between California and Mexico. The region has been a focus of increased Coast Guard and Navy presence amid a crackdown by the Trump administration on migrants and drug smuggling operations.
According to the Coast Guard, the service has tripled the number of deployed forces, including cutters, aircraft and tactical teams, to the southern border.
The Navy destroyer USS Spruance also is deployed to the area for border operations with a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment team on board.
In late March, the Spruance and the Coast Guard Cutter Forrest Rednour worked together to intercept a “suspect vessel” carrying 13 people.
In a separate incident, the Spruance rescued 18 people in a vessel taking on water 50 miles southwest of San Diego. The individuals were transferred from the Spruance to Coast Guard Sector San Diego in a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk, according to the Navy.
And on Saturday, the Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne, the Spruance and other Department of Homeland Security enforcement teams intercepted a drug smuggling vessel carrying eight people 27 miles west of San Diego, according to the Navy and Coast Guard.
“The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard partnership on display in the maritime domain highlights our commitment to national security priorities,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, the head of U.S. Northern Command, said in a news release April 1.
Coast Guard officials declined to disclose the service status of Spitler or Dioquino. Spitler has 28 years in the service; Dioquino has served for nearly 30 years.
Capt. Patrick Dill, chief of incident management for District Eleven, temporarily assumed command of Sector San Diego in October.
Dioquino was not investigated, but he was relieved due to loss of confidence in his ability to fulfill his responsibilities as the command’s senior enlisted leader, Kneen said.
Related: Coast Guard Secretary? The Trump Administration Is Planning a Big Redesign of the Service.
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