Commander of US Navy attack submarine removed after investigation into October collision

NORFOLK, Va. – The skipper of a Navy attack submarine has been removed from the job after colliding with a guided-missile cruiser.

Navy Cmdr. Thomas Winter was relieved as commanding officer of the USS Montpelier on Friday because of a loss of confidence in his ability to command.

The USS Montpelier and the USS Jacinto collided off the coast of Florida in October during routine training operations. No one was injured.

The Navy said in a statement that an investigation revealed that the primary cause was human error, poor teamwork by the submarine's watch team and the commanding officer's failure to follow procedures for submarines operating at periscope death.

Winter has been reassigned to administrative duties at Submarine Force Atlantic headquarters in Norfolk.