US sub commander demoted for hiring 10 prostitutes

THE commander of the US navy’s longest-serving submarine has been demoted for hiring prostitutes in the Philippines.

Capt Travis Zettel commanded the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Bremerton.

According to an investigation by the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the captain told a fellow sailor he had “ordered 10 girls to arrive at the hotel” while they were ashore in Subic Bay. He was later seen with about 10 “provocatively dressed females” outside the front door of the hotel last March, according to a witness.

An investigation was begun following a tip from a sailor to an anonymous navy hotline.

According to the report, Capt Zettel admitted “culpability in the payment of female accompaniment”.

He was relieved of duty in August due to “a loss in confidence in his ability to command” and reassigned to a job with a different submarine squadron. The submarine was in service for 37 years and is now being decommissioned.