New San Diego ‘Navy mayor’ takes over
San Diego has its second new “Navy mayor” in less than a year as the service’s installation command shuffles its leaders amid an environmental crisis in Hawaii.
Rear Adm. Brad Rosen took charge of San Diego-based Navy Region Southwest Monday at a ceremony at Naval Air Station North Island, the Navy announced in a news release. Rosen, a freshly minted one-star admiral, most recently served as chief of staff, Navy Installations Command, in Washington, D.C.
Navy Region Southwest serves 10 Navy bases across six states and includes 76,000 active-duty sailors, the Navy said.
Rear Adm. Stephen Barnett is leaving to assume command of both Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, the Navy said. Barnett assumed command of Navy Region Southwest just 10 months ago. He will assume command in Hawaii on June 17, a Navy spokesperson said in an email.
The commander he’s replacing — Rear Adm. Timothy Knott — has also served in his job less than a year, having taken charge in June 2021. Knott’s tenure has been mired by a devastating environmental crisis kicked off by a November fuel leak from the Navy’s Red Hill fuel storage facility, which serves Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Oahu. The fuel contaminated drinking water for thousands of military families.
In April, the Navy fired the commander of its Hawaii supply logistics center, Capt. Albert Hornyak, after a second fuel leak at the Red Hill facility.
The Navy did not immediately respond to questions about the timing of the leadership changes.
The Navy said the leadership changes are not connected to the Red Hill fuel spills.
“This change of command is not connected to the Navy’s water system monitoring in Hawaii nor the closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility,” said Mike Andrews, a Navy Region Hawaii spokesperson, in an email. “On March 11, the Department of Defense announced a number of flag moves, including the assignment of a new admiral to Navy Region Hawaii. Within Navy Installations Command, six change of commands will take place this summer, several of them after one year at their current command.”