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PETERSBURG-AK <br />
A Coast Guard Spokesman, Chief Petty Officer Dana Warr, says the Sector Juneau Commander, Captain Melissa Bert, made the decision after an incident reportedly occurred Monday, while the cutter was at sea. <br />
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&ldquo;Unfortunately, I can&rsquo;t elaborate on the details of it. Its under investigation. Sector Juneau has begun an investigation today. A procedure normally happens to aid in the investigation to determine if the relief will be permanent. Captain Bert is his commanding officer and after the incident, she decided an felt that there was a loss of confidence in his abilities to assume the responsibilities as commanding officer of that vessel,&rdquo; Warr says. <br />
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According to Warr, the incident did not involve an accident or any injuries. While the investigation continues, Warr says Wholley is being reassigned to Juneau. The Anacapa&rsquo;s executive officer, Lt. James Toomey, is taking command of the Anacapa in the meantime. According to Warr, the incident will not interfere with the Anacapa&rsquo;s regular mission in the region.<br />
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&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t affect the duties of the Anacapa at all or any of the duties it has in Southeast Alaska. The command is fully confident in the executive officers abilities to run the ship. There will be another temporary commanding officer in the coming week that will take over the Anacapa. So, they will have a full functioning command as far as a commanding officer, the executive officer and the rest of the crew to get underway and deploy throughout Southeast Alaska,&rdquo; Warr says.<br />
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The Coast Guard Commandant in Washington DC will make the final decision on whether Wholly will be permanently relieved or returned to command aboard the Anacapa. Warr says investigations like this can take several weeks and he did not expect the Coast Guard would release additional information until it was finished. He says Wholly has been in the Coast Guard for over ten years and he took command of the Anacapa in August of 2009. According to Warr, Coast Guard officers generally have to have an excellent record in order to be assigned command of a patrol boat.
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