The Navy removed the top leadership team of the nuclear powered submarine USS South Dakota from their posts last month following what members of Congress described as a grounding incident.

Cmdr. Dan Goodwin was relieved of command on Oct. 14, according to reporting by the Connecticut newspaper The Day. The submarine’s executive officer and chief of the boat were also removed that day.

The chief of the boat serves as the top enlisted leader aboard a submarine. Together, the commanding officer, executive officer, and chief of the boat make up the vessel’s command triad.

The Day first reported the leadership shakeup. Two members of Congress later wrote to acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle about the removals and the Navy’s handling of information surrounding the case.

Rep. Joe Courtney, a Connecticut Democrat and ranking member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, signed the letter with Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Their letter cited The Day’s reporting and accused the Navy of failing to notify the House Armed Services Committee that the submarine’s command triad had been removed. The committee had not been informed for nearly a month, a delay the lawmakers called “unacceptable.”

“In the wake of the collisions affecting USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), and the grounding incidents involving USS Hartford (SSN 768) and USS Connecticut (SSN 22), clear and timely communication with Congress was necessary to make informed decisions to ensure personnel safety and readiness of the fleet,” Courtney and Smith wrote.

The lawmakers said the command team’s removal stemmed from a “grounding incident” involving the USS South Dakota. The submarine had also experienced an unspecified but “immediate navigational hazard” in September, according to The Day.

That September event was revealed in an award certification for a sailor aboard the submarine. The sailor received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the certification was signed by Capt. Thomas Flaherty, commodore of Submarine Squadron 4.

According to a social media post from the sailor’s family, the submarine was underwater and at sea when the sailor “recognized a potential navigation hazard involving shallow water or in his case the bottom of the ocean.”

The sailor called out a warning that gave the crew time to save the submarine, according to the family’s account. The source material does not specify the nature of the hazard beyond the description involving shallow water or the ocean bottom.

It remains unclear whether the submarine sustained damage or whether any crew members were injured. Courtney and Smith said the Navy’s lack of transparency left major questions surrounding the vessel, its crew, and the events that led to the command triad’s dismissal.

Their letter said the secrecy leaves “many outstanding questions about not only what occurred, but the impact of the events leading the triad’s dismissal on the structural health of [the USS South Dakota], the well-being of the crew, and whether the incident laid bare any systemic issues with training to standard procedures that must be addressed.”

The lawmakers also criticized the Navy’s relationship with Congress after the committee was left waiting for information. They argued that timely communication should have made the matter a routine exchange rather than another dispute over transparency.

“As a result of the Navy’s failure to communicate, what should have been a standard exercise in information sharing has instead raised questions about the Navy’s commitment to transparency and its commitment to a productive working relationship with Congress,” Smith and Courtney wrote.

Goodwin had commanded the submarine for less than a year. He assumed leadership of the USS South Dakota on June 30 before being removed alongside the other two senior members of the command team on Oct. 14.

The USS South Dakota is a Virginia class fast attack submarine powered by a nuclear reactor. Virginia class submarines are built for stealth and surveillance missions, according to the source.

The USS South Dakota was commissioned in 2019, making it a relatively new submarine in the Navy’s fleet. The vessel is assigned to Submarine Squadron 4, whose commodore signed the award certification recognizing the sailor’s actions during the September navigation hazard.

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