The commander of the Navy’s oldest and largest industrial facility has been fired, Navy officials announced Monday.
Capt. Kai Torkelson, commander of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, was relieved by Vice Admiral Bill Galinis, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command. In a short statement, Navy officials would only say the relief was based on a “loss of confidence in his ability to command.”
Rear Adm. Howard Markle, director of the command’s Industrial Operations Directorate, has assumed duties as the acting commander until a permanent leader is named.
Capt. Torkelson assumed command at the Portsmouth, Va.-based shipyard in 2018. He had been a submarine officer before transferring to the Navy’s engineering field.
Norfolk Naval Shipyard was founded in 1767. It’s one of the few shipyards capable of docking nuclear aircraft carriers. It currently focuses most of its work on nuclear ships and submarines.
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