ABOUT-FACE

Adm. Bill Moran, Set to Lead Navy, Decides to Retire Over Bad Judgment

Bill Moran, who was about to become chief of naval operations, is stepping aside over his supervision of a tarnished an ex-officer.

Navy Adm. Bill Moran won’t be taking the job as chief of naval operations after all. Weeks before he was expected to start his new position, Moran has turned it down and decided to retire. “I made this difficult decision based on an open investigation into the nature of some of my personal email correspondence over the past couple of years and for continuing to maintain a professional relationship with a former staff officer, now retired, who had while in uniform been investigated and held accountable over allegations of inappropriate behavior,” Moran said in a statement, NBC News reports. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said in accepting Moran’s retirement request: “While I admire his faithful service and commitment to the Navy, this decision on his part to maintain that relationship has caused me to call his judgment into question.” NBC News reports the “former staff officer” is retired Navy Cmdr. Chris Servello, who worked on and off for and with Moran for a decade. Servello was probed for alleged sexual misconduct at a 2016 holiday party but was not charged, instead received counseling for “bad judgment and excessive drinking,” according to NBC. He retired from the Navy in spring 2019.