The commander of an EA-18G Growler squadron was relieved from his post Wednesday after failing to meet standards, officials with Naval Air Forces announced.
Cmdr. Aaron Tabor, commanding officer of Electronic Attack Squadron 138, the "Yellow Jackets," based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington, was removed from his job by Capt. Scott Farr, the commander of Electronic Attack Wing Pacific, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command, officials said.
"The U.S. Navy holds those in positions of command to very high standards and accountable when those standards are not met," officials said in the release. "When a commanding officer fails to meet these high standards and his superior loses confidence in his ability to lead, the commanding officer is removed from command."
Tabor was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1999, according to his official biography.
He held positions in electronic warfare squadrons throughout his military career and also completed a tour as action officer as United States Africa Command, J-9 Directorate. He served as executive officer for the Yellow Jackets before taking over as commander.
According to his biography, Tabor has completed over 1,800 flight hours and 94 combat missions.
VAQ-138 deployed to the Philippines in June as part of an air contingent designed to promote interoperability and joint training at Clark Air Base.
The Whidbey Island-based squadron will now be commanded by Cmdr. Chase Dale, who most recently commanded VAQ 140, according to a news release.
--Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
