SYDNEY (Reuters) – The head of a contingent of United States Marines based in Australia’s northern city of Darwin was relieved of his command after police caught him drink driving on a night out, a corps spokesman said on Monday.
About 1,587 U.S. Marines are stationed in the tropical city, strategically located on the coastal doorstep of Indonesia, as part of an annual rotation begun in 2011 in former President Barack Obama’s military pivot to the Asia-Pacific region.
Colonel James Schnelle was relieved of his duties last month “due to a loss of trust and confidence,” immediately after reporting the incident to superiors, the spokesman, First Lieutenant Jose Uriarte, told Reuters.
Schnelle had been drinking at an Irish-themed bar on the city’s nightclub strip until the early hours of Sept. 30 when he was pulled over and breath-tested, Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.
Police found him over the legal alcohol limit, the broadcaster said, and he walked the 3.4 km (2.1 miles) home and told his superiors. He pleaded guilty, was fined A$500 ($353) and banned from driving for six months, a court spokesman said.
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“I am personally responsible for the poor judgment exhibited in the early hours of Sunday, 30 September,” Schnelle said in an emailed statement.
“The one extremely poor personal decision I made … should not overshadow the significant accomplishments made by (the Marines’ deployment) over these past six months.”
The Marines’ presence, in a city that has long supported a garrison of thousands of Australian troops, has largely been free of the tension stoked at times in Okinawa, Japan, where soldiers’ bad behavior has been a lightning rod for resentment.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeramy Brady will replace Schnelle in charge of the Darwin Marines’ contingent, which is scheduled to leave Darwin this month, and the matter is being investigated internally, Uriarte said.
Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Clarence Fernandez