BROCK VERGAKIS
Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The top enlisted leader at a Navy base in Virginia Beach was relieved of his duties after acknowledging he committed adultery, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Master Chief Petty Officer Yves Raynaud was relieved of his duties as command master chief at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in February. The base at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay is home to Navy special warfare forces as well as ships that transport Marines, among others.
At the time, the Navy said in a statement that the installation’s commander relieved Raynaud due to a loss of confidence in his ability to serve as the command’s senior enlisted adviser. The Navy did not elaborate about what led to that loss of confidence. In the military, adultery is considered a crime. It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday whether Raynaud would face any military criminal charges. Commanders have discretion whether to prosecute and have other disciplinary measures available to them.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act show Raynaud developed a sexual relationship within the past year with a woman he met 20 years earlier while stationed in Japan. They did not specify if it was Raynaud, the woman or both who was married.
Navy investigators were first alerted that there may be a problem when a person whose name was redacted told a neighbor about an inappropriate relationship involving Raynaud and her friend. The woman provided investigators with text exchanges from her Facebook account and the woman, whose name was also redacted. The investigative report says that the woman was contacted by Navy investigators and confirmed that she had a sexual relationship with Raynaud on four separate occasions in hotels. The report also says Raynaud’s Navy.mil email account also provided additional details about their sexual relations.
When Raynaud was confronted with that information by investigators, he admitted to committing adultery with the woman.
In a written statement to investigators, Raynaud said he briefly dated the woman while he was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. When he returned to the United States in 2011, he said he became reacquainted with the woman while he was assigned to the USS Gravely and began to flirt. Their sexual relationship began in August.
Raynaud wrote that he’s sorry for what he did and has started individual counseling to help himself.
In February, Raynaud was temporarily reassigned to the staff of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk.
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Brock Vergakis can be reached at www.twitter.com/BrockVergakis
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