The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of its Navy Reserve Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, according to a statement released Friday.
Cmdr. Joseph Dearing was relieved from leadership of the reserve center by Capt. Christian Parilla, the commander of the Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Navy maintains 122 reserve centers around the country. They typically act as the first and primary point of contact between reservist sailors and the Navy for anything from administrative tasks to drill days.
Read Next: For-Profit Colleges Would Be Freed to Scam Veterans Again Under GOP Bill, Advocates Say
Dearing is the second reserve center commander to be relieved in the last six months. In December, the Navy also relieved the commanding officer of its reserve center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, over his personal conduct.
Dearing's relief, which was officially over a "loss of confidence in his ability to command," appears to be the Navy's fourth firing of a commanding officer this year.
Loss of confidence is a boilerplate reason provided by the military services that can encompass anything from consistent poor performance by a commander on key evaluations to personal actions like drunken driving.
A Navy official told Military.com on condition of anonymity that the reason for the firing was over performance-based issues and not any misconduct on the part of Dearing. The official added he was not under investigation.
Based on public announcements, it appears that the Navy fired 14 commanding officers in 2024. In 2023, the official relief total was 15. There are currently around 1,600 commanding officers in the active-duty Navy across all communities.
According to Dearing’s service record that was provided to Military.com by the Navy, he began his Navy career as an enlisted sailor in 2000 when he reported to boot camp and then went on to work in the Navy’s aviation community, taking jobs at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9 in China Lake, California, and then Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 2 at Whidbey Island, Washington.
In 2008, Dearing was accepted into the Navy’s Seaman to Admiral-21 commissioning program, got his degree at Jacksonville University in Florida and became a reserve surface warfare officer in 2010.
As an officer, he was stationed on the destroyer USS Stethem for four years before attending the Naval War College and finally becoming the commander of the reserve center in Manchester in September.
According to records, Dearing was awarded the Surface Warfare Officer Insignia as well as the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist qualification.
His awards include two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medals and five Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals as well as a Meritorious Unit Commendation, among other unit and campaign awards.
According to the Navy's statement, Cmdr. Christopher Worthy will temporarily serve as the reserve center's commanding officer until a permanent replacement is designated. Dearing has been temporarily reassigned to Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command in Norfolk.
Related: Commander, Command Master Chief Fired from Navy Expeditionary Security Squadron
