Second-in-command officer is fired from position at Kauai missile range

The second in command at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai was relieved of his duties Thursday due to "unsatisfactory performance," the Navy said Friday.

Cmdr. Garron Morris was removed from his position as executive officer by Capt. Bruce Hay, the missile range’s commanding officer. Morris, who had served as executive officer since March 2012, has been administratively reassigned within the same command.

"An executive officer serves in a position of trust and responsibility, and has a key role in shaping morale, good order and discipline within the command," the Navy said in a news release. "Immediate superiors must have full confidence in the office’s judgment and ability to lead."

The Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands is the world’s largest instrumented multi-environmental range capable of supporting surface, subsurface, air and space operations simultaneously. It encompasses over 1,100 square miles of instrumented underwater range and over 42,000 square miles of controlled airspace.