Task & Purpose reports that three of the five Navy commanding officers who have been fired so far this year, including a Navy SEAL and two submarine captains, were relieved after being arrested off-base for driving under the influence.

Navy Capt. Richard A. Zaszewski, who was relieved this week as commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Eight, was arrested on Jan. 19 in Virginia, according to online court records. His Blood Alcohol Content was measured at 0.15%, nearly double Virginia’s legal limit of 0.08%.

Navy Times first reported that Zaszewski did not report his arrest to his superiors until March, after which he was relieved of command.

Two guided missile submarine commanders have also been relieved this year after being arrested for driving while intoxicated. Capt. Geoffry Patterson was relieved on Jan. 12 as captain of the USS Georgia’s Blue Crew and Capt. Kurt D. Balagna was fired as captain of the USS Ohio’s Gold Crew on March 11.

The reliefs of Paterson, Balagna, and Zaszewski are not a result of any changes to the Navy’s accountability policy, a service spokesperson told Task & Purpose.

“U.S. Navy leaders are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct,” the spokesperson said. “They are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability, and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards.”

However, the recent firings could indicate that the Navy is becoming less tolerant than it has in the past when commanding officers are arrested by civilian police for drunken driving, said retired Navy Cmdr. Bryan Clark, a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, D.C.

Previously Task & Purpose reported that, in 2023, the Navy relieved a total of 16 commanding officers of command: 14 were fired “due to a loss of confidence” in their ability to command, and two were relieved for medical issues unrelated to their performance, according to the Navy, which did not release the two officers’ names due to privacy concerns.

Of the 14 commanding officers who were fired: Eight were in charge of ships, five were in shore billets, and one led a squadron of Navy E/A-18G Growlers.