Capt. Zaldy Valenzuela was relieved Oct. 19, 2024, as commander of U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. (U.S. Navy)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy over the weekend fired the commanding and executive officer of the 7th Fleet’s primary repair facility in Japan for unspecified performance issues.
Capt. Zaldy Valenzuela, commander of the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center, and his executive officer, Cmdr. Art Palalay, were relieved Saturday by Rear Adm. William Greene, head of Navy Regional Maintenance Center in Norfolk, Va., the Navy said in a news release that day.
“The Navy holds commanding officers and others in authority to the highest standards,” the release said. “Naval leaders are entrusted with significant responsibilities to their Sailors and commands.”
The announcement cited a “loss of confidence in their ability to command,” a catch-all term used by the U.S. military when it publicly announces a commander’s removal. Specifics behind the decision are rarely disclosed due in part to federal privacy laws.
Cmdr. Art Palalay was relieved Oct. 19, 2024, as executive officer of U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. (U.S. Navy)
Capt. Dan Lannamann will temporarily assume command of the facility, and the command’s operations officer, Cmdr. Timothy Emge, will serve as executive officer until permanent replacements are found, according to the news release.
Repair facility spokesman Randall Baucom in a Monday email to Stars and Stripes referred all questions to Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington D.C., which did not immediately respond to phone and email requests for comment.
The repair facility is the 7th Fleet’s primary maintenance center, responsible for intermediate and major repairs and maintenance for any ships deployed to the fleet’s operations area in the Indo-Pacific.
It employs approximately 120 military personnel, 325 civil service civilians and 2,500 full-time Japanese employees across its facilities at Yokosuka and Sasebo Naval Base, according to its website.
Yokosuka’s facility features six dry docks, 10 industrial buildings with a combined workshop space of 960,000 square feet and 19 berths, including a berth specifically for the 7th Fleet’s aircraft carrier. Employees conduct approximately 400,000 man-days of work annually, according to its website.
The Sasebo detachment includes a dry dock, 10 berths and three industrial buildings with a combined 80,000 square feet of workshop space. Workers there complete approximately 250,000 man-days of work each year.
