Commander of Navy Corpsman Training Battalion Fired

The captain in charge of a San Diego-based battalion training Navy corpsmen to fight and treat wounded Marines has been fired, the Navy announced Monday.

Navy Capt. Michael Enriquez, commanding officer of Field Medical Training Battalion-West, was relieved of his post by Brig. Gen. Jason Morris, head of Marine Corps Training Command, Navy Bureau of Medicine officials said in a release.

"Morris cited loss of trust and confidence as the reason for his relief," the release states.

According to the announcement, Cmdr. Boyce Gire, the battalion's executive officer, will command the unit until a permanent relief is assigned. Enriquez is pending reassignment to Naval Medical Center San Diego.

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More information about the reasons behind Enriquez's firing was not immediately available; an attempt to reach him for comment did not receive an immediate response.

According to his official service biography, Enriquez enlisted in the Navy in 1989 and trained as a corpsman before becoming an aviation physiology instructor. He earned his commission in 1999 and previously served as executive officer for Field Medical Training Battalion-West before assuming command of the unit in June 2018.

His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three gold stars for subsequent awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three gold stars), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three gold stars), and Combat Action Ribbon.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

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