Cmdr. Daniel Goodwin, along with his executive officer and top enlisted advisor, were removed from their posts.
Nicholas Slayton
Published Nov 13, 2026 7:27 AM EST
Cmdr. Daniel Goodwin assumes command of the USS South Dakota on June 30, 2026 at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn. Navy photo by John Narewski.
The top leadership team of the nuclear-powered USS South Dakota submarine was removed from their posts last month.
The firing was first reported by the Connecticut newspaper The Day, which said that Cmdr. Dan Goodwin was removed from the post on Oct. 14. Alongside Goodwin, the submarine’s executive officer and chief of the boat — the top enlisted leader aboard a submarine — were also relieved that day. Two members of Congress wrote to acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle over the matter, accusing the Navy of failing to notify the House Armed Services Committee about the command triad’s removal.
The letter, from Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, cites The Day’s reporting and says the committee had not been informed for nearly a month, which they called “unacceptable.”
“In the wake of the collisions affecting USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), and the grounding incidents involving USS Hartford (SSN 768) and USS Connecticut (SSN 22), clear and timely communication with Congress was necessary to make informed decisions to ensure personnel safety and readiness of the fleet,” Courtney and Smith wrote.
The cause of the removal, Courtney and Smith say, was a “grounding incident” involving the submarine.
The removals come after the submarine experienced an unspecified but “immediate navigational hazard” in September, The Day reported, citing the report of a sailor from October. That incident was first revealed in an award certification for a sailor on the submarine, who was given the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, with the certification signed by Capt. Thomas Flaherty, commodore of Submarine Squadron 4. According to the sailor’s family in a post on social media, the submarine was underwater while at sea, and the sailor “recognized a potential navigation hazard involving shallow water or in his case the bottom of the ocean.” The sailor called out a warning, giving the crew time to save the submarine.
It is unclear if the submarine was damaged or if any crew were injured. The congressmen’s letter said that the lack of transparency leaves “many outstanding questions about not only what occurred, but the impact of the events leading the triad’s dismissal on the structural health of [the USS South Dakota], the well-being of the crew, and whether the incident laid bare any systemic issues with training to standard procedures that must be addressed.”
“As a result of the Navy’s failure to communicate, what should have been a standard exercise in information sharing has instead raised questions about the Navy’s commitment to transparency and its commitment to a productive working relationship with Congress,” Smith and Courtney wrote.
Goodwin has been in command of the submarine for less than a year, taking over leadership on June 30. Virginia-class submarines are fast-attack subs, use nuclear power, and are built for stealth and surveillance missions. The USS South Dakota is a relatively new submarine, commissioned in 2019, according to the Navy. The vessel is assigned to Submarine Squadron 4.
The top leadership team of the nuclear-powered USS South Dakota submarine was removed from their posts last month.
The firing was first reported by the Connecticut newspaper The Day, which said that Cmdr. Dan Goodwin was removed from the post on Oct. 14. Alongside Goodwin, the submarine’s executive officer and chief of the boat — the top enlisted leader aboard a submarine — were also relieved that day. Two members of Congress wrote to acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle over the matter, accusing the Navy of failing to notify the House Armed Services Committee about the command triad’s removal.
The letter, from Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, cites The Day’s reporting and says the committee had not been informed for nearly a month, which they called “unacceptable.”
“In the wake of the collisions affecting USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), and the grounding incidents involving USS Hartford (SSN 768) and USS Connecticut (SSN 22), clear and timely communication with Congress was necessary to make informed decisions to ensure personnel safety and readiness of the fleet,” Courtney and Smith wrote.
The cause of the removal, Courtney and Smith say, was a “grounding incident” involving the submarine.
The removals come after the submarine experienced an unspecified but “immediate navigational hazard” in September, The Day reported, citing the report of a sailor from October. That incident was first revealed in an award certification for a sailor on the submarine, who was given the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, with the certification signed by Capt. Thomas Flaherty, commodore of Submarine Squadron 4. According to the sailor’s family in a post on social media, the submarine was underwater while at sea, and the sailor “recognized a potential navigation hazard involving shallow water or in his case the bottom of the ocean.” The sailor called out a warning, giving the crew time to save the submarine.
It is unclear if the submarine was damaged or if any crew were injured. The congressmen’s letter said that the lack of transparency leaves “many outstanding questions about not only what occurred, but the impact of the events leading the triad’s dismissal on the structural health of [the USS South Dakota], the well-being of the crew, and whether the incident laid bare any systemic issues with training to standard procedures that must be addressed.”
“As a result of the Navy’s failure to communicate, what should have been a standard exercise in information sharing has instead raised questions about the Navy’s commitment to transparency and its commitment to a productive working relationship with Congress,” Smith and Courtney wrote.
Goodwin has been in command of the submarine for less than a year, taking over leadership on June 30. Virginia-class submarines are fast-attack subs, use nuclear power, and are built for stealth and surveillance missions. The USS South Dakota is a relatively new submarine, commissioned in 2019, according to the Navy. The vessel is assigned to Submarine Squadron 4.
