Sailor punished over drunken outburst in Bahrain

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Navy sailor was dismissed as the senior enlisted man aboard a Groton-based attack submarine following drunken outbursts during a port visit in Bahrain, according to documents.

The sailor from the USS Annapolis, Senior Chief Sonar Technician Gregory Cordray, had been drinking inside a club on the U.S. base when he was involved in an altercation with a group of apparently British sailors on March 12. On the bus to a hotel, he also caused a commotion by starting a sing-along and using profanity, according to the command investigation.

The investigation report, obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request, concluded that Cordray violated the commanding officer's orders to avoid intoxication while off-duty in Bahrain, as well as during a January port visit to Toulon, France.

"His behavior violated the tenants of good order and discipline and poorly represented the Navy, the Submarine Service, and the Annapolis," a Navy investigator wrote.

Cordray, 42, was dismissed as chief of boat on April 19 by the submarine's commanding officer. He received a non-judicial punishment and has been reassigned to a Naval submarine support center, according to Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, a submarine group spokeswoman in Groton.

Cordray declined to comment when reached by phone at his home.

According to the investigation, Cordray had been drinking beer inside the chief petty officers' club for nearly seven hours before leaving for the hotel, when he encountered the apparently British sailors attempting to board the bus designated for Annapolis sailors. Several people tried to quiet Cordray as they secured the door to the bus.

Cordray was the only one targeted by the misconduct investigation, which was carried by the Navy's Submarine Development Squadron 12, Cragg said.

The Annapolis is a Los Angeles-class attack submarine that was commissioned in 1992. It is based at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton.