WASHINGTON — The deputy commander of U.S. nuclear forces, Vice Adm. Tim Giardina, was notified Wednesday that he has been relieved of duty amid a military investigation involving a gambling matter, the Navy said.
The move is exceedingly rare and perhaps unprecedented in the history of U.S. Strategic Command, which is responsible for all American nuclear warfighting forces.
The Navy’s top spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said Giardina, who had held the job since December 2011, is being reassigned to the Navy staff pending the outcome of the probe by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. As a consequence of being removed from his post at Strategic Command, Giardina falls in rank to two-star admiral.
Iowa state officials have said Giardina is alleged to have used $1,500 in counterfeit chips at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He has not been charged with a crime.
