Coast Guard LI Sound sector chief removed from command

The commander of the Coast Guard’s Long Island Sound sector has been temporarily removed from office pending an investigation into unspecified personnel matters, the agency announced Friday.

Capt. Andrew Tucci on Monday was temporarily relieved of his command by Rear Admiral Steven Poulin, who is First Coast Guard district commander, “due to a loss of confidence in his [Tucci’s] ability to command,” the agency said.

Cmdr. Kevin Reed, deputy commander for Sector Long Island Sound, has assumed Tucci’s responsibilities, and Tucci has been reassigned to the agency’s Research and Development Center in New London, Conn., the Coast Guard said.

Lt. Commander Karen Kutkiewicz of the First Coast Guard District declined to comment on the specific circumstances that led to Tucci’s removal. The matter, she said, is “under investigation.”

Kutkiewicz said the investigation “could be quick, it could not be quick,” taking from one week to two months. She said there was a “possibility” Tucci could return to office pending the outcome of the investigation.

She also described the action to remove Tucci as unusual.

“I’ve been here four years and this is first sector commander that has been removed from command” in that time, she said.

Poulin in a statement said the change in leadership won’t impact the office’s “operational readiness. We will remain always ready to perform all Coast Guard missions.”

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.