Culture

Navy Says Ex-Sub Commander Faked Death to End Affair

Other woman was pregnant, too, so that was extra classy

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A dismissed submarine commander may be booted from the Navy after investigators learned the married father of two children had faked his death to end an affair with a Virginia woman who had become pregnant.

Cmdr. Michael P. Ward II, 43, was removed as skipper of the attack sub USS Pittsburgh last month after just a week.

Ward, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., received a letter of reprimand for adultery, dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer for the eight-month affair. The Navy has also filed paperwork to remove him from the service, Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh's submarine group in Groton, Conn., told the Associated Press.