Top Navy SEAL warns commanders of ‘order and discipline problem’

The head of the U.S. Navy SEALs recently sent a scathing letter to top commanders in the unit ordering them to detail issues with ethical behavior and conduct within the SEALs and to find a way to fix them.

CNN reported Friday that a letter sent by Rear Adm. Collin Green orders his officers to submit their reports by Aug. 7 and states plainly that the SEALs “have a problem.”

{mosads}”I don’t know yet if we have a culture problem, I do know that we have a good order and discipline problem that must be addressed immediately,” Green wrote, according to CNN.

Green reportedly added in the letter that “some of our subordinate formations have failed to maintain good order and discipline,” an issue which has thrown the culture of Navy special forces into the spotlight “for good reason.”

A spokesman for Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CNN that the highest officials at the Department of Defense “share the concerns” of Green about SEAL discipline and that Esper recently spoke to the head of special operations forces, Gen. Richard Clarke, about the issue.

“They discussed some of the recent cases that have emerged in the special operations community,” the spokesman said without giving further details.

The letter reportedly does not address specific incidents of poor conduct but it comes as an entire SEAL team was ordered home by superiors after an alcohol-fueled July 4 party ended in sexual assault accusations levied at some involved, according to CNN.