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Fired Marine recon battalion commander is fourth Marine leader removed in recent weeks

https://www.stripes.com/fired-marine-recon-battalion-commander-is-fourth-marine-leader-removed-in-recent-weeks-1.580199

WASHINGTON – The 1st Marine Division’s commander fired the officer in charge of Camp Pendleton’s 1st Reconnaissance Battalion on Tuesday, marking at least the fourth removal of a Marine commander in recent weeks.

Lt. Col. Francisco Zavala was removed from his command after Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi “lost trust and confidence in the commanding officer’s ability to lead,” according to a statement issued Wednesday from the division, which is based in California.

A spokesman for 1st Marine Division declined to provide any additional details about Zavala’s removal but indicated he was under some kind of investigation.

Zavala, who is from Texas, was commissioned into the Marine Corps in 2000 as an infantry officer and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to his official biography. His former commands include leading a platoon with the 1st Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company, a company in 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, and recently the Corps’ Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Peru, according to the Marine