US Navy submarine captain punished for hiring prostitutes in Philippines

美國核潛艇艇長因在菲律賓招妓而遭罰

The incident occurred last spring in Subic Bay while the USS Bremerton submarine made a port call


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A U.S. submarine commander has been penalized for hiring out the services of prostitutes in the Philippines over the weekend.

It is reported that Travis Zettel, former captain of the longest serving submarine in the U.S. Navy, the USS Bremerton, was relieved of duty and demoted in August last year, by the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

According to reports, Zettel ordered 10 prostitutes to his hotel room, while the USS Bremerton was ashore in Subic Bay, in March 2018.

He was seen with a number of “provocatively dressed females” in the hotel he was staying, which prompted an anonymous tip to a navy hotline for reporting breaches of proper conduct.

After investigation he was found to be culpable in providing payment for the “female accompaniment.”

From the initial report.


“Capt. Travis Zettel was relieved of duty in August following a loss of confidence in his ability to command the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, which is now tied up in Bremerton for decommissioning.”


Details of the incident have only recently been made public after investigative reporting by the Kitsap Sun newspaper in Bremerton, Washington.

Zettel has been reassigned to administrative duty at a naval base in Washington State, according to the report.

The USS Bremerton served the US Navy for 37 years before the order for it to be decomissioned, which was made in April, 2018, shortly after the incident, according the US Navy.