The married command master chief of a future destroyer was fired this spring after he drunkenly slid into the Facebook messages of another chief’s wife and came onto her, according to a copy of the investigation obtained by Navy Times.
Master Chief Stephan J. Raniszewski was relieved and administratively disciplined in April for charges that included indecent, drunken and disorderly conduct, Navy officials said earlier this year.
The end of Raniszewski’s spot in the command triad of the future warship Thomas Hudner began at a Super Bowl watch party held at another chief’s house in February, according to the investigation.
Raniszewski went home and began drunkenly messaging another chief’s wife on Facebook, the investigation found.
In between trash talk about the New England Patriots’ loss, the command master chief repeatedly told the woman in misspelled messages that “your hot,” and to “stop temping (sic) me.”
“It was known that CMC was very drunk, as proven by a couple of unreadable messages,” one command email regarding the case that was included in the investigation states.
“He did refer to my wife as ‘hot’ and ‘sominkong hot’ {ie smoking hot),” the chief and husband of the messaged wife told investigators.
Raniszewski did not respond to a request for comment.
An individual whose name is redacted wrote in a command email that “it was not new behavior,” according to the investigation.
Raniszewski again messaged the chief’s wife that month and referred to the woman as a “MILF” while promising to keep his fantasies to himself, according to the investigation.
She replied that the messages were inappropriate, according to screenshots included in the investigation.
A third round of messages occurred a few days later.
“My wife told me that CMC had asked her what kind of panties she wore, and if she shaved her private parts,” the chief and husband of the messaged wife wrote in a statement.
While the chief said he had not experienced a hostile workplace after the incidents, he couldn’t work with Raniszewski again and planned to request a transfer if the CMC remained.
“There is ‘no trust there’ anymore,” he wrote, adding that the did not intend to “ruin anyone’s career.”
“However, as with all sailors, we must provide treatment and accountability for all actions,” the chief wrote. “I find his behavior reprehensible, betraying and disrespectful. His actions do not represent how you should treat another human being, or the brotherhood of the Chiefs Mess.”
The woman told investigators she made her husband aware of the messages after the third round.
She had brushed off the post-Super Bowl messages as drunkenness and had told Raniszewski to stop after the second round.
“After the third message and the degree of inappropriateness of the message I felt that I needed to make my husband aware of the situation,” she wrote in a statement. “My husband was visibly very unhappy and upset. In a subsequent conversation I got the impression that my husband was going to confront and talk to CMC about the issue.”
The husband confronted Raniszewski about entering treatment for alcohol abuse, but also said he knew “that disciplinary action would more than likely be a probable outcome.”
The investigation states that the way the command became aware of Raniszewski’s behavior “could be construed as accidental and unintentional.”
An individual whose name is redacted in the public investigation initially tried to get Raniszewski to refer himself to treatment for alcohol problems.
But when another unidentified sailor learned that the referral was based on the inappropriate Facebook messages, the ship’s second-in-command was informed, according to the investigation.
“CMC Raniszewski’s contrition over these series of events is genuine,” the investigator wrote. “He accepts full responsibility for his inappropriate messaging and any impropriety he may have committed while under the influence of alcohol.”
He was relieved a few weeks after the investigation was completed in mid-March.
Several shipmates interviewed by investigators said they recalled Raniszewski being drunk at last year’s khaki ball.
Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Meeks, the ship’s executive officer, told investigators that Raniszewski said in February that he was “done” and was “dropping his papers.”
Raniszewski requested in his statement that he be allowed to leave active duty on Jan. 4, 2019, 20 years to the day of his enlistment.
He added that he had been “too proud” to ask for help with his drinking problem.
“I’m a CMC how could I ask for help,” he wrote. “Sounds silly now.”
Raniszewski also unsuccessfully requested to stay on with the ship through its commissioning later this year.
He added that he had failed both his family and the ship’s family.
“My poor decision on FB Msg is appalling and extremely disappointing,” Raniszewski wrote. “It was a terrible lapse of judgement and moral conviction. I lost my compass in the bottom of a bottle.”
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
