This may come as a departure from Tectonic’s usual lighthearted coverage, but at the end of the day, it’s our responsibility to report on all of the defense tech industry—even the gritty bits.
The US Navy’s former Program Executive Officer for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), Rear Adm. Kevin Smith, was fired from his post last May due to a substantiated harassment claim against him, according to a Navy inspector general’s report obtained under FOIA by Tectonic.
An investigation carried out by the Navy found that “during a command-sponsored dinner on the evening of October 24, 2024, [Smith engaged] in a course of conduct that included putting his arm around the complainant’s back, hugging the complainant, kissing the complainant, and telling the complainant he loved [them].”
During the dinner with a delegation from the Japanese Military Self-Defense Force in Washington, DC, several witnesses also described Rear Adm. Smith as “drinking a lot,” touching the complainant repeatedly, and asking them after dinner whether he could leave with them.
The Navy report redacted the identity of the complainant, but the write-up indicates that the two were coworkers.
The service concluded that Rear Adm. Smith harassed the complainant on Oct. 24, in violation of OPNAVINST 5354.1H, which prohibits harassment and discrimination.
“We substantiated the harassment allegation based on the preponderance of evidence. Witness testimony confirmed the allegation that RDML Smith’s behavior on the evening of October 24, 2024, was unwelcome and offensive and created an offensive work environment,” the report concludes. Rear Adm. Smith did not dispute the facts described in the report, but “described his interaction with the complainant as a miscommunication and was apologetic for his behavior.”
When Smith was relieved of his post in June, the Navy said it was “due to a loss of confidence based on a complaint substantiated by an Office of the Naval Inspector General investigation.” He was temporarily reassigned to NAVSEA and has since retired.
This is the first time that the full reason for his dismissal has been reported.
The full story: According to the investigation, the dinner that precipitated Rear Adm. Smith’s dismissal was hosted at the Monocle Restaurant in Northeast DC by SEA 21 and included five NAVSEA staff members and five members of the Japanese delegation. The dinner was paid for out of NAVSEA’s Official Representation Funds (ORF).
NAVSEA employees who were at the dinner and witnessed the incident, according to the report, included:
- Director for Readiness, NAVSEA
- Deputy Director, COMNAVRMC, NAVSEA
- PEO, Ships, NAVSEA
- An employee of SEA 21, NAVSEA
It’s worth noting that in the report, the complainant describes themselves as a “senior leader.”
According to the complainant—and corroborated by witnesses—Smith put his arm around them when they arrived, which made them “a little uncomfortable.”
Throughout the dinner, according to the witnesses, Smith “drank a lot more alcohol than the rest of the people.” As the group was leaving, the complainant said that Smith “grabbed hold of [them]” and “kind of, leaned over and was like, you know, [redacted] I love you.” The complainant, according to the report, said they did “not really know how to react in the moment.”
Outside of the restaurant, the complainant said that Smith tried to get the complainant to leave with him. Several witnesses corroborate this. The complainant said that they felt “singled out, taken advantage of, [and] undermined.”
“I’m a senior leader, and yet I just reflect back on like, would [redacted] have done that to a fellow flag officer?” they also stated.
The Navy concluded that Smith and the complainant did not have the kind of personal or outside-of-work relationship that would justify this kind of intimacy. When asked why they ended up reporting Smith through the chain of command, they said they were “disgusted” and “felt violated.”
The complainant and the rest of the dinner party left Smith at the restaurant visibly intoxicated, according to witnesses. The Ships PEO said that the SEA 21 employee was worried about Smith because of how much he had had to drink—he had driven to dinner and was expected to drive home.
While it’s unclear whether Smith did, in fact, drive, the SEA 21 employee texted him to make sure he was okay and made it home. Smith replied that he was and that he had, according to the report.
A NAVSEA staff judge advocate reported the complaint to the NAVSEA inspector general on Oct. 29, 2024. Two days later, on Oct. 31, the NAVSEA IG referred the case to the Office of the Naval Inspector General as a “senior official misconduct allegation.”
NCIS declined to investigate as a criminal matter.
The conclusion: OPNAVINST 5354.1H—what Smith was dismissed under—defines harassment as “behavior that is unwelcome or offensive to a reasonable person, whether oral, written or physical that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.”
Because the complainant told investigators they felt “disgusted” and “violated,” and due to witnesses’ accounts of his interactions with the complainant throughout the night, the report concluded that Smith’s behavior was “unwelcomed and offensive” and “created an offensive working environment.” Further, they found that his actions were “unprofessional and lacked the level of respect expected from a senior military service member.”
Based on this (and all the witness statements and evidence laid out), the IG report concluded that the incident constituted harassment.
The background: Rear Adm. Smith joined PEO Integrated Warfare Systems, NAVSEA, in 2010 and was appointed as PEO Unmanned and Small Combatants (USC) in June 2023.
He was dismissed from his post following this investigation in June 2025, reassigned to NAVSEA, and then retired. Melissa Kirkendall, executive director for PEO USC, temporarily assumed the role of PEO upon his dismissal.
In September, SecNav John Phelan ordered a major reorganization of the Navy’s unmanned program efforts—including a review of PEO USC’s responsibilities and the consolidation of autonomous and unmanned programs under a new Robotic and Autonomous Systems PEO (now PAE).