New Hampshire

Navy Relieves Commander of Reserve Center in New Hampshire

Published

10 months ago

May 2, 2025

Navy Relieves Commander of Reserve Center in New Hampshire

The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of its Navy Reserve Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, according to a statement released Friday.

Cmdr. Joseph Dearing was relieved from leadership of the reserve center by Capt. Christian Parilla, the commander of the Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Navy maintains 122 reserve centers around the country. They typically act as the first and primary point of contact between reservist sailors and the Navy for anything from administrative tasks to drill days.

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Dearing is the second reserve center commander to be relieved in the last six months. In December, the Navy also relieved the commanding officer of its reserve center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, over his personal conduct.

Dearing’s relief, which was officially over a “loss of confidence in his ability to command,” appears to be the Navy’s fourth firing of a commanding officer this year.

Loss of confidence is a boilerplate reason provided by the military services that can encompass anything from consistent poor performance by a commander on key evaluations to personal actions like drunken driving.

A Navy official told Military.com on condition of anonymity that the reason for the firing was over performance-based issues and not any misconduct on the part of Dearing. The official added he was not under investigation.

Based on public announcements, it appears that the Navy fired 14 commanding officers in 2024. In 2023, the official relief total was 15. There are currently around 1,600 commanding officers in the active-duty Navy across all communities.

According to Dearing’s service record that was provided to Military.com by the Navy, he began his Navy career as an enlisted sailor in 2000 when he reported to boot camp and then went on to work in the Navy’s aviation community, taking jobs at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9 in China Lake, California, and then Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 2 at Whidbey Island, Washington.

In 2008, Dearing was accepted into the Navy’s Seaman to Admiral-21 commissioning program, got his degree at Jacksonville University in Florida and became a reserve surface warfare officer in 2010.

As an officer, he was stationed on the destroyer USS Stethem for four years before attending the Naval War College and finally becoming the commander of the reserve center in Manchester in September.

According to records, Dearing was awarded the Surface Warfare Officer Insignia as well as the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist qualification.

His awards include two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medals and five Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals as well as a Meritorious Unit Commendation, among other unit and campaign awards.

According to the Navy’s statement, Cmdr. Christopher Worthy will temporarily serve as the reserve center’s commanding officer until a permanent replacement is designated. Dearing has been temporarily reassigned to Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command in Norfolk.

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New Hampshire

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Published

4 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Local News

Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.

Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.

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New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

16 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.