EXCLUSIVE: Retired Navy Officer Subjected to ‘Heavy Handed’ Repercussions Over an Honest Mistake with Firearm
Despite the incident being deemed an honest mistake, a ban strips a retired Navy officer’s access to various facilities and benefits, prompting him to appeal the decision and raising concerns about the appropriateness of the harsh punishment.
Navy Lieutenant Commander (Ret.) Craig Wortham dedicated over two decades of his life to military service before retiring in 2012. On March 30, 2026, his day began as it would for many retirees, with the anticipation of playing a round of golf.
As he arrived at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek (JEBLCFS) gate in his truck that bears his company logo (Happy Tractor, LLC), Wortham was told he would have to use the contractor entrance. At the other gate, he was required to open all doors and the tailgate to his truck. He stood on the sidewalk as guards conducted a quick search of his vehicle, finding a firearm in the side panel of the driver’s door.
Speaking to The Gateway Pundit, Wortham said, “It wasn’t hard to see. I just forgot to remove it.”
He presented his driver’s license, his retirement identification card, and even suggested sharing his Concealed Carry Permit. Even though he has the Virginia permit, he acknowledged that forgetting there was a gun in the vehicle was an error. And after expressing regret for the oversight, he felt that everyone present understood it was “an honest mistake.”
“No one was angry or upset about it. The only emotion was probably mine, embarrassed to get patted down in front of my son,” Wortham shared.
As he contemplated what to do next, an agent from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) approached, introduced himself, and verified that Wortham was a retired Navy officer. He then inquired about Wortham’s knowledge of firearms regulations on military bases. Wortham, however, declined to answer further questions, expressing a desire not to “incriminate” himself.
The NCIS agent got back in his car and left. Wortham mentioned that his friend’s son was in a car behind him and proposed exiting the checkpoint, leaving the firearm in his vehicle, outside the base, before returning. Everyone consented to this plan, and the lead security guard stopped traffic on both sides to accommodate Wortham’s departure.
After returning to the gate without his firearm, Wortham’s truck was subjected to a quick search, and he was allowed to enter the base. “I still made my tee time,” Wortham shared, saying that “it was wonderful, shooting a low 80 round.”
Twenty-five days later, everything changed. He received an exclusion letter from the Executive Officer for Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, dated April 2.
On Tuesday, Robert A. Green, Jr., author of Defending the Constitution Behind Enemy Lines, shared the letter on X:
Heavy Handed removal of retiree benefits:
A retired LCDR was just banned from all Navy bases and facilities in the Hampton Roads area for accidentally having a personal weapon in his vehicle at the base gate checkpoint.
The retired naval officer has a Concealed Carry Permit.… https://t.co/3MClgDwdkP pic.twitter.com/26eSDTk8a6
— Rob Green (@RobGreen1010) April 14, 2026
Wortham was “administratively barred from JEBLCFS indefinitely,” and according to the letter, “this ban includes, but is not limited to, all buildings, facilities, barracks, Navy Fleet and Family Service Center, Navy Lodge, the Navy Exchange, Commissary, and the Medical/Dental Clinics.” Furthermore, the letter stated there was also “a reciprocal administrative ban from all Navy Region Mid-Atlantic installations, to include Naval Air Station, Oceana; Naval Starion Norfolk; and Naval Support Activity Hamton Roads.”
Coincidentally, though not applicable to Wortham, the letter was dated the same day War Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum authorizing off-duty service members “to request to carry privately owned firearms while in their nonofficial duty capacity” on military installations.
It wasn’t until April 14 that Wortham got the letter, utterly shocked to learn that he would no longer have access to the commissary, the medical facility, or the golf course. “By restricting my access to military bases, they’ve essentially removed my retirement benefits,” Wortham told The Gateway Pundit.
As Green stated in his viral X post with over 1.2 million views, “The subsequent ban was an unexpected shock and a grave heavy-handed response to an honest mistake.”
Wortham will be appealing the decision.
Most notably, Wortham never entered the base with a firearm in his possession. “This all happened at a checkpoint,” he explained. “I never actually made it on the base, regretting the oversight, thinking everything was okay when it was not.”
The entire ordeal raises a significant question: Did U.S. Navy Commander C.L. Gatewood truly intend to endorse this letter? Or was it purely an administrative oversight? By doing so, stripped away the justly deserved benefits of a Lieutenant Commander who dedicated 23 years of honorable service to the Navy.
This draconian incident certainly warrants rectification. Before the dust settles, many believe that Wortham is owed an apology.
As seen below, J.M. Phelps sought comments from Commander C.L. Gatewood, who signed the letter sent to Wortham and serves as Executive Officer for JEBLCFS; Captain Katie H. Jacobson, the commanding officer of JEBLCFS; and Rear Admiral Stephen D. Barnett, the Commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic (CNRMA).
However, no responses were received by the time of publication.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Retired Navy Officer Subjected to ‘Heavy Handed’ Repercussions Over an Honest Mistake with Firearm appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.