Submarine commander Michael P Ward II faked death to end affair

A US Navy submarine commander who faked his own death to end an extra-marital affair has been relieved of his duties.

Michael P Ward II, who took charge of the USS Pittsburgh earlier this month, was reassigned to an administrative role after the US Navy found a "lack of confidence in Ward's ability to command based upon allegations of personal misconduct".

Cmdr Ward, 43, who is married with children, began a relationship last year with a 23-year-old woman, who told her story to The Day newspaper in Connecticut. Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said Ward told her his name was Tony Moore and he worked in "special ops".

The pair exchanged emails, in which Ward told her: "I want you, but I don't know how to make this all perfect".

Their affair ended last month when she received an email, purportedly from a colleague of Ward, which said he was "gone". "We tried everything we could to save him," the email read. "He loved you very much."

The woman went to his home in Virginia to pay her respects, only to be told by the new owner that Ward was alive and had relocated.