Marcus Aurelius Arnheiter

Marcus Aurelius Arnheiter (born November 8, 1925, died August 18, 2009 in Novato, CA), was a retired U. S. Navy officer, known for being relieved of command of the USS Vance (DE-387) after only 99 days.

Early life and education
Arnheiter was born to Theodore and Dorothy B. Arnheiter. He has a twin brother, Theodore Jr. (d. 2005), and a sister, Dorothy. Raised in New York City, he was graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1952 and obtained his Masters degree from Georgetown.

USS Vance (DER 387)
Taking command of the Vance on 22 December just before Christmas 1965, he found a ship that was, in his opinion, unready for war off the coast of North Vietnam. He instituted measures to get the ship cleaned up (he stated that he had found it "crawling with cockroaches"), to get the crew trained, and to institute activities that he thought would get the crew motivated.

Unfortunately, he also had more than his share of personality quirks that led members of the crew to keep a "Mad Marcus Log". The complaints listed in the Mad Marcus Log came to the attention of higher headquarters staff, possibly through the chaplain corps. Three months after he assumed command, HQ ordered the Vance to Manila for refitting and Arnheiter was summarily relieved. In an attempt to clear his name, LCDR Arnheiter sought a court martial from the navy, but the navy never took any additional action against Arnheiter. Arnheiter swore out formal charges against the Navy Department and was not so much as reprimanded for charging that two- and three-star admirals his senior had themselves been guilty of gross violations of the UCMJ regarding his case. Arnheiter said that either way he should be the subject of a court martial - for his alleged actions on the Vance or for his related charges against selected superior officers. The Navy completely ignored his requests. Arnheiter went as far as to participate in formal Congressional hearings on the matter, and still the Navy ignored his loud and very public demand for redress in any official capacity. On repeated appeal, his case was repeatedly dismissed.

One the duties of the Vance was to search small coastal traffic (junks) for contraband, specifically weapons to be used by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. Since the Vance's motor whaleboat was lacking in speed, Arnheiter had a fast speedboat purchased for that purpose; however, he used special services (welfare & recreation) money—a misappropriation of funds. Arnheiter also had the navigation personnel falsify the logs when he ordered the Vance closer to the coast than his orders allowed.

Eventually word of these activities (and other allegations) reached higher command by way of a chaplain to whom sailors in the crew confided, and Arnheiter was relieved on 31 March 1966 when the Vance was refitting at Manila.

According to the Time magazine article: "We all have a little of the Captain Queeg in us," admitted one officer. "But Arnheiter had more than his share."

Suppressed book
Journalist Neil Sheehan wrote a book titled The Arnheiter Affair in 1971, including a little-known indicium that Arnheiter, prior to his enrollment in the Naval Academy, had briefly been enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. The Arnheiter Affair was well received. Litigation, however, brought by Arnheiter for libel and slander caused the book to be removed from print.

Marriage
Arnheiter married Janice Blair Arnheiter.