As many as six Royal Australian Navy sailors have been fired or face disciplinary actions over controversial Facebook posts.

In the Navy

According to Fairfax Media, the sailors are accused of posting racist and anti-Muslim opinions on Facebook.

It is alleged one of the sailors, who was working on border protection duties at the time, posted comments on the Facebook Page of a friend who claimed to be part of the Australian Defence League.

The friend wrote that asylum-seekers were coming to Australia to ''to jump on Centrelink and get free government housing''.

The sailor responded with ''I'm about to head out today to deal with these f—ers.''

Big blue

Chief of Navy Ray Griggs issued a statement explaining an investigation had been launched and that several sailors have had their employment terminated, while others have been ordered to justify their actions.

While the Navy has a robust social media policy that specifically prohibits posting offensive material, this latest development is a warning that even with the most stringent controls in place, social crises can still occur.

The lesson for the rest of us? Be aware of what your employees are posting and act quickly when an incident occurs.

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