The captain of a Navy destroyer guarding the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Middle East has been fired about four months after he was photographed firing a rifle with a reverse-facing scope.
The photo drew considerable ridicule from the Navy on social media. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Captain Cameron Yaste of the destroyer USS John McCain was relieved of command on Friday.
The Navy said Yaste was fired “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman.” The statement did not elaborate on why Yaste was being replaced.
A photo posted to Navy social media in April showed Yaste holding a rifle with the scope facing backwards and ready to fire.
Military news outlet Stars and Stripes reported that the Marines criticized the Navy after sharing a photo on social media of a Marine firing his weapon aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer with the caption “Clear line of sight image.”
The post featuring Yaste was eventually deleted. “Thank you for pointing out the riflescope error in my previous post,” the Navy later wrote on social media. “The photo has been removed pending completion of EMI (special military training).”
Yasute will be temporarily replaced by Capt. Allison Christie, vice commander of Destroyer Squadron 21, part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is also deployed in the Gulf of Oman.
The Pentagon has sent the carrier to the Middle East in case Israel needs help repelling an attack from a country such as Iran, military officials said.
The Roosevelt is the flagship of a strike group that recently added three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, $2 billion ships designed to protect aircraft carriers from air, sea and land attacks.