The United States Navy relieved USS John McCain Cmdr. Cameron Yaste from his position as commander of the U.S. Navy destroyer after the military branch was mocked on social media for sharing a picture of Yaste improperly holding a rifle with the scope mounted backward.
In a Friday press release, the Navy announced, “The commanding officer of USS John S. McCain was relieved Aug. 30 due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer.”
The press release noted that Yaste was relieved of his duties by Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander, who is the commander of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.
“Yaste reported to assume the role as John S. McCain’s commanding officer in October 2023,” the Navy added in Friday’s press release. “He has now been temporarily reassigned to Naval Surface Group Northwest.”
Friday’s press release also announced that Capt. Allison Christy, who is the deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, had “temporarily assumed command of the destroyer.” According to Fox News, Destroyer Squadron 21 is part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is currently deployed alongside the USS John McCain in the Gulf of Oman.
READ MORE: Pics: Navy posts embarrassing photo, quickly deletes amid mockery
Fox News reported that the USS John McCain is responsible for protecting the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Middle East as the United States continues to have aircraft carriers deployed in the region to provide support to Israel in the event of an Iranian attack.
In April, the Navy was heavily criticized and mocked on social media for posting an embarrassing picture of Yaste holding a military rifle with its Trijicon VCOG scope mounted backward as he aimed at a target balloon off the Navy destroyer. The Navy captioned the photo, “From engaging in practice gun shoots, conducting maintenance, testing fuel purity and participating in sea and anchor details, the #USNavy is always ready to serve and protect.”
The Navy’s post featuring Yaste was quickly deleted after social media users slammed the Navy for the rifle scope error. In a later post, the Navy wrote, “Thank you for pointing out our rifle scope error in the previous post. Picture has been removed until EMI (extra military instruction) is completed.”
In contrast to the Navy’s embarrassing photo of Yaste holding a rifle with the scope mounted backward, the U.S. Marines shared a picture in April of a Marine firing a rifle with the scope mounted correctly alongside the caption, “Clear Sight Picture.”
