Cameron Yaste, the commanding officer of the destroyer USS John S. McCain, was relieved Friday of his duties "due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer," according to the U.S. Navy, months after the military branch posted a photo of Yaste aiming a rifle with a backward scope.
The image brought the Navy considerable ridicule on social media, though the branch did not say the photo was the reason for his dismissal.
The Navy in April posted a photo on its Instagram account of Yaste firing the rifle with the caption, "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," according to Stars and Stripes.
The post featuring Yaste was ultimately deleted.
"Thank you for pointing out our rifle scope error in the previous post," the Navy later wrote on social media. "Picture has been removed until EMI (extra military instruction) is completed."
Yaste has been temporarily replaced by Capt. Allison Christy, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, which is part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group that is also in the Gulf of Oman.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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