The U.S. Navy has relieved the destroyer commander, who was pictured firing a rifle with the scope mounted backward, of his duty because of the incident and the resulting backlash.
According to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Cmdr. Cameron Yaste was removed Friday, more than four months after the incident.
The Navy said Yaste was relieved of duty “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer” that is currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman. The statement didn’t elaborate about why Yaste was replaced.
In early April, the Navy posted to its official Instagram account a now-deleted photo of Yaste, skipper of the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain, holding an AR-style rifle and looking through a scope that was clearly mounted backward. The gun’s forward grip was also mounted strangely, positioned much closer to the gun’s center than its barrel.
“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 original post said.
Internet hilarity quickly ensued, with everyone from the U.S. Marine Corps to everyday citizens taking verbal shots at Yaste and the Navy. The USMC quickly took a dig at the Navy, sharing a photo on its social media accounts of a Marine firing a weapon aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer. The caption read, “Clear Sight Picture.”
Not unexpectedly, our faithful readers at thetruthaboutguns.com weighed in with some great observations of their own, totaling a whopping 94 comments.
“At least they had a safety officer supporting him against the brutal recoil of the M4,” wrote TTAG reader Sam Carmichael, referring to the hand on Yaste’s shoulder in the post.
Reader strych9 had a different take on it: “He got played by some guys in the ship’s armory who knew this was a photo op and that the Commander didn’t have a clue.”
And reader Slapshot tried to find the destroyer commander a way out of the jam.
“The optic wasn’t installed backwards, the rifle was installed backwards on the optic,” he wrote. “Although I assume you can’t install the props backwards on the boat either.”
Rather than considering it funny, other TTAG readers saw it as a more ominous warning of an underprepared military.
“If the Navy had wrecked fewer ships in recent years (see: USS John McCain, USS Fitzgerald, USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Connecticut), I’d be inclined to cut some slack,” wrote reader napresto. “As it is, I have my doubts that our ‘top men’ are much better at commanding ships than shooting rifles. We are going to pay for this at some point.”
And reader Johnny LeBlanc posted: “The DEI Navy. After the photo he changed into his dress. We’re going to lose a major war.”
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.”
According to the Associated Press, 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’s also in the Gulf of Oman.
Well, it fits oretty well with the ship’s namesake…
OK, I would almost maybe give someone a pass for not noticing that the scope was backward – right up until they actually picked the weapon up and LOOKED THROUGH the scope. At that point, the shooter has become an idiot, IMO. Seriously, I knew my scopes well enough back in the late 60s and 70s. Since then, technology has changed quite a bit. Had I walked into a room with that rifle laying on a table, with that scope mounted in that fashion, I’d have said “Hmmm, what do we have here?” I would examine the scope, trying to determine how and why it looked odd. But, a quick sight THROUGH the scope would reveal that the armorer had screwed up. Your target 100 yards away suddenly appears to be 3 miles distant? Assuming you can actually find your target in the scope! You obviously have a problem.
It is a 1x optic.
yeah.. 1x idiot using the optic.
“According to the Associated Press, Yaste has been temporarily replaced by Capt. Allison Christy, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21…”
A diversity hire, eh?
Fight wokeness with yet more wokeness? 😉
This event was further evidence that just because some idiot goes through a “school” and gets a “Degree” doesn’t mean they are qualified to sell shoes at payless. It’s a sad thing these days that those in charge believe a degree is necessary precedent to leadership. This guy epitomized the fact that being more educated doesn’t make you smarter. I’d rather have some military nobody who has spent his life studying strategy and past battles than 10 years in some academy. While General George S Patton was highly educated, he also spent the majority of his life reliving old battles. Not just the last few decades, but milleniums worth of battles. His education may have helped, but his knowledge of battle and battle plans gave him the edge over his competition. There is no substitute for such.
A T%R$A*N@N!Y^ replaced by a woman. This is called progress.
We’re going to lose the next war. I’d bet my house on it.
More reason/s i refuse to serve
No one is going to “win” if there is another war, any survivors will find themselves living in the Stone Age in the midst of a Nuclear Winter…
We’re currently at war with the Houthis of Yemen, and they are kicking our a$$, sending shipping to the bottom of the Red Sea with $2000 drones, versus us trying to defend with multimillion dollar missiles.
A medieval culture is outwitting our navy. Not a good luck.
Didn’t hear about that war?? Not surprised. Our so-called “free press” are lapdogs to the Uniparty, which is eagerly trying to turn Ukraine into another cash machine like Afghanistan and Iraq. I would call Iraq a draw and Afghanistan a loss. In all seriousness, it looks like Iran is next, if one listens to light-in-the-loafers Lindsey.
When China sends our navy to the bottom of the Pacific, the woke officers screaming for rescue, there might finally be a reckoning with neocon warmongers in Washington, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Cheers!
“Loss of confidence.”
That makes it sound like he wasn’t relieved because he’s an idiot but because other people thought he was an idiot.
See, it’s everybody elses fault he was relieved.
“due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer”
This is America in a nut shell today. Just like the agents guarding Trump when he was shot only had 2hrs of webinars before joint to presidential security detail. We’re experiencing a very odd combination of evil and massive gross incompetence on every level. Perhaps this is caused in part by not having an actual POTUS.
So many Gun Talkers got their panties in a wad over a staged photo op. They should have done what many Gun Talking azzhats did with alec baldwin…Blame the armorer.
great
thats just great
“allison the commodore”
this will not end well…
If that is a thermal rifle scope by ATI, It will look backwards on a rifle.. Believe it or not, they designed it that way… I’ve seen several people put an ATI thermal scope on wrong because it looked different..
It’s not, it’s a Trijicon VCOG.
https://www.trijicon.com/products/subcategory/trijicon-vcog-riflescope
The HEADLINE pic ain’t too bloody clever either. Holding a RIFLE above the shoulder like that. Sign of a RAMBO Wannabe
I appreciate the pull quote! (But not the Navy’s Temu-tier rifle training)
Wonder if there is more to this change? I have my suspicious this photo was just a tiny glimpse for us outsiders at much bigger issues going on with this commander and ship.
Might have got the same “training” the Trumps Butler PA detail had, heard they only did like a two hour video online, probably napping during “firearms” segment…
Just curious, who was dumb enough to hand a Squid a rifle, looks like a prank set up by one of his Jarhead security team…