U.S. Navy Fires Ship Captain But Not for Shooting Rifle with Scope Installed Backwards
JAMES NAULT
SEP 9, 2024 2:00 PM
Well, the hits for the U.S. Navy just keep coming.We recently posted about the Navy’s apparent plan to remove 17 supply ships, critical assets that supply everything to deployed ships, from active service: Navy Likely to Remove 17 Support Ships, Called the “Logistics Backbone” of the Fleet, from Active Service. And in that post we cited a small sample of recent posts concerning other issues with the U.S. Navy ranging from recruiting challenges to shipbuilding delays.
Navy Captain Caught Firing Rifle Improperly
You may also recall that in April we posted a “humorous if it wasn’t so sad” blog post about an active Navy warship Captain who was caught in an official Navy X post firing a rifle with the optics installed backwards: Navy Deletes Photo of Ship Captain Shooting Rifle with Scope on Backwards:
Cmdr. Cameron Yaste, the Commanding Officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), was recently photographed shooting a 5.56×45mm M4 carbine with the optics installed backward.The now-deleted image and press release on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website featured Yaste shooting the M4 with the Trijicon VCOG scope installed backward while pointed at a giant target balloon.Here’s what the press release said before it was deleted:Cmdr. Cameron Yaste, the Commanding Officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), fires at the “killer tomato” [i.e. a sea-deployed practice target] during a gun shoot. The ship is in US 7th Fleet conducting routine operations. 7th Fleet is the US Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific Region.Here’s how to properly use the scope…The website Internet Archive saved a snapshot of the press release:Netizens mocked the Navy commander, and that’s probably why the service deleted the image and text.
We then went on to document some of the fairly hilarious X posts about the incident, including one in which, of all things, the Space Force mocked the U.S. Navy (talk about embarrassing).
Navy Captain Fired, but Not Because of the Rifle Firing
Anyway, now we find out that the Navy has fired that Captain.
The U.S. Navy has relieved the commander of the destroyer USS John S. McCain of duty after an image showing him firing a rifle with a scope mounted backward was widely shared on social media.Users quickly noticed Commander Cameron Yaste’s error in a picture posted to the Navy’s Instagram four months ago.The photo led to widespread ridicule and criticism, prompting the Navy to remove the image.The Navy confirmed Tennesse-native Yaste was relieved of duty “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer” that’s currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman.He was in charge of the destroyer providing protection for the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Middle East….The photo, taken in April, showed Yaste in a firing stance, holding a rifle with a backward scope—meaning the magnification of the weapon would be inverted, rather than enhanced, and making it impossible to aim.”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,” read the original post’s caption.Social media users pointed out the mistake, leading to a wave of negative comments.After deleting the post, the Navy acknowledged Yaste’s error in a follow-up statement that read: “Thank you for pointing out our rifle scope error in the previous post. Picture has been removed until EMI (extra military instruction) is completed.”Yaste’s faux pas also drew attention from other branches of the military.The Marine Corps took the opportunity to poke fun at the Navy by posting a photo on its Instagram account of a Marine correctly firing a weapon aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer.Its caption read: “Clear Sight Picture” in an apparent jab at the Navy’s mistake.Yaste’s temporary replacement, Captain Allison Christy, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, has taken over the command of the USS John S. McCain.This squadron is part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, also operating in the Gulf of Oman.
In my first draft post on Commander Yaste’s firing, I wrote (or rather, drafted) the following three short paragraphs:
In fairness to Commander Yaste, being fired “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer” is a BS reason that the Navy always gives when it fires a Naval Officer in command, and reveals nothing about why Yaste was fired.My educated guess, based on 31 years in the Navy including submarine command, is that there were other things going on besides Yaste merely being caught without a clue about how to fire a rifle. Frequent real reasons for command firings include such things as gross misconduct or gross warfighting incompetence, but we have no idea what the real reason was.On the other hand, things in the Navy tend to come in bunches, so the rifle debacle may have been only a symptom of something worse, which would be my informed speculation.
Well, it turns out my speculation was right on the money:
The US Navy sacked the captain of a deployed warship after an unresolved steering problem resulted in a near-miss incident in the Middle East, according to a command investigation reviewed by Business Insider.The commander of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group relieved Cmdr. Cameron Yaste, the commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John S. McCain, last week over what the Navy called “a loss of confidence” in his ability to lead.Earlier reports of Yaste’s removal referenced a viral photo showing the captain holding a rifle with the scope mounted backward. But the command investigation said Yaste was relieved after the McCain lost steering during a July fuel replenishment that damaged a Navy oiler.The August investigation into the steering loss said Yaste and his crew made mistakes that may have contributed to the incident, such as poor maintenance and failure to follow established procedures….This steering issue glitched at a dangerous moment — while the McCain was hooked up to a replenishment ship to refuel.[emphasis added here, and later in this post]
Navy Shares a Big Part of the Blame for What Happened
So Yaste is a dirtbag, right? Well, not so fast – turns out that BIG NAVY had a hand in the disaster as well:
The investigation also showed, however, that the Navy failed to fix an ongoing steering problem that had stymied its own technical experts a month before the incident. The steering problems happened so regularly that the ship’s crew seemed to eventually overlook the potential severity, the investigation indicated.A Navy spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation, saying that it’s still ongoing….According to the investigation BI obtained, the McCain experienced steering loss multiple times. These losses were caused by the uncontrolled shifting of the hydraulic power units that direct one of its two rudders.
After the destroyer lost steering in April, the McCain sent out a casualty report, or CASREP, requesting technical experts to visit the ship.
By the way, sending a CASEREP for a system unfixable by the ship’s crew is EXACTLY the right move, and can be embarrassing for the ship’s captain. So good for Yaste for doing the right thing. Big Navy? Not so much:
[Navy] experts tried to troubleshoot the warship while it was pier-side in Bahrain in June.The McCain’s leadership requested to go to sea to address these issues properly, but the technical personnel were not funded or authorized to set sail with the destroyer. The warship left Bahrain in early July and immediately experienced the same problems.The McCain released another CASREP over the recurring problems. Steering problems can become particularly serious if they involve the stuck or unresponsive rudder near another ship or in shallow water. The ship received remote support over the following days, but the results of those efforts were ultimately inconclusive, the investigation said….The investigation said the McCain experienced a total of 18 problematic incidents with the steering system between May 17 and July 20, when the destroyer refueled at sea.
So the Navy failed to give Yaste the support he needed to fix his own ship, and then ordered him to sea with a dangerously broken critical ship system. And then when Yaste followed orders and went to sea and suffered a completely predictable steering problem, the Navy FIRED HIM.
The crew brought attention to the steering issue through the multiple CASREPs it released, indicating that the matter was beyond the capabilities of the crew.It’s not clear whether the crew ever received a response from the Navy that would effectively fix the ship’s problems.
I think it’s clear – the answer is NO. And, I wonder if anyone in the Navy section of the Pentagon got fired. My guess is the answer is NO.
Miraculously, No Personnel were Injured during the Terrifying Incident that Led to Yaste’s Firing
I wasn’t a surface ship sailor, but wow are the details of the actual incident scary:
On July 20, the McCain pulled up alongside the replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn in the northern Arabian Sea and connected for a replenishment-at-sea, where the ship received fuel over a tensioned wire between two ships that are typically less than 200 feet apart.During the refueling, the destroyer suffered a severe problem. One of the two hydraulic power units that controlled the starboard rudder began spewingoil, and engineers raced to fix it.Minutes passed. The watch team decided to switch over to the alternate HPUs, but then the system glitched. Control was stuck with the unit “gushing” hydraulic oil, as a crewmember reported. Engineers tried refilling the HPU, but it ran out of oil and shut down. Still, the alternate HPU failed to take over.
By the way, a ship’s hydraulic power unit “gushing” or “spewing” hydraulic oil typically creates a fine oil mist in the affected space (been there, done that), which is an EXTREME fire hazard (one spark – see you later).
On the bridge, where watchstanders were steering to stay alongside the oiler, a crewmember noticed an alarming sign: the starboard rudder was stuck.In response, the commanding officer ordered an emergency breakaway, which damaged some of the equipment on the Big Horn and temporarily rendered one of its refueling rigs inoperable. No personnel were injured [miraculously] on either vessel.
My Final Take on Yaste’s Firing
I’m not saying Yaste was perfect, far from it. When he was ordered to sea with the broken critical ship steering system, he should have put his foot down and demanded that the Navy fix his ship before he knowingly placed the ship and its people in harm’s way. He probably would have been fired on the spot, but such are the burdens of at-sea command.
Bu the real blame here is with the senior leadership of the U.S. Navy. There is no question, especially since Yaste’s ship was deployed to the Middle East, that senior Navy leaders in the Pentagon knew about the situation and ordered Yaste to sea anyway.
To me the real culprit here is the Navy and it’s grossly substandard current leadership.
Yaste’s Replacement
And, it appears that Yaste’s replacement, hand-picked by the Navy, might be just as bad, if not worse, than Yaste.
[Yaste] has been temporarily replaced by Capt. Allison Christy, the deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, which is currently operating as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Gulf of Oman.
Christy was one of the speakers on the panel “LGBT Experiences in the Forward Deployed Navy: 10 Years After Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” back in 2021.The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, repealed under the Obama administration in 2011, allowed LGBTQ+ service members to serve openly in the military without fear of losing their jobs.
It’s a sad state of affairs out there. I have no issues with female Navy commanders by the way, seeing as how my wife spent 29 years in the U.S. Navy, active and reserve, and has now retired as a Navy Captain as well. But I doubt you’d see her on panel discussing the Navy’s “LGBT Experiences,” except to excoriate the current administration’s policies regarding same.