Navy fires commander of destroyer now in Middle East to counter attacks from Iran- backed militants

[MULTIZ321]

Navy fires commander of destroyer now in Middle East to counter attacks from Iran- backed militants

Navy fires commander of destroyer now in Middle East to counter attacks from Iran-backed militants

Yaste assumed command of the USS John S. McCain in October 2023. His removal was attributed to a “loss of confidence.”

www.stripes.com

Richard

 

[DaveNV]

It appears the reasoning is because the CO had a photo taken of him apparently firing a weapon with the sight scope mounted backwards. There was nothing to indicate he actually pulled the trigger. He may have stopped and said, "Hey wait a second..." (To be fair, there may be other reasons for his removal from command, but that was the only thing the article mentioned.)

Sadly, this man's career is now effectively over. He may as well resign his commission and go work somewhere else. This episode will haunt him the rest of his career.

Dave

 

[pedro47]

A very sad moment caught on camera.
I wonder who forward that photo to the Pentagon Brass?

 

[Bucky]

Sadly, this man's career is now effectively over. He may as well resign his commission and go work somewhere else. This episode will haunt him the rest of his career.

His promotion opportunities are definitely gone but, at his rank he is probably retirement eligible or should sit on a desk until he is. Unfortunately the military, especially the Army, just loves to use the “loss of confidence” method of getting rid of officers lately. If one passes gas during a ceremony is seems like they have lost confidence lately.

 

[pedro47]

I feel he can and will be employed with a federal private contractor after a year, after retirement.
This person work to hard to lose everything with one bad judgement incident. IMHO
I can feel his pain.

 

[DaveNV]

His promotion opportunities are definitely gone but, at his rank he is probably retirement eligible or should sit on a desk until he is. Unfortunately the military, especially the Army, just loves to use the “loss of confidence” method of getting rid of officers lately. If one passes gas during a ceremony is seems like they have lost confidence lately.

I agree. He had to have the skills to be awarded the ship initially, so there is likely more to the story than a single image. But I still think his long term military future is over.

Dave

 

[pedro47]

My comments are based upon the large present of the Navy in the Hampton Roads area and all the federal contractors between Washington, DC and the state of Florida.

He should be able to secure employment easily in from Washington, DC to the state of Florida.

 

[DaveNV]

My comments are based upon the large present of the Navy in the Hampton Roads area and all the federal contractors between Washington, DC and the state of Florida.

He should be able to secure employment easily in from Washington, DC to the state of Florida.

As a civilian, yes. But his promotion opportunities in the Navy are probably just about zero at this point.

Dave

 

[pedro47]

As a civilian, yes. But his promotion opportunities in the Navy are probably just about zero at this point.

Dave

I agree with your reply 100%. His Navy career is over.

 

[Brett]

It appears the reasoning is because the CO had a photo taken of him apparently firing a weapon with the sight scope mounted backwards. There was nothing to indicate he actually pulled the trigger. He may have stopped and said, "Hey wait a second..." (To be fair, there may be other reasons for his removal from command, but that was the only thing the article mentioned.)

Sadly, this man's career is now effectively over. He may as well resign his commission and go work somewhere else. This episode will haunt him the rest of his career.

Dave

yes, apparently just one photo can ruin a career.
And getting internet on a Navy ship can also ruin careers
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your...ired-to-get-themselves-illegal-warship-wi-fi/

 

[pedro47]

This officer career has taken a new twist because that photo is now on the internet.

 

[RX8]

There was nothing to indicate he actually pulled the trigger.

Definitely pulled the trigger as the expended shell is visible in the photo.

Why would the scope be installed backwards? Wouldn’t it be obvious?

 

[DaveNV]

yes, apparently just one photo can ruin a career.
And getting internet on a Navy ship can also ruin careers
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your...ired-to-get-themselves-illegal-warship-wi-fi/

I had not heard about this. I read the entire article with my mouth wide open, in absolute shock. I couldn't believe what I was reading. The Command Master Chief as ringleader, lying repeatedly to the CO and XO, and willfully deceiving the crew she was supposedly leading? All the while blatantly using the Chief's Mess treasurer to collect fees? I can see exactly how they did it, and why, "in the name of morale," but to do it without authorization is incredible, and beyond outrageous. Absolutely inexcusable! She deserved to be busted down, for sure. Based on her hashmarks, she has more than 16 years honorable service. If she's lucky enough to make it to 20, it's time to retire. She needs to get out of my Navy. Just unbelievable!

I was a MARS radio operator aboard a Tender I served on in the days before the Internet. I ran ship-to-shore phone calls after working hours via our ship's Ham radio system to the MARS stations back home. All of it was completely authorized, but we were required to sit next to the crewmember as they spoke to their loved ones back home, monitoring what they said. If they gave any clue to where we were, or anything about our ship's operational schedule, I was required to cut off the microphone and advise the crewmember to stop what they were saying. It got to be tedious sometimes, because I had to listen to every word being said.

The Starlink system mentioned in this article would do so much more than that - just by being connected to the satellite, the ship's position could be tracked. If this CMC was so aware of how to use it that she conspired to keep it secret, she had to have known what a huge security breach having this unauthorized system on board would be.

I am gobsmacked. Really.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

Definitely pulled the trigger as the expended shell is visible in the photo.

Why would the scope be installed backwards? Wouldn’t it be obvious?

You're absolutely right. I didn't catch that. And I have no idea why the scope was backwards. ??

Dave

 

[easyrider]

You're absolutely right. I didn't catch that. And I have no idea why the scope was backwards. ??

Dave

Sometimes a scope gets foggy. After wiping the outside of the lense it's a good idea to check the scope by looking through the scope from both front and back. I do this unmounted to check for moisture in the scope and if I thought there was a tiny bit of moisture the scope, which I haven't ever yet, but something I would do, it would be easy enough to mount it on a riffle backwards to get a steady look. Nothing worse than foggy scope lenses when you actually need it.

Bill

 

[WaikikiFirst]

Did someone involved run over their own tow-line? Did someone involved find the strawberries? Does someone involved have little steel balls?

 

[WaikikiFirst]

Maybe he was just firing blanks. Makes as much sense as any of this nonsense. Your armed forces in ACTION. Good thing everyone has ICBMs.

 

[DaveNV]

Maybe he was just firing blanks. Makes as much sense as any of this nonsense. Your armed forces in ACTION. Good thing everyone has ICBMs.

Well, at the end of the day, military people are still only human, and sometimes they do really stupid stuff, just like everybody else. The difference is that in the civilian world, people don't generally die because of it. Some military information is classified, like the location and movement of a ship. Use of that satellite dish could easily have put the ship and crew at great peril.

Dave

 

[WaikikiFirst]

end of the day, military people are still only human

definitely agree, and I do give them an extra lg spoonful of R-E-S-P-E-C-T. My son won a spot in a summer "STEM Science Camp" at West Point yrs ago. Beofre he left, I read him the riot act on who West Pt ppl are and that he had better be Straight & Narrow and "Ship-shape" (to borrow from USN) and he had better show them a lot mroe R-E-S-P-E-C-T than he shows me or all the other ppl he meets.

 

[Brett]

I had not heard about this. I read the entire article with my mouth wide open, in absolute shock. I couldn't believe what I was reading. The Command Master Chief as ringleader, lying repeatedly to the CO and XO, and willfully deceiving the crew she was supposedly leading? All the while blatantly using the Chief's Mess treasurer to collect fees? I can see exactly how they did it, and why, "in the name of morale," but to do it without authorization is incredible, and beyond outrageous. Absolutely inexcusable! She deserved to be busted down, for sure. Based on her hashmarks, she has more than 16 years honorable service. If she's lucky enough to make it to 20, it's time to retire. She needs to get out of my Navy. Just unbelievable!

I was a MARS radio operator aboard a Tender I served on in the days before the Internet. I ran ship-to-shore phone calls after working hours via our ship's Ham radio system to the MARS stations back home. All of it was completely authorized, but we were required to sit next to the crewmember as they spoke to their loved ones back home, monitoring what they said. If they gave any clue to where we were, or anything about our ship's operational schedule, I was required to cut off the microphone and advise the crewmember to stop what they were saying. It got to be tedious sometimes, because I had to listen to every word being said.

The Starlink system mentioned in this article would do so much more than that - just by being connected to the satellite, the ship's position could be tracked. If this CMC was so aware of how to use it that she conspired to keep it secret, she had to have known what a huge security breach having this unauthorized system on board would be.

I am gobsmacked. Really.

Dave

I feel their pain, many Navy cruises can last more than six months.
Years ago we took a one (1) week Royal Caribbean cruise without internet access and I initially felt anxious and disconnected - but I quickly got over it with the shows, shore excursions, and entertainment

 

[DaveNV]

I feel their pain, many Navy cruises can last more than six months.
Years ago we took a one (1) week Royal Caribbean cruise without internet access and I initially felt anxious and disconnected - but I quickly got over it with the shows, shore excursions, and entertainment

The hardest part for me about returning from a six or eight month deployment on a ship in the Navy was getting behind the wheel of my car. I felt like I was learning to drive all over again.

Dave