Cmdr. Cameron Yaste, commander of the Arleigh Burke-class, guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain, receives the colors during a ceremony in March 2024. The Navy announced Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, that Yaste was fired as the ship’s commander. (Kevin Tang/U.S. Navy)
The Navy on Friday fired the commander of a guided-missile destroyer that is part of an aircraft carrier strike group deployed in the Middle East to counter attacks on shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Cmdr. Cameron Yaste was relieved of his duties as commanding officer of the USS John S. McCain, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer now operating in the Gulf of Oman.
Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander, commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, took the action citing a “loss of confidence to command the guided-missile destroyer.”
“Loss of confidence” is a vague phrase often used throughout the U.S. military to describe the removal of a commanding officer from his or her post without providing a clear explanation. The causes for past removals of Navy commanders for “lack of confidence” have ranged from ineffective leadership, mistreatment of crew members, and poor behavior off duty, such as drinking with subordinates or a “driving under the influence” arrest.
Alexander announced Capt. Allison Christy, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, has temporarily assumed command of the destroyer.
“There is no impact on the ship’s mission or schedule due to the relief,” the Navy said in a statement.
Yaste assumed command of the John S. McCain in October 2023. The Navy said he will return to Naval Station Everett, Wash., to take up temporary administrative duties.
The Navy removed a post on its official Instagram account in April 2024 that showed Cmdr. Cameron Yaste firing a rifle and looking through a scope that was mounted backward. (U.S. Navy)
Yaste was photographed earlier this year firing an M-4 rifle, which some service members pointed out had the optical site mounted backward.
The USS John S. McCain is unique in that it is named after three naval officers from the same family. John S. McCain Sr. was an admiral and a Navy aircraft carrier commander in World War II. John S. McCain Jr. was an influential Navy admiral during the Vietnam War era. John S. McCain III was a naval aviator who was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and went on to become a U.S. senator from Arizona and a Republican presidential candidate.
