Navy Cmdr. Cayanne McFarlane was fired due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command the Naval Information Warfare Training Group in San Diego. (U.S. Navy)
The Navy ousted the commanding officer of the Naval Information Warfare Training Group in San Diego, the service announced Thursday.
Cmdr. Cayanne McFarlane was fired due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command the training group. The U.S. military routinely cites only a vague “loss of confidence” when removing commanders and other leaders from authority positions.
“The Navy maintains the highest standards for commanding officers and holds them accountable when those standards are not met,” the Navy said in a statement.
Cmdr. Dominic DiMaggio, executive officer of Fleet Weather Center in San Diego, has been temporarily assigned as the commanding officer until a permanent replacement is assigned.
The firing was the second in as many days. The service announced Wednesday that the commanding officer of the San Diego Navy Leadership and Ethics Center was relieved from his position due to a loss of confidence.
The Naval Information Warfare Training Group is headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va., and works to advance cyber and intelligence warfare into the Navy. The subordinate command in San Diego deploys information warfare units with training groups to the Indo-Pacific region, according to its website.
McFarlane assumed command of the information training group in April 2023.
McFarlane has been in the Navy for 18 years, commissioning as an officer in 2006 upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. She has served aboard the destroyer USS Farragut as the ship’s information warfare officer and electronic warfare officer. She also served at the Navy Information Operations commands in Texas and Colorado, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Joint Information Operations Center and Headquarters, and the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station in Italy.
She has accumulated numerous awards in her 18-year career, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.
