Cameron Astor, the commanding officer of the USS John S. McCain, a missile destroyer tasked with defending the USS Theodore Roosevelt in San Diego, has been relieved of obligation.
Astor was relieved of his duties on Friday and now faces the potential of being demoted to the rank of naval officer.
He has been briefly changed by Capt. Alison Christie, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, which is at the moment a part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Service Strike Group within the Gulf of Oman.
Commander Cameron Simply’s profession took a nosedive after a photograph emerged of him firing a rifle with a rear-mounted scope.
In keeping with an official assertion from the Navy, Astor was relieved of his duties as commander of the USS John S. McCain, at the moment deployed within the unstable Gulf of Oman, as a result of he “misplaced confidence in his skill to command.” Associated Press.
Nonetheless, the assertion notably omitted any particular particulars concerning the reasoning behind the choice, main some to invest it may need one thing to do along with his embarrassing rifle mishap.
The controversy started in April, when the Navy’s social media crew posted a photograph of Lt. Col. Astor in a taking pictures place, holding a rifle with the scope inexplicably mounted backwards.
The Navy ultimately deleted the publish, however not earlier than it was extensively shared and ridiculed.
The Navy responded to the incident by deleting Astor’s unique publish, saying: “Thanks for mentioning an error in our rifle scope in your final publish. The picture has been eliminated till the EMI (Further Navy Instruction) is accomplished. . newsweek.
The Marine Corps instantly corrected the Navy’s mistake in sharing the photograph on its social media channels. The picture, displaying a Marine correctly firing a weapon aboard the USS Boxer plane provider, was accompanied by the scathing “Clear Picture” caption, apparently meant to spotlight the Navy’s gaffe.
