US Navy commander pictured in viral photo of backward scope relieved of duty

The Navy has relieved Cmdr. Cameron Yaste of his duties months after a photo of him went viral for the wrong reasons. The issue in the photo was Yaste’s rifle scope, which was mounted backward.

The Navy released a statement saying Yaste, the commanding officer of the destroyer USS John McCain, was removed from his position due to a "loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer" currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman.

The Navy added that it “holds commanding officers to the highest standards and holds them accountable when those standards are not met.”

In April, the Navy’s official Instagram account posted a photo of Yaste in a firing stance, showing the backward-mounted rifle scope. The image quickly went viral, prompting the Marines to share a photo on their official Instagram page that appeared to mock the mistake. The caption read “Clear Sight Picture,” featuring a Marine firing a weapon with the scope correctly mounted.

The Navy eventually removed the photo of Yaste from its Instagram page and thanked online users for pointing out the rifle scope error.

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