Commander of Navy warship relieved of duty months after backward rifle scope photo flap

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The commander of a destroyer that’s helping protect the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Middle East has been relieved of duty about four months after he was seen in a photo firing a rifle with a scope mounted backward. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Cameron Yaste, commanding officer of the destroyer USS John McCain, was removed Friday. The Navy says Yaste was relieved of duty “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.” In April, a photo posted on social media showed Yaste in a firing stance gripping the rifle with a backward scope. The image brought the Navy a lot of ridicule, the Union-Tribune says.