What a wildly stupid reason to remove someone from a command post. This is something that should have been met by a jokey meme, not relieving him from duty.
this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
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The Navy said Yaste was relieved of duty “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer” that's currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman. The statement didn't elaborate about why Yaste was replaced.
I expect it was something other than the picture due to the four month gap, but the pic could be part of an overall pattern of incompetence.
See, that's an interesting take. This guy might have been a fuck up in some other way and this gave the Navy an easy exit for him.
Just being sidelined for a gun scope being incorrectly configured in a picture? That would be a wild over reaction.
It was also a relief of command, not a court martial, not non-judicial punishment, not a demotion or and not a punitive action. It happened because it affected the image of the force, but not necessarily anything that is terribly bad. Relieving someone of command can be a precaution or a temporary measure, not always leading up to anything drastic. He will probably get additional training and a small mark on his record that will go away in a short time as long as the trend doesn't continue. He may even still get to keep his command or just move somewhere else to command.
No, it is not as severe as NJP or court martial, but being relieved of your command during a deployment overseas is a very serious reprimand for someone at an O-5/O-6 level. Its a statement that the wider command does not trust in your ability to lead during combat maneuvers, which is your entire role at that level in your career.
It is likely that this ends his career, not that he's just allowed back. I would expect "voluntary" retirement at a minimum.
We've had similar incidents with weapon safety (and other things) in the past that were more serious than what was going on in that picture. It all depends on the circumstances, and I've seen it go both ways. The point I was making is if there was anything more substantial, it would not just be 'relieved of command'. No mention of an actual reprimand, which is more serious. I'm not saying it couldn't ultimately lead up to that, but we don't know that yet.
Meanwhile sexual abusers practically get a free pass in the military. Still an ol' boys club.
Well, at least they didn't put their scope on backwards. Can you imagine?
you command one of the most destructive forces ever devised by man, if you're dumb enough to make the mistake of accepting a lethal weapon without inspecting it, it can be assumed you do that with all things. this is just not embarrassing, it goes to show what this man is able to miss, and naval command doesn't want someone like that at the helm of one of their destroyers. it's an easy call.
You think they shoot rifles off that thing? Not even a little bit.
He's not in a role that would ever wield a rifle in a realistic scenario. It's not part of the Navys standard training for sailors or officers either. If you ever have to fire a gun in the Navy, you're already deeply fucked. You tend to shoot things with lot more range off a ship, and most aren't something you can sling over your shoulder.
It's no different than a marine commander standing at the helm backwards or a high ranking army officer having a life jacket on backwards. Its a simple error borne from inexperience, not incompetence.
Firearms are a responsibility not a joke.
He didn't point it at anyone, or act irresponsibly. He had the scope on backwards and didn't realize it. He wasn't joking around or mocking weapon safety.
If anyone is, it's the Marines and other detractors making fun at his expense that are treating firearm safety as a joke. Should they be relieved of duty?
His finger is in the trigger guard and there are casings from the gun.
One of the four rules of gun safety is be sure of your target and what’s beyond it. Having a backwards scope neglects that rule.
Sure, he is probably shooting into the ocean. But he doesn’t have a clear picture of an unlikely whale or human who might end up in his “crosshairs” (IIRC target would be smaller and he might not see) Because that violates one of the four pillars, it is acting irresponsibly.
Also, this was posted on the internet. So other people may try to do duplicate this
He picked up a rifle and fired it with a scope that would show everything very tiny. If he didn’t notice then he shouldn’t be in command of a naval vessel since he doesn't notice small details. If he did notice and didn't say anything that shows that he isn't confident in his own knowledge. That is the reason the navy lost confidence in him.
Is anyone replying in this thread a US military armorer? I'd love to know who gave him the weapon with the sight installed backwards. I was never allowed to touch an installed optic other than to sight it in. I was never in the US Navy, but in all my training I never got a class on anything but an iron sight for the M16, M4, and M9. How would someone who isn't a master at arms and probably qualifies on a weapon once, maybe twice a year going to know that someone else installed the sight on his weapon backwards? You don't even know that it was his issued weapon and not someone else's who also shot with it backwards.
All valid concerns, but the fact is if you accept the weapon and anything happens, you are at fault.
We've had people get issued, and immediately, check and clear their weapon in the presence of an armorer in the bucket, and get in trouble for it misfiring, despite the fact that it should have been checked and cleared prior to change of hands and in addition to the fact that you hadn't been issued ammo yet. It's dumb, but people die over this, so they are very strict, even when it sometimes seems unnecessary.
Nothing happened, and nothing could have happened other than him missing a practice target by a mile. It doesn't even show him aiming at something in particular, just looking down the barrel. Ammo can kill you, not having a working optic is not a safety issue no matter what direction it's installed. Did he check the chamber to see if there was a round? Did he flag any other sailors? Did he keep his weapon pointed down range? Every single person around him let him shoot the weapon like that, they obviously didn't feel too unsafe to be around him. None of them even seemed to noticed it was on backwards either. How can you tell it's backwards from this picture of him?
He wasn't dishonorably discharged or court Marshalled (idk how to spell that). He was just replaced. I want to think the reasons you listed played into that decision and why he didn't recieve further disciplinary consequences.
They as good as ended his career with that. You don't think every sailor hasn't already heard or will hear at his next command that he is so ignorant he can't even fire a rifle right? If he's that incompetent they shouldn't have let it get so far that he got a command in the first place. He's either so incompetent that he can't do basic sailors tasks OR they made up a reason to fire a sailor who made a non critical mistake. Do we publicize IN PRINT when an army infantry NCO has a negligent discharge at clearing barrel? Maybe locally, but it doesn't mean he is completely unfit to lead men to war.
Yep, but everyone is an expert right.
How would someone who isn't a master at arms and probably qualifies on a weapon once, maybe twice a year going to know that someone else installed the sight on his weapon backwards?
Well, in the photo he's looking through it. You ever look through a telescope or some binoculars backwards? Scope supposed to make things bigger, not smaller, good clue. And tbf he should know that.
This is a staged photo and that mag looks full so he probably just pulled it up quickly on command and started firing. Which would also explain his bad stock placement. He rushed for this photo op because everyone likes to look like a bad ass especially when there are cameras around.
I think the bad stock placement was more due to the terrible eye relief on a backwards LPVO lol.
Haha I think that could also be it.
You never touched your optics? What service were you in? I constantly adjusted my ACOG and red dot while i was in the army in iraq.
He would know the instant he looked in the scope and everything was tiny.
US Army Aviation and two deployments with the AF. I was never even issued an optic as we only had a handful per company. Can't touch what Uncle Sugar doesn't allocate. The only time I touched a weapon that wasn't a helicopter was during annual qualifications.
Ah, that makes sense then. Combat arms you pretty much have to know as much about your optics as you do your rifle. Can't wait for an armorer when you're out in the willywacks and your shit is broken.
Yep, and I agree an 11b or equivalent who doesn't know his ass from the front of the sight isn't fit for duty, but this guy is a naval officer and was probably just stoked to look cooler than normal, and someone could have just as easily been playing a joke on him to see if he would notice. We play pranks on people all the time asking for PRC-E7, or grid squares, or blinker fluid.
I doubt it's true it's the reason he was relieved of command, but to even think it was a last straw is crazy because if he was really that bad of a leader they wouldn't need to use something as trivial like just a funny picture to some among the gun owner's who know what they are even looking at.
I mean, at the very least, trying to use the scope would have immediately made it extremely obvious that it was backward. And he was looking straight down the scope.
He was either a moron who'd never shot ever in his life, or knew it was wrong and didn't care because he was just posing for a photo (but should have known people would know it was backwards and comment on it en masse, hurting the image of the Navy if only by "this looks stupid" by a chorus of a million armchair sharpshooters).
Consider that this man lost his job for a seemingly senile action and then remember that the gerontocracy in our government is almost certainly older and more senile.
This was not in any sense an act of senility. You can be 100 years old and legally blind but still know you're looking in the wrong side of binoculars. Scopes no different. I have no idea the backstory but I would guess he was ridiculing someone for mounting it backwards or something like that. There is no way this was done by mistake like he had no idea he was shooting through the wrong side.
Is he? You can see spent casings flying in the photo, he seems to be actively shooting the rifle. He can't see shit but he's shooting.
Right. I'm saying it isn't a mistake, accident, result of ignorance. I'm saying he knew what he was doing.
I'm not a marksman by any means, but shouldn't the buttstock be in the pocket of his shoulder? It looks like the recoil from the next shot will send that thing flying backwards
If he were shooting something bigger than 5.56, then you'd want to try to seat it more firmly in your shoulder. An AR-15/M16 generates pretty negligible recoil, so it's fine. I used to compete in across-the-course service rifle when I was much younger (before I grew up enough to realize I hated the culture in that community), and I'd have the butt even higher up in my shooting coat's shoulder if I needed to do so in order to get a good cheek weld. At a glance, his technique looks okay. I've no experience with the front grips like that (my AR-15 had no rails for mounting shit), but the rest of his stance seeeeems okay.
I'm guessing that he was a dipshit in other ways and this bad publicity brought the other badness to light.
You can shoot an AR-15 pattern rifle, including the military versions, with the stock up against your nuts and it won't hurt. The recoil is very low because the power is very low and the system of operation absorbs a lot of the energy, combined with the weight of the rifle means it is soft shooting. The stock doesn't need to touch your shoulder for you to be accurate with effect out to 50 yards or more so long as you do your part.
Honestly, just having it pulled against any part of your body with a decent view of the sight is enough to ring steel or put holes in paper.