Navy Commander’s Scope Slip-Up Goes Viral

in Military, This Week
Cmdr. Cameron Yaste “observes the live-fire exercise event."
Cmdr. Cameron Yaste “observes the live-fire exercise event,” says the US Navy.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

A commanding officer on the USS John S. McCain, Cmdr. Cameron Yaste, became a subject of online ridicule after a photograph showed him holding a rifle with its scope mounted backward.

The image was taken during a live-fire exercise and posted by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.

In the photo, Yaste was aiming at a “killer tomato,” a large target balloon, with a scope installed incorrectly.

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Despite the 7th Fleet’s significant role in the Indo-Pacific Region, this oversight caught the attention of viewers, leading the Navy to remove the image.

“Thank you for pointing out our rifle scope error in the previous post. Picture has been removed until EMI is completed!” the Navy said after removing the photo, as reported by The New York Post.

Yaste, who has been in the Navy since 2006 and holds a master’s degree in astronautics from the Naval Post Graduate School. He previously served on the USS Hopper as the ship’s combat systems and weapons officer.

What are your thoughts on the pic?

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  • DC Christian April 16, 2024, 7:45 am

    It’s even worse: notice the 2 spent cartidges above the rifle. He’s firing. Blind. All the PR and reaction statements I’ve read just say he’s aiming. In all fairness to the sailor and the PR team, though, I think the cartridges may have been “shopped” into the picture after it was taken; they just don’t look quite right. A close look, down to the pixel resolution, might verify that. One more thing: while I like a forward vertical brace more rearward than do most shooters, his appears so close to the mag that he can’t get a good grip on it.

  • Bret April 16, 2024, 6:22 am

    A “weapons expert” should have known. Wonder if the guy in the dress appointed him?

  • Mike. S April 16, 2024, 1:42 am

    Wow ! and I mean WOW ! We better hope we never go to war, even with a place as small as Easter Island, Or we will lose. With expert military leaders like this guy, the U.S.A is Doomed. I hope he’s not the one in charge of taking family photos on holidays or special events either, or his family will never have any memories on film.

  • Gary Cain April 13, 2024, 2:20 am

    Doesn’t have scope rings. Looks like scope is built for a certain mount.
    Guy chews on his fingernails.

  • Frank April 13, 2024, 12:24 am

    Perhaps he was trying to self administer LASIK. Imagine his disappointment to find that “laser” is just a battery compartment.

  • Laddyboy April 12, 2024, 6:30 pm

    When I saw that picture, I LOST MY SEAT!

  • Kane April 12, 2024, 5:54 pm

    guerilla glue?

  • jeff ebert April 12, 2024, 5:35 pm

    This is obviously a doctored photo. There are no rings on the mount to the optic. One of the mount stanchions dead ends under the optic turrets. the other goes to the optic tube and there is no ring mount there either. There is no physical way to mount the optic to the gun. There are also odd shadow shapes under the optic that serve no known function.

    • SD April 12, 2024, 10:04 pm

      Scope is Trijicon VCOG. The mount is part of the scope. The VCOG is the go to optic for the USMC on their M4 rifles.

      • jeff ebert April 13, 2024, 7:04 am

        You are totally right brother.
        My bad.
        I could never afford such a thing and wasn’t familiar with it.

        • SD April 13, 2024, 10:23 am

          I still think it was photo shopped. Wouldn’t want to be that person once the Old man finds out who did it. I my navy days that person would be scrubbing bilges with a toothbrush.

          • jeff ebert April 13, 2024, 11:06 am

            I agree. You would not be able to see anything and it looks like he is firing the rifle. I avoided the navy. Dad was LtCm. Brother just made Commander. All my uncle were Navy or Coast guard. Both Grandads were Navy. I had to be the one to break the tradition
            Dad always said. If you’re bad at something, they screw ya. If you’re too good, they screw ya. Didn’t sound like my bag. Mediocrity pisses me off and I had my share of that dealing with a union. Not that the Navy is full of mediocre people, it’s just that it can breed that in order to ride the fence and stay out of the shit.

  • Allen April 12, 2024, 2:58 pm

    That’s a great way to practice long range shootin. I turn my scopes around to do the exact same thing. Then put the lens caps on to practice an eye injury like they do in these fancy school. And he’s been to some fancy schools.. You never know when you may have both eyes injured while fighting a giant tomato.

    • Kane April 12, 2024, 5:57 pm

      This has gatta be a Marine Corps “field day.”

  • LTC JR April 12, 2024, 2:32 pm

    My thoughts, exactly!

  • Jim April 12, 2024, 12:21 pm

    Paper warrior. Holds a Master’s in ASTRONAUTICS? Maybe he was high at the time….

    • Jim April 12, 2024, 12:25 pm

      I failed to add…someone intentionally mounted the scope that way. Did that person know the Cmdr. was going to be posing with the gun? If so, his/her butt is in a huge pile of crap right now.

      • Shark April 12, 2024, 4:10 pm

        You are so right- the backwards commander is investigating who the culprit is as we speak lol

  • scope bite April 12, 2024, 11:30 am

    Just doing it to make it more challenging.

  • Koldman April 12, 2024, 11:26 am

    His eye was probably sore from viewing the eclipse with a magnifying glass. Cut some slack.

  • D.J. April 12, 2024, 9:54 am

    Hey , guys . Give the Commander a break .
    He was concerned about eye relief , and the intense recoil of the weapon he was
    using . We all know how bad it is from the M-4 platform.

    ( Sarcasm added ) .

  • Walleye April 12, 2024, 9:30 am

    It’s very fitting that the commander of a ship named after a nincompoop who crashed 3 Navy jets and got 124 sailors killed on the USS Forrestal by “hot-starting” his jet, would not know how to operate a rifle

    • LTC JR April 12, 2024, 2:29 pm

      my thoughts, exactly!

    • Brian April 19, 2024, 11:26 am

      McCain’s plane (or White’s, record is mixed) was struck by the Zuni; it is franklly malicious and stupid to say he started, caused, or otherwise creaded the Forrest Fire. Additionally, yes he did break multiple planes from reckless flying early in his career, but that has nothing to do with the Forrestal (and his flying improved; what, do you want combat pilots to not be willing to push the envelope at times?). Disagreeing with the guy’s politics is fine, I did too on multiple occasions, but do so in an educated manner and don’t make shit up.

  • Robert Russell April 12, 2024, 9:25 am

    He’s a Navy guy. Give him credit for having the barrel pointing the right direction.

    • Kane April 12, 2024, 9:35 am

      No topping that comment.

  • paul I'll call you what I want/1st Amendment April 10, 2024, 4:36 pm

    gotta wonder if he knows the pointy end is the front of the boat????

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