Commander of USS Harry Truman relieved from duty following crash involving merchant ship

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is one of President Donald Trump's best Cabinet picks, by far, as the Department of Defense -- and by extension the U.S. military -- is no longer putting up with anything less than perfection.

According to the New York Post, that was evidenced this week after a commanding officer in the U.S. Navy was relieved of duty following a controversial crash into another ship that happened near Egypt earlier this month.

Capt. Dave Snowden was relieved of his duties "due to a loss of confidence in his ability," according to the Navy.

The commanding officer held one of the most prestigious positions in the Navy, being the captain of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

What happened?

The ship's commander was removed from his duties from leading the USS Harry S. Truman, one of the largest and most well-known ships in the Navy's arsenal of aircraft carriers.

The incident off the coast of Egypt was bad for the skipper's career, to say the least.

The Post reported:

The nuclear-powered USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Egypt, Navy officials said Thursday.

The US Navy said the carrier collided with the Besiktas-M ship at 11:46 p.m. Wednesday while operating near Port Said in the Mediterranean Sea.

The U.S. Navy released a statement following Snowden's reassignment.

"The U.S. Navy holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met," the Navy said.

The NY Post added:

Snowden had been the skipper of the Truman since December 2023. He has a background in aerospace engineering and “flying combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan,” according to his military biography.

Social media reacts

Users across social media related to the news of Snowden's reassignment.

The U.S. Navy has fired Captain Dave Snowden, the Commanding Officer of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), for “Loss of Confidence” following the February 12th Collision of the Aircraft Carrier with the Panamanian-Flagged Cargo Ship, Besiktas-M, near the Egyptian Port of Said in… pic.twitter.com/lmKBCpvQxa

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 20, 2025

"He needs to be demoted, not just fired," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "I cant even begin to imagine how ANY ship got inside the perimeter vessels of the group to get near a carrier, let alone actually make contact. I wouldn't have guessed that was remotely possible."