The U.S. Navy has relieved Captain Dave Snowden of his command of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) following a loss of confidence in his ability to lead.

The decision, made by Rear Admiral Sean Bailey, commander of Carrier Strike Group 8, was announced on 20 February.

Captain Snowden had been in command of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier since December 2023. His relief follows an incident on 12 February, when the Harry S. Truman was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M while operating in the Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, Egypt.

In a statement, the U.S. Navy reiterated that it holds commanding officers to the highest standards and takes swift action when those standards are not met. “Naval leaders are entrusted with significant responsibilities to their sailors and their ships,” the statement read.

Captain Christopher Hill, currently commanding officer of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), has been appointed as interim commanding officer of Harry S. Truman until a permanent replacement is designated.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower is presently undergoing scheduled maintenance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, following a nine-month deployment to U.S. Central Command and U.S. European Command, which concluded in July 2024.

Despite the change in leadership, the U.S. Navy has confirmed that the incident will not impact the operational schedule or mission of the Harry S. Truman, which remains deployed in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.


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George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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JeffNB32
JeffNB32
7 days ago

Too bad all government employees aren’t held to this high standard.

Rupert
Rupert
6 days ago
Reply to  JeffNB32

They are in the US…now.

Ex_Service
Ex_Service
6 days ago
Reply to  Rupert

Must have been a typo for aren’t 🙃
.
.
(Referring to the 🤥 oompa loompa).

wallanek
wallanek
6 days ago
Reply to  Rupert

If you are thinking Trump and Musk are doing a great job you are sadly deluded.

Frank
Frank
5 days ago
Reply to  wallanek

Agree

Jon
Jon
7 days ago

When I read the other headline, i think there goes the Captain of Truman, but no, it was a different Commander biting the dust. It seems I didn’t have to wait long.

FormerUSAF
FormerUSAF
7 days ago
Reply to  Jon

Jon,
Exact same thought probably occurred a significant proportion of readers. USN invariably holds CO accountable for any damage to a vessel, regardless of apparent culpability. USAF accident investigation boards generally hang the responsible party and do not lynch the first poor SOB found in the vicinity of an accident. 😉

Jon
Jon
6 days ago
Reply to  FormerUSAF

“…pour encourager les autres.” A long tradition.

NomDeGuerre
NomDeGuerre
6 days ago
Reply to  Jon

very well said! Sounds like you are also living in the best of all possible worlds.

Matt
Matt
6 days ago
Reply to  NomDeGuerre

I come here for the military stuff, but stay for the culture 😉

Mike Philips
Mike Philips
5 days ago
Reply to  Jon

Mais quel beau spécimen de président que vous vous êtes donné; brave et fier peuple! Prospérité aux Chinois…

Levi Goldsteinberg
Levi Goldsteinberg
7 days ago

This seems to happen reasonably often, seems there is a plague of poor seamanship in the US Navy

brianna
brianna
7 days ago

Everybody loves a bit of seamen

Supportive Bloke
Supportive Bloke
7 days ago

No it is just a very large navy which does this publicly.

We did have a spate of inappropriate behaviour a while back that lead to some senior staffing errrrumh moves…

Don
Don
7 days ago

When DEI, LGBTQ+ emphasized in selection process then overall system is degraded. Who was deck officer, navigator?

Matt
Matt
7 days ago
Reply to  Don

Yawn.

Ian Mc.
Ian Mc.
7 days ago
Reply to  Don

Everyone is held to the same performance and conduct standards once they’re in. Trump and co. are headbangers, stop paying attention to their drivel.
If you want to stop free rides in US society, look at legacy admissions to their top Universities, where people with dodgy academic credits get in because their daddy was there previously. Some of those useless individuals go on to positions of power.
Funny how you don’t see the Orange “genius” whinging about it, because it’s been going on for generations.

Andy G
Andy G
6 days ago
Reply to  Ian Mc.

Totally agree

John Bell
John Bell
6 days ago
Reply to  Ian Mc.

TOTAL Headbangers!
IS THIS TRUE?!
Just a reminder of what happens when Psychopaths, Like Adolf Trump …. Are Allowed Into Politics!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/156P2Wbfdp/

Something Different
Something Different
6 days ago
Reply to  Don

What if the people responsible are white straight males (like HMS Nottingham in 20002), should we stop selecting that demographic? Being woke is a good think, don’t be fooled by pro Kremlin bot propaganda

Crimea
Crimea
6 days ago

Being woke is moronic. People are not determined by their physical appearance in any meaningful way compared to all the other drivers that determine a person’s personality, ability, beliefs, etc.

Redshift
Redshift
6 days ago
Reply to  Crimea

But they have, traditionally, been discriminated against for ALL of those reasons. It’s not even that long since Gay people were completely banned from joining the armed forces utterly regardless of their talent.

Karl
Karl
6 days ago
Reply to  Crimea

Believing there is such a thing as *woke* is incredibly moronic. You, Sir have been conditioned/conned/brainwashed/ in your beliefs as to what is real and not real.

Barry Prichard
Barry Prichard
5 days ago

DEI is a poor measure for recruitment. Meritocracy every time regardless of race or gender

Celso
Celso
6 days ago
Reply to  Don

It is the navy.
How to have a navy without lbgt?

Dern
Dern
6 days ago

This is what happens when you hire straight white men instead of going for the best person for the job.

Pleiades
Pleiades
6 days ago
Reply to  Dern

Haha so true 😄👌🏾

Jon
Jon
6 days ago
Reply to  Dern

How do you know Captain Snowden is straight? We do know he was a naval aviator, so maybe they should hire someone who used to drive ships instead.

Heidfirst
Heidfirst
6 days ago
Reply to  Jon

USN doctrine is all carrier commanding officers have to be “naval aviators”.

Mark F
Mark F
6 days ago
Reply to  Heidfirst

I wasn’t aware of that.
Every day a school day.

Eric
Eric
5 days ago
Reply to  Heidfirst

I found out this week it is required by law. 10 USC 8162

Karl
Karl
6 days ago

Trump getting rid of his opponents in the military and government institutions. It won’t be long untill people start *accidentally* falling off hotel balconies Kremlin style!.

Hue Man.
Hue Man.
6 days ago
Reply to  Karl

Hysterical nonsense.

Matt
Matt
5 days ago
Reply to  Karl

I wake up to find the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has been sacked. Admiral Franchetti too, and others. It’s all about ideological purity now…

Norman Stevenson
Norman Stevenson
5 days ago

I thought I had just read a copy of Gay Times! About time some of you “people” got over yourself and started getting on with your own boring lives if you ever want to be taken seriously by the majority,I mean the majority have been having the minority LGB ordering the rest to like them for half a century,but the LGB are still complaining and scowling! What next: majority burning? And are you having problems with democracy now with your infantile jibes? Sex ain’t everything!

Mark Leonard Kennett
Mark Leonard Kennett
5 days ago

Reminds me of the well known story of the radio conversation that once took place between a US Aircraft Carrier and a Canadian lighthouse!