US Navy fires destroyer commander

The US Navy has relieved the commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Truxtun following a collision involving the ship.

Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. Fourth Fleet, removed Cmdr. James Koffi from command on 22 February due to what the Navy described as a loss of confidence in his ability to command.

The decision follows an incident on 11 February in which USS Truxtun collided with the fast combat support ship USNS Supply during a replenishment-at-sea operation in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

The U.S. Navy said Cmdr. Taylor Auclair, who was most recently assigned to U.S. Fleet Forces Command, will assume command of the destroyer. “The Navy maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them accountable when those standards are not met,” the service said in a statement.

USS Truxtun is currently in port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, supporting U.S. Southern Command missions and operations aimed at disrupting illicit drug trafficking. Cmdr. Koffi, who took command of the ship on 9 January 2025, has been temporarily reassigned to Commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Atlantic while the investigation into the collision continues.

The ship

USS Truxtun is an Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA Aegis guided-missile destroyer currently in service with the United States Navy. The ship is named for Commodore Thomas Truxtun (1755–1822), one of the first six commanders appointed by George Washington to the newly formed U.S. Navy. She is the sixth U.S. naval vessel to carry his name.

The destroyer displaces around 9,200 tonnes and measures roughly 510 feet (160 metres) in length with a beam of 59 feet. Powered by twin shafts, the ship can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots and has a range of around 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots. USS Truxtun carries a crew of approximately 380 personnel.

The vessel is equipped with the Aegis combat system centred on the AN/SPY-1D radar and is supported by additional surface-search radars and sonar systems. Her armament includes a 5-inch Mk 45 naval gun, a Phalanx close-in weapon system, machine guns and a 96-cell Mk 41 vertical launch system capable of firing a range of missiles including Standard air-defence missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles and anti-submarine rockets. The ship also carries torpedo launchers and can operate two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.

USS Truxtun was deployed in June 2024 alongside other U.S. naval and coast guard vessels to track a Russian naval flotilla operating near Florida before it arrived in Havana, Cuba. The destroyer later participated in the BRIGHT STAR 25 multinational exercise in Egypt in September 2025. On 11 February 2026, Truxtun collided with the fast combat support ship USNS Supply during a replenishment-at-sea operation in the Caribbean Sea. Two sailors were injured, though both ships were able to continue sailing following the incident.