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Capt. Dave Snowden was fired just over a week after theUSS Harry S. Truman collided with a merchant ship at the mouth of the Suez Canal as the carrier prepared to return to the Red Sea.
Snowden was relieved by Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, commander of Carrier Strike Group 8, which includes the USS Truman.
The official reason given by the Navy was a loss of confidence in Showden’s ability to command.
“The U.S. Navy holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met. Naval leaders are entrusted with significant responsibilities to their Sailors and their ships,” according to the Navy release.
The Besiktas-M collided with the carrier near the end of the day on Feb. 12. The commercial ship had just left the Suez Canal. The details of the collision have not been released but the carrier sustained enough damage to require the ship to return to Greece for repairs.
The Truman is expected to continue its mission after completing repairs.
Snowden will be temporarily assigned to Naval Air Forces Atlantic. He was a former executive officer on the Truman. He became captain in December 2023 after completing a tour as captain of the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio.
His interim replacement is Capt. Chris Hill, who commanded the Norfolk-based USS Eisenhower during what the Navy described as the busiest deployment since World War II.
The Eisenhower is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
