The U.S. Navy fired the commanding officer of the USS Wyoming Blue Crew, the service announced Wednesday.
Cmdr. Robert Moreno was relieved of his duties by Rear Adm. Bob Wirth, commander of Submarine Group Ten, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.
“Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct,” a Navy release said. “They are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability, and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards.”
The release did not provide further information about what led to Moreno’s dismissal, but the service generally uses “loss of confidence” as a blanket statement when dismissing senior leadership.
Capt. David Burke, Submarine Squadron 20 deputy for training, assumed temporary responsibility of the Wyoming in Moreno’s absence, the release sated.
The Wyoming is an Ohio-classic ballistic missile submarine home-ported in Kings Bay, Georgia. It’s currently undergoing maintenance and will not be effected by the change in command, according to the Navy.
Moreno, who earned his commission in 2005, took over as commanding officer of the USS Wyoming on May 14, 2024, and has been temporarily reassigned to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, the release announced.
Before his time aboard the Wyoming, Moreno served at Commander Joint Force Maritime Component and Commander Submarine Force Atlantic, both in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Navy has been responsible for an avalanche of firings in 2025. The service relieved the chief of naval operations in February; the commanding officer of Navy Information Operations Command Colorado in April; the commanding officer of Navy Reserve Center Manchester, New Hampshire, in May; and the executive officer for the Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants, also in May.
More recently, the service fired a Navy doctor after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced her firing over X, retweeting a post from a conservative account admonishing the doctor for her social media use. In September, the Navy fired the USS Santa Barbara commanding officer.
Hegseth fired the Navy chief of staff in a sudden shakeup Saturday. The ouster followed Hegseth’s firing of several top aides earlier this year, including senior advisor Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
