The commander of the USS Truxtun has been fired from the guided-missile destroyer after it slammed into an oiler during refueling earlier this month.
Cmdr. James Koffi was removed from his post “due to a loss of confidence in [his] ability to command,” the US Navy said in a Sunday statement from Southern Command/4th Fleet, published by USNI News, in the wake of the embarrassing incident.
“The Navy maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them accountable when those standards are not met.”
The USS Truxtun (DDG-103) collided with USNS Supply (T-AOE-6) when it unexpectedly turned to starboard during a fuel transfer in the Caribbean Sea on February 11.
In footage shot from Supply, a loud crunch can be heard as the two ships collide, followed by shouting: “We’ve been hit, we’ve been hit!”
Two sailors suffered minor injuries in the collision, and both ships were forced to return to port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the Navy confirmed at the time.
Koffi, a career surface warfare officer and native of Memphis who graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2007, had taken command of Truxtun on January 9, 2025.
“It is the privilege of my life to humbly take the helm as Truxtun’s 13th commanding officer and I will continue to build upon the great legacy laid before me,” Koffi said at the handover ceremony, which was covered at the time by military news outlet DVIDS.
“Being ready to fight and win isn’t just a goal, it’s a way of life for Truxtun sailors. Your dedication and perseverance set the standard of excellence, and it is a privilege to lead such an exceptional team.”
The Truxtun departed Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on February 3, deployed into the Caribbean as part of the Trump administration’s build-up of naval forces in the region targeting Venezuela and drug-trafficking.
“Our presence at sea will not merely be a ‘deployment,’ but a decisive application of Peace Through Strength,” Koffi said then.
Last year, the Truxtun was deployed in Europe and the Middle East in the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation and took part in the BRIGHT STAR 25 exercise in Egypt, an experience Koffi said had “sharpened our technical and tactical mastery.”
It then returned to the U.S. for “several months of training and maintenance, preparing the ship for a multitude of operations.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has yet to publicly comment on the embarrassing collision, which comes amid a sweeping overhaul of the military’s top brass under his leadership.
In the last year, firings have included the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a general, and the Navy’s top officer.
As part of a rant against DEI practices in the military, Hegseth said his reasoning for those firings was that “it’s nearly impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped create or even benefited from that culture.”
He has also railed against those he believes are “too dumb” or “too fat” to serve in the military.
Other Navy removals have included the commanding officers of the USS Wyoming and USS Santa Barbara; the chief of naval operations; the commanding officer of Navy Information Operations Command Colorado; the commanding officer of Navy Reserve Center Manchester, New Hampshire; and the executive officer for the Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants.
Koffi has been “temporarily reassigned to Commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Atlantic,” the Navy said in its February 22 statement announcing his relieve of command.
The Truxtun, it said, remained in Puerto Rico as part of ongoing efforts to “disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland.”
