Navy fires commanding officer of missile submarine USS Wyoming

Cmdr. Robert Moreno has been fired as the commanding officer of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming’s Blue Crew, according to Navy officials, who did not provide a specific reason for the move.

All ballistic missile submarines have two crews, blue and gold, which take turns manning the boats on underway patrols to ensure proper crew training, readiness, and morale, according to the Navy.

 Rear Adm. Bob Wirth, commander of Submarine Group Ten, relieved Moreno on Oct. 8 “due to loss of conference in his ability to command,” a Navy news release says. No further information was immediately available about why Moreno was fired. 

The move was the second time in less than a month that Navy officials fired a ship’s commander. The commanding officer of the USS Santa Barbara’s Blue Crew, Cmdr. Adam Ochs, was relieved on Sept. 11. The Santa Barbara is a littoral combat ship based in Bahrain.

A statement released on Moreno’s firing said that “Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct. 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.”

Missile submarine commanders are hand picked

As the commander of a Navy missile submarine, Moreno was one of just a handful of officers in the entire military entrusted with direct operational oversight and control of nuclear weapons. Missile submarine captains are one of just three roles, along with the air crews of nuclear bombers and launch officers of hardened missile silos, classified as “critical” under the Pentagon’s Nuclear Weapons Personnel Reliability Program, or PRP, which sets out the requirements, monitoring and disqualification guidelines for working with nuclear weapons.

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Troops working under PRP can be pulled off duty or even removed from their jobs for mistakes, small infractions or even ailments that would be waved off or dealt with quickly elsewhere in the military.

The Wyoming is one of 14 submarines that carry up to 20 nuclear-armed missiles, which the crews can launch in a matter of minutes. Missile submarines make up the smallest but most durable leg of the United States’ nuclear triad, along with the Air Force’s land-based nuclear missile component and bombers that carry nuclear weapons are. The three independent branches are meant to deter adversaries by ensuring the United States would retain the ability to respond to a surprise nuclear attack.

‘Loss of confidence’ a common term

Military leaders, and those in the Navy in particular, can be and often are relieved for a wide range of reasons, ranging from poor performance or leadership failings to personal issues unrelated to their jobs, such as being arrested for drunken driving. But whatever the cause for a firing, military branches rarely disclose why a commander or senior enlisted leader is removed from their post, usually attributing the firing instead to a “loss of confidence.”

In some cases when a commander is relieved for significant misconduct, services have noted that an investigation has taken place. The announcement of Moreno’s firing did not allude to an investigation.

Moreno, who assumed command of the Wyoming in May 2024, has been temporarily reassigned to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia.

Moreno began his Navy career in 1993 as an enlisted sailor. He commissioned in 2005, according to his official biography, which was provided to Task & Purpose. His past assignments include serving aboard the submarines USS Pennsylvania, USS Dallas, USS North Carolina, and USS Cheyenne.

Moreno also served as commander of Joint Force Maritime Component in Norfolk, Virginia from March 2021 to September 2023. The command’s mission is to “conduct joint maritime operations to execute the maritime aspects of strategic deterrence,” according to U.S. Strategic Command, which has purview over the military’s nuclear arsenal.

Capt. David Burke has temporarily assumed command of the Wyoming, which is in port for maintenance, according to the Navy. Moreno’s firing “does not impact the ship’s mission or schedule,” the service’s news release says. 

Ohio-class submarines can carry up to 20 Trident II D5 missiles, and they spend an average of 77 days at sea followed by 35 days of in-port maintenance 

“They are designed specifically for stealth and the precise delivery of nuclear warheads,” according to the Navy.