The crew of USS Decatur (DDG 73) man the rails as they sail past downtown San Diego en route to Naval Base San Diego on April 1. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Woody S. Paschall
The crew of USS Decatur man the rails as the destroyer sail past downtown San Diego en route to Naval Base San Diego in April 2019. Navy photo

The commanding officer of a San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer was relieved of duty on Thursday.

Capt. Dan Cobian, commander of Destroyer Squadron 21, removed Cmdr. Bob Bowen from command of the USS Decatur due to “loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

Cmdr. Jerry Jackson, former commanding officer of the destroyer USS Sampson, has assumed temporary responsibilities until the Decatur’s executive officer, Cmdr. Derek Rader, takes over.

Bowen will be temporarily reassigned to a command in San Diego.

The Navy did not provide further information about the reasons for Bowen’s reassignment.

The Decatur returned from its last deployment in April.

Chris Jennewein

Chris Jennewein is Editor & Publisher of Times of San Diego.