The Navy quietly removed Cmdr. Caitlin Cunningham from command of the guided missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy on Sept. 27, according to a Navy official who spoke with Task & Purpose. The official cited a “loss of confidence to command.”

Cunningham’s relief came nine months into the warship’s 11 month deployment to the Middle East. During that deployment, the USS Michael Murphy helped enforce a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and escorted tankers through the region.

The destroyer also launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and defended against Iranian drone and missile attacks. It operated as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which later received the Presidential Unit Citation.

USNI News first reported Cunningham’s removal. The Navy offered no specific reason for firing her, leaving the familiar loss of confidence language as the only explanation provided for the command change.

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The Navy regularly uses loss of confidence as a catchall covering numerous reasons for removing commanders. Those circumstances can range from mishaps aboard a vessel to personal misconduct by an officer.

Cmdr. David Nicholas has commanded the USS Michael Murphy since Cunningham was relieved. The Navy, however, did not announce the leadership change when it happened in September.

The USS Michael Murphy departed its home port at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 1, 2025, and returned on Nov. 12. The destroyer spent 346 days deployed and remained at sea after the USS Abraham Lincoln returned to its own home port.

Another destroyer in the strike group, the USS Spruance, spent 357 days away before returning Friday. The deployments of the USS Michael Murphy and USS Spruance were among the longest by destroyers since World War II.

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The USS Abraham Lincoln returned to San Diego in early October after an extended and trying deployment. The carrier and its strike group received the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award for valor that a unit can receive.

The Lincoln strike group was the second to receive the honor for the Iran war. The USS George R. Ford strike group received the citation in May, while the award historically has gone to units involved in some of the most intense combat missions, including major World War II operations.

Although Cunningham was relieved in September, the Navy waited until after U.S. Naval Institute News reported the story on Nov. 12 to acknowledge the change. That silence followed another recent case involving the submarine USS South Dakota.

In October, the Navy fired the submarine’s commanding officer, executive officer, and enlisted chief. No public announcement accompanied those removals until the Connecticut newspaper The Day reported them.

The quiet removals departed from the Navy’s tradition of announcing leadership changes and drew criticism from members of the House Armed Services Committee. Rep. Joe Courtney, a Connecticut Democrat, and Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, called the submarine omission “unacceptable.”

Courtney is the ranking member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, while Smith is the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. They said the submarine leaders were removed because the boat struck the bottom of the ocean.

“As a result of the Navy’s failure to communicate, what should have been a standard exercise in information sharing has instead raised questions about the Navy’s commitment to transparency and its commitment to a productive working relationship with Congress,” Smith and Courtney wrote in a Nov. 12 letter.

The letter was addressed to acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle. Their complaint put the Navy’s quiet handling of major leadership removals under congressional scrutiny.

Rear Adm. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress and the Supreme Court, also resigned from the Navy without an announcement. His departure came amid a War Department inspector general investigation.

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