FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2016, file photo provided by the US Navy, guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73). (Photo: AP)

The commanding officer of the San Diego-based destroyer Decatur has been removed from command, the Navy announced Thursday.

Cmdr. John “Bob” Bowen was relieved of his duties due to a “loss of confidence in his ability to command,” according to a Navy statement obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The term is a catch-all used by the military to justify commander firings without detailing a cause, the newspaper said.

Navy Capt. Dan Cobain, the commander of Destroyer Squadron 21, ordered the move, the statement said.

A spokesman for the San Diego-based 3rd Fleet declined to comment to the newspaper on any specifics related to Bowen.

Bowen became executive officer of the Decatur in 2016, a role he filled for a year and a half, according to the Decatur’s website.

He returned to the ship as commanding officer in 2018.

Cmdr. Jerry Jackson, former commanding officer of the destroyer Sampson, will serve as interim captain until the Decatur’s current executive officer, Cmdr. Derek Rader, assumes command, the Navy said.

Bowen will be temporarily reassigned to an unspecified command in San Diego.