WASHINGTON (AP) — Adm. Daryl Caudle has taken over as the Navy’s highest-ranking officer. It ends a six-month vacancy created by the Trump administration’s firing of his predecessor. Caudle became chief of naval operations Monday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted a growing list of military leaders with little or no explanation. Hegseth fired Caudle’s predecessor, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, without explanation in February. Neither Caudle nor Navy Secretary John Phelan addressed the ouster at a swearing-in ceremony Monday, though Franchetti was among several former chiefs of naval operations in attendance. Caudle showed his agreement with an often-repeated Trump administration phrase, saying, “Peace through strength works.”