The USS Carney, after eight months at sea, taking on all comers in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, has finally returned to its home port in Mayport, Fla. The Carney took part in 54 events that necessitated offensive and defensive firing, protecting friendly nations, international shipping, and itself as it patrolled international waters.
Geoff Ziezulewicz summarizes the Carney‘s feats for the Navy Times:
Twelve days after Hamas’ attack, on Oct. 19, Carney got its first chance to take it to the Houthis, when the destroyer intercepted a salvo of missiles and drones fired from Houthi territory in Yemen.
Since then, the Houthis have at times fired at military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea at a near-daily clip earlier this year, and Carney was often at the forefront of the fight.
The ship also helped take down missiles fired by Iran at Israel last month.
Carney’s crew conducted 51 engagements against the Houthis over six months, the first time the Navy has directly engaged an enemy to such a degree since World War II, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said in a statement.
I urge you to give the homecoming photos at Stars and Stripes a review — happy wives, babies, and families abound. Beautiful.
These sailors and their officers operated in waters that demanded the utmost from men and machinery for months and triumphed time and again. Jerry Hendrix and I, in a panel for the National Review Institute, did our best to explain just how challenging the Carney‘s work was. Imagine working, eating, and sleeping in a rocking steel sauna filled with pipes and shin-destroying doorways while occasionally hearing an alarm of missiles inbound. Then do that for the best part of a year.
The secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, said the Carney saw the most combat of any ship since WWII. This is true, though it diminishes the accomplishments of the earlier ships and the Carney when one considers what WWII-era vessels or those of the Revolutionary period experienced (i.e., it’s best to say that Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. are both greats in their respective times).
What is certain is that the USS Carney is the greatest warship of its generation. It is a glad day to be able to celebrate the crew’s accomplishments with them safely on U.S. soil.