After eight months at sea and six months in combat, the USS Harry S. Truman is back at port. The aircraft carrier, along with other ships in its carrier strike group arrived back in the United States this weekend after an extended stay in the Middle East. The ship and its crew took part in one of the largest naval offensives the U.S. military has engaged in since World War II.
The carrier pulled into Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday, June 1, with family and other sailors waiting to meet them. Video and photos shared by the Navy and local media showed crewmembers embracing loved ones. A large combat action ribbon banner was set up on the ship’s superstructure. It was a welcome homecoming for a carrier group that went on an extended, 251-day-long deployment.
When the Truman Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Middle East in December 2024, the U.S. Navy was more than a year into an ongoing fight with Houthi forces. The Truman was the latest in several aircraft carriers to be sent to waters around the Middle East since October 2023, both as a wider deterrent and to deal with the threats from Yemen to shipping vessels. During its deployment, the crew of the USS Harry S. Truman and the aviators of Carrier Air Wing 1 launched 11,000 sorties, flew 25,000 flight hours and executed 22 underway replenishments, Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said during an address to sailors on Sunday.
“That’s simply incredible,” Caudle added.
The deployment was also marred by a series of mishaps, including the loss of three of the air wing’s F/A-18 fighter jets and a collision with a merchant ship that forced a change of command. Despite that, the carrier strike group remained at the forefront of the Navy’s actions in the Middle East, which the Navy celebrated on Sunday.
“It was certainly a long, challenging deployment across the board, and pretty, pretty unique for my entire career as well,” Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, commander of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, said on Sunday. “There’s really nothing in comparison because of the tempo of operations, because of the continuous combat that these warriors saw. To be able to bring them all home safely to their families [brings] just an immeasurable sense of relief and pride.”
Mishaps and munitions
The USS Harry S. Truman initially set sail in September 2024, operating in the European theater. The Truman’s deployment took it to the Red Sea, to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln. After it arrived in the Middle East in December, it quickly joined in the ongoing campaign against Houthi forces. After Houthis started attacking commercial ships in the waters around Yemen in October 2023, the U.S. Navy had deployed multiple carrier strike groups and several independent destroyers to the region, both to intercept missiles and drones fired at ships and to bomb targets inside Yemen.
Shortly after joining the combat against the Houthis, the Truman Carrier Strike Group engaged in an intense nighttime fight, with both sides firing missiles and rockets at each other over the Red Sea. During that Dec. 22 fight, the cruiser the USS Gettysburg accidentally shot down a F/A-18F fighter jet that took off from the Truman; the two aviators were recovered with minor injuries. The F/A-18F is the only crewed American aircraft to be downed during the year and half of fighting around Yemen; several uncrewed aerial drones were shot down by Houthis in that period.
The fighting with the Houthis paused in January, but the carrier strike group remained active in combat operations in the region. In February, its air wing launched a major airstrike on ISIS militants in Somalia.
On Feb. 12, near Port Said, Egypt, the Truman collided with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M. The incident forced the ship to make an emergency port visit in Greece for repairs. That resulted in the initial commander, Capt. Dave Snowden, being replaced with Capt. Christopher Hill. Hill previously had commanded the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which saw extensive combat against the Houthis in 2024.
The carrier once again took the lead in operations against Houthis when hostilities restarted on March 15. The Truman and its support ships were the military’s main arm in Operation Rough Rider, which saw extensive bombings of targets across Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen. That led to more than 50 days of American airstrikes on Yemen, including the use of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. However additional problems plagued the ship. In late April a F/-18E Super Hornet and its tow fell off the ship as the carrier maneuvered. A few days later another fighter jet, a F/A-18F, fell into the sea after a failed landing.
The U.S. announced last month that a ceasefire had been reached. Soon after the Truman Carrier Strike Group departed the region on its trip home. Currently the USS Carl Vinson and its carrier group remain in the waters around the Middle East, having arrived earlier in the spring.
In his remarks as the ship pulled home, Hill noted the challenges they faced at sea.
“These warrior sailors demonstrated superb grit for more than eight months,” Hill said. “Even in the face of significant challenges, they persevered, never giving up when their nation needed them. It’s been an honor to serve alongside such dedicated professionals and to take them home to their families.”
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