USS CARNEY (DDG 64) - BZ
We have our benchmark
Welcome home to Mayport.
She’s 28 years old. Not bad for an old lady.
The official Navy press release on the CARNEY’s return is pretty good.
Let’s quote the CNO;
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti aboard Carney. “Called to action on the very first day that you entered the U.S. 5th Fleet, you conducted 51 engagements in 6 months. The last time our Navy directly engaged the enemy to the degree that you have was way back in World War II, and it was the USS Hugh Hadley (DD-774), with her engagement record of 23. You saved lives, ensured the free flow of commerce, and stood up for the rules-based international order and all the values that we hold dear. It has been eye-watering to watch, you are truly America’s Warfighting Navy in action.”
The ship looks great, the Sailors look great - the the CO was spot on in his comments,
"I don't know if we were ever in any danger, but we were certainly in a place that is dangerous."
The local report was very well done. Watch the whole thing. If nothing else, it will remind you that we do not put our Sailors in front of cameras enough.
Take the chance; they’ll make you proud.
Wikipedia has a good timeline of a deployment to remember;
On 8 October 2023, the day after the Hamas attack on Israel, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean in response. Along with the carrier, the group includes the cruiser Normandy, and the destroyers Carney, Ramage, Roosevelt and Thomas Hudner. From then until December 2023, the destroyer was at the forefront of operations to destroy Houthi drones and missiles in the Red Sea, as commercial vessels repeatedly came under attack by the Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen.
On 19 October 2023, Carney intercepted three cruise missiles and eight drones fired by Houthi militants in Yemen. Although the targets were uncertain, the missiles and drones were shot down because they were headed north along the Red Sea in the direction of Israel amid rising tensions in the region during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. It was subsequently reported that Carney actually encountered a larger and more sustained barrage than was previously known on that day, shooting down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of nine hours.
On 29 November 2023, Carney shot down a KAS-04 drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen in the Red Sea.
On 3 December 2023, Carney and civilian-owned commercial ships were attacked in international waters in the southern Red Sea, with anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Missiles struck three commercial ships, while Carney shot down three drones in self-defense during the hours-long assault. The United States Central Command said in a statement: "We ... have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran."
On 16 December 2023 while operating in the Red Sea, Carney successfully shot down a barrage of 14 unmanned aerial system (UAS) one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. 5th Fleet, subsequently visited the ship and presented combat medals to five sailors for their "exceptional performance" in the engagement. Cooper also recognized the whole crew of the Carney with the Navy's Combat Action Ribbon, which is awarded when a sailor has “rendered satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in a ground or surface combat engagement". Carney’s commanding officer, Commander Jeremy Robertson, and another sailor received Navy Commendation Medals from Cooper, and Robertson received a Bronze Star, while three other crew members received Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
On 13 January 2024, Carney conducted follow-on action by firing Tomahawk cruise missiles at Houthi rebels in Yemen a day after the main strike package. Later, Carney and other coalition ships responded to a strike by the Houthis on the British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda on 26 January 2024. She arrived on scene a few hours after INS Visakhapatnam to render firefighting aid.
On 26 January 2024, Carney shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden.
On 30 January 2024, Carney reportedly shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden with an SM-6 missile, marking the first publicly acknowledged SM-6 combat intercept by the DOD.
On 5 March 2024, Carney shot down one anti-ship ballistic missile and three one-way attack unmanned aerial systems launched by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
On 13-14 April 2024, Carney and USS Arleigh Burke shot down at least six Iranian ballistic missiles during the 2024 Iranian strikes in Israel.
Let me just echo a comment I started with:
The. Ship. And. Sailors. Look. Great.
Optics matter. You can have an extended 7-month combat deployment and look like the world-class navy you are.
The ship does not look as good as she does by accident. A lot of work, love, and good leadership - and funding - enabled that.
Our Sailors are coming home looking like Sailors who are proud of their ship, their Shipmates, and themselves … and it shows.
This is how it is done.
I sure hope the comments of our Sailors and their family members on the video get to every one of our recruiters. This is how you tell someone about the Navy and how the experience can be truly transformative however long they stay in or wherever they go in life. The credibility of these Sailors cannot be matched - they are speaking from the heart. So great to see and hear!
Nice to see a US Navy ship (not coming off the ways) that isn't rust-streaked.
BZ indeed.