USS Harry S. Truman commanding officer relieved after collision with merchant ship near Suez Canal
The commanding officer of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman was relieved of his command on Thursday, more than a week after the ship collided with a merchant vessel where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Suez Canal.
According to a press release, Capt. Dave Snowden was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. He has been temporarily assigned to Naval Air Forces Atlantic, which, a senior U.S. Navy official told Fox News, is essentially a career-ender.
"Something didn't happen that should have happened. A ship that hasn't taken measures to avoid a collision, it's on the captain. The buck stops with him," the senior Navy official said.
Snowden's removal comes after the Truman was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M on Feb. 12, while getting ready to enter the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea. The carrier had been involved in strikes on ISIS targets in Somalia. Fox News is told F-18s flew from the Truman in the Red Sea to strike the targets in Somalia on Feb. 1.
Uss Harry S. Truman Involved In Collision Near Egypt
On the night of Feb. 12, the carrier passed near Port Said en route from the Mediterranean back to the Red Sea.
Read On The Fox News App
The senior Navy official said as the carrier approached the mouth of the waterway, it got crowded, adding it was just before midnight.
The circumstances of the collision are under investigation, the official added, and while not complete, the official said relief of the commanding officer was warranted.
Uss Harry S. Truman Ship Collision Damage Revealed In New Photos
"The U.S. Navy holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met," the press release read. "Naval leaders are entrusted with significant responsibilities to their Sailors and their ships."
Snowden was relieved by Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, commander of Carrier Strike Group 8, after serving as the aircraft carrier's commanding officer since December 2023. In the meantime, Capt. Christopher Hill, commanding officer of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, will temporarily serve as the Truman's interim commanding officer.
Six Deadliest Non-combat Military Aviation Accidents In The Last 5 Years
Photos released on Saturday by the Navy's Sixth Fleet show a tear on the starboard side of the Truman, near its stern.
A pipe running along the side of the ship appears to be severely damaged as well, though all the damage is above the water line.
The ship is currently being repaired at Souda Bay in Greece, and the senior official said it should be a matter of days before it is able to return to the Red Sea.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report.Original article source: USS Harry S. Truman commanding officer relieved after collision with merchant ship near Suez Canal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
On 81st anniversary of D-Day, one US Navy veteran's son is the first American Pope
On this 81st anniversary of D-Day, the Pentagon has shared a powerful connection between the Vatican and the U.S. military. Pope Leo XIV's father, Louis Marius Prevost, served as a Navy officer during the historic 1944 Normandy landings. Prevost, born in Chicago in 1920, was commissioned into the Navy in November 1943. He served as the executive officer of a tank landing ship during Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France June 6, 1944. World War Ii Veterans Travel To Normandy For Emotional D-day Commemoration Later, he commanded an infantry landing craft in Operation Dragoon, the August 1944 Allied landing in southern the war, Prevost returned to Illinois, where he became superintendent of Brookwood School District 167 and later principal of Mount Carmel Elementary School in Chicago. He was also a catechist, teaching Christian Sox Installing Pope Leo Xiv Graphic Near His 2005 World Series Seat Prevost married Mildred Agnes Martinez in 1949, and they had three sons, including Robert Francis Prevost, who was elected Pope Leo XIV May 8, 2025, becoming the first American-born this week, Pope Leo XIV signed a baseball at the Vatican, a nod to his Chicago roots and lifelong support for the White Sox. The team has honored him with a commemorative installation at Guaranteed Rate Field. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Vatican for comment but has not yet received a response. Read On The Fox News AppOriginal article source: On 81st anniversary of D-Day, one US Navy veteran's son is the first American Pope
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
USS Gettysburg returns to Naval Station Norfolk after 8-month deployment
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – After an 8-month deployment, USS Gettysburg, part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, has returned to its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk. Bittersweet homecoming for USS Harry S. Truman The Ticonderoga class cruiser departed in September 2024, traveling to Europe and the Middle East to conduct combat operations in the Red Sea, as well as exercises with NATO allies. 'It was amazing in a lot of ways. We learned a lot. We have a lot to share with the fleet based off our experience in the Red Sea in particular, but the feeling to be home as well, it's amazing,' said Captain John Lucas, Commanding Officer of USS Gettysburg. Retired naval aviator shares insight on 'friendly fire' incident in the Red Sea The ship was in headlines back in December following an instance of friendly fire, shooting down a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet over the Red Sea. 'It's under investigation, those results have not been revealed yet to the public. I can tell you again, we took on a lot of lessons from that event,' said Captain Lucas. After the deployment was extended twice, families of the roughly 330 returning sailors gathered along the pier at Naval Station Norfolk to welcome their loved ones home. 'It's a very long time. We're kind of used to it. We have another child in the military, so we've been down this road. But this is her first time having been gone so this long, so it was tough. We're going to take her home and whatever she wants to do is what she wants to do. It's her break, with us along for the ride,' said Carrie Ayd, mother of returning sailor. Captain Lucas said while the Navy is retiring certain cruisers, he's not certain what the future holds for USS Gettysburg, but said he and his crew will be ready when called upon. 'I think we're all ready for a nice long winter nap in the summer. All I can tell you is my job and this crew's job is going to be to be ready to go again when called upon, whenever that might be. I'm excited to maintain and be a part of the team for as long as they'll have me,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Army's historic horse-drawn funeral tradition returns from two-year hiatus after $28M overhaul
The U.S. Army's Caisson Detachment returned to Arlington National Cemetery this week for the first time in two years. In Section 62, the ceremonial horse unit that transports veterans and service members to their final resting place, escorted the remains of Private Bernard Curran, who was killed in World War II. Curran died in 1942 after being captured by the Japanese. He was buried alongside other prisoners of war in Common Grave 723 in the Philippines. He was brought back home to the United States after his remains were identified by the U.S. military last year. The hallowed grounds of Arlington were decided to be his final resting place. The ceremony marked the return of the Caisson Detachment after a two-year suspension. The program faced a massive overhaul after two horses died within 96-hours of each other due to poor living conditions. Bill Strengthening' Special Relationship' With Uk Military Introduced On D-day The US Army's Caisson platoon is part of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as the Old Guard, famously responsible for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Caisson horses have pulled the flag-draped coffins of America's war heroes to their final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery for more than 70 years. This is a military tradition that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who served in an Armored Infantry unit in Iraq, explained dates back hundreds of years. "The Caisson units in the military go back hundreds and hundreds of years, when militaries and armies want to show respect and love for their soldiers, soldiers who have served honorably and the soldiers who died in war," Driscoll said in an exclusive interview with Fox News. Read On The Fox News App The Caisson program was halted in May 2023 while the Army investigated concerns that the horses used to pull the caisson were suffering from dangerous living conditions and neglect. Army Surpasses Fiscal 2025 Recruiting Goal 4 Months Ahead Of Schedule "We had two horses die within four days of each other," Driscoll said. "And so we did a pause to all the operations and the Army took a hard look at what was causing that. What they found is these horses and their care had kind of fallen through the cracks." In February 2022, two Caisson horses, Mickey and Tony, died within 96 hours of each other. Both were euthanized due to poor conditions and feeding. Tony was found to have ingested 44 pounds of gravel and sand while Mickey had a gastrointestinal illness that went untreated. Another two horses died within the year, raising concerns within the Army and denying families this ceremonial tradition. "We hadn't done a particularly good job as an Army in all instances of making sure the training was good and that the horses were taken care of, so we took a pause. It was originally meant to be a 45-day pause that then as the government and sometimes the Army, it stretched on and on," Driscoll said. The Caisson unit was living in stables at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia at the time. A U.S. Army report found that conditions among the aging horses at decrepit stables located at Fort Meyer, that had been built in 1908, were inadequate to house the ceremonial horses. The horses were fed low quality hay, and routinely suffered from parasites from standing in their own excrement. They ate their feed off the ground in mud lots covered in gravel and construction waste, according to the report. Memorial Day: Wild Mustangs Help Veterans Heal Through Wyoming Ranch Program Major General Trevor Bredenkamp, who serves as Commanding General of Joint Task Force National Capital Region and U.S. Army Military District of Washington, took command shortly after the Caisson program was suspended. "We had to rehabilitate many of our horses and what we found is years of underinvestment. They were injured beyond the point where they could still continue the mission, and so we had to retire them, and then we had to procure new horses… we found we lacked a degree of expertise to care for these horses," Bredenkamp said. He oversaw the complete overhaul of the unit. "It wasn't a problem that manifested itself overnight. This was decades of under-investment. We understood that gravel impaction was a significant problem because there was feed that was on the ground. We didn't have the appropriate matting in the stalls and so gravel could easily become mixed in with hay or with ground cover, and so we have raised all of the feed off of the ground, we've got feed bags hanging on the inside of the stalls. We have also put rubber matting on there again to prevent the possibility of gravel being ingested by the horses," Bredenkamp explained. The Army set out to find the best horse trainers in the country. "We brought in these outside experts. We created a plan. We invested $28 million in it over the last two years," Driscoll said. Lt. Col. Jason Crawford is a trained Army veterinarian who has been riding horses his whole life. Crawford was promoted to become the new caisson detachment commander earlier this year. Remains Of Wwii Soldier Killed Nearly 80 Years Ago In France Identified, To Be Reburied At National Cemetery "We've now had civilian trainers on our squads, on each individual squad, as well as within our leadership," Crawford explained. It was dental day when Crawford showed the Fox News crew around the newly renovated stable. "We've been doing dental procedures on all these horses, and we got them on a good routine now, and that's one of the other big changes, is really being persistent about their care," Crawford said. The Caisson unit has to choose their horses carefully. The unit will be doing up to two funerals a day, up 10 per week on the hard pavement of Arlington National Cemetery. "Unlike some of the other smaller breed horses, they're going to be on the concrete and the pavement. So really having strong feet for them to actually move through the cemetery is very vital. The biggest thing we look at is just being tall, wide, and have a good strong back and a solid hindquarters and solid legs," Crawford said. It takes a special horse to complete the mission of escorting America's heroes to their final resting place. "The way I look at anything with the horses, especially at military animals, is they're an extension of us. And it's that extension of what our abilities that we can do. Anything, you know, whether it's a working dog in the battlefield or if it's a horse we're using in Arlington Cemetery," Crawford said. The Army has returned the Caisson unit to its storied role after renovating the stables, and overhauling the care of the caisson horses using the best practices learned from the nation's top equine experts and equestrians. "I would say, though this horse cannot speak, I think it would say that it is living one of the best lives of any horse in our country," Driscoll said. Bredenkamp, who led the overhaul of the unit, explained, "As a 33-year veteran of the United States military, it is a visible reminder of the solemnity of service. When we carry our honored dead to our final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery, it is a visible symbol of American resolve and honor."Original article source: Army's historic horse-drawn funeral tradition returns from two-year hiatus after $28M overhaul
