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Business Insider
05-07-2025
- General
- Business Insider
What it's like to spend the night aboard a combat-tested US Navy destroyer
Business Insider recently spent a night aboard a US Navy destroyer sailing from England to France. Our reporter got an inside look at daily life for sailors on USS Thomas Hudner. Sailors explained what they like about being on the ship, as well as some of the challenges. ENGLISH CHANNEL — About a year and a half before Business Insider stepped aboard the US Navy destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, the ship was battling hostile drones in the Red Sea. Kill marks can be seen painted on the warship, which recently found itself again wrapped up in the violence in the Middle East. BI's stay aboard the powerful warship at the tail end of May and into June was significantly quieter by comparison. The roughly 24 hours spent aboard the Thomas Hudner as the ship crossed the English Channel from England to France to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day invasion offered a glimpse into what life is like for the warship's sailors as they handle missions while grappling with the grind of daily Navy life. Setting sail, two tugboats pulled the 500-foot-long Arleigh Burke-class destroyer away from the pier and into a crowded harbor. Sailors in their dress blues stood manning the rails as people on the shore looked on with great interest. Getting the warship underway at Portsmouth was a whole-of-ship effort, with sailors from the bridge to the combat information center and from the flight deck at the stern to the bow all playing a role. Cmdr. Cameron Ingram, Thomas Hudner's commanding officer, told me that each of the 300-plus sailors aboard has a "vitally important" job keeping the ship operating smoothly. "We're one big complex machine, and I am just a single component within it," he said. "A ship needs a captain, yes. But a ship needs lookouts, and a ship needs folks to do laundry, a ship needs people to do maintenance on weapons systems and damage control systems, and to stand watches." "As much as the crew needs me to do my job, I need them to do their jobs every single day, because I cannot do my job if they aren't doing theirs," Ingram added. Dinner that evening came early and consisted of pizza, pasta, and Brussels sprouts. I ate with officers in the wardroom, where the World War II film "Saving Private Ryan" was playing on a TV in the background. Considering the purpose of the destroyer's voyage across the English Channel, the famous Steven Spielberg movie was a fitting choice. It's recognized as one of the most realistic portrayals of the Allied invasion of Normandy ever recreated in film, capturing the horrors of the daring operation to secure the foothold needed to break Nazi Germany. The warship I was on was churning the same waters that the massive D-Day fleet had sailed 81 years earlier, thousands never to return home. Following dinner, the ship's skipper delivered a lengthy announcement over the ship's announcing system praising the crew and offering a preview of the coming D-Day events. He ended the broadcast by playing a song over the loudspeaker from the musical "Les Misérables," a nod to the visit to France. I spent the evening wandering around the ship, observing sailors as they did their jobs and listening to them talk about life on the destroyer and in the Navy in general. Life aboard a destroyer is demanding. Sailors operate in tight quarters, sharing berthing spaces and working long hours to keep up ship operations. Daily routines center on watch rotations in areas like the bridge, CIC, and engineering spaces to ensure the vessel stays mission-ready. Despite the challenges, such as limited personal space and time away from family, sailors value bonds with crewmates, the service and sense of purpose, the resilience fostered aboard the ship, and the opportunity to travel. "I've been all over the world," Petty Officer 1st Class Anna Watson, who manages the computer infrastructure for the ship's combat systems, shared. She came to Thomas Hudner, a ship homeported in Mayport, Fla., from the Navy's 7th Fleet, the command that oversees the Indo-Pacific region. "I've been to Japan, Thailand, South Korea — places like that — and now I get to see Europe," she said. "Definitely one of the benefits of being in the Navy, and being on a ship in the Navy, is you get to see most of the world. So that's pretty cool." Some sailors BI spoke with that night pointed to the opportunities for professional growth that come with a deployment and working on a ship. Chief Petty Officer Olaf Sampson, the head electrician, said being in the Navy and serving on a deployed warship is "a great stepping stone for young people to get into," where they can establish independence and learn a skill or trade. Petty Officer 3rd Class Aiden Grimes, who works with the warship's embarked helicopters, finds the problem-solving aspect of his job very appealing. "You don't have a lot of people to go to, so you have to figure it out yourself, and I like doing that," he said. Lt. John Wacker, who flies an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, has previously deployed with a littoral combat ship and a cruiser, but this was his first time doing so on a destroyer, which he described as the "main force" of the Navy's fleet; the service has 74 DDGs, the most of any ship class. He said it was "cool" to watch how the crew operates on the ship. The experience isn't easy, though. Deployments mean months away from family and friends, with port visits few and far between. And the requirements and scheduling can also change on a dime and give way to a high tempo of operations that can be stressful. In the fall of 2023, for instance, the Thomas Hudner became one of the first American warships to engage in combat against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who had just started their attacks on Israel and international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. Those battles marked the start of a prolonged campaign for the Navy, which sent multiple aircraft carriers and warships, like Thomas Hudner, to the Middle East to fend off Houthi attacks. The Pentagon even extended some deployments, putting additional stress on crews with a difficult mission. More recently, not long after the ship participated in D-Day events in France, the Thomas Hudner was dispatched to the Eastern Mediterranean along with four other destroyers to help shield Israel from Iranian ballistic missile attacks. The Navy warships collectively scored multiple interceptions. The Houthi and Iranian engagements underscore the need for sailors to always be ready for the possibility of a new mission. That high state of readiness, however, can take its toll. Military roles come with different pressures compared to life in the civilian world. When it came time to rest that night on the destroyer, I retreated to the stateroom I had been assigned, which resembled a small command center with a pull-out bed and an en suite bathroom. It was my second time spending the night on a Navy ship. Last year, I embarked overnight on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during a Red Sea combat deployment. The room was on the colder side, and I didn't sleep more than about an hour, though that had more to do with my insomnia than anything else. Without WiFi or cell service, I played games on my phone just to pass the time until breakfast, which was pancakes, eggs, corned beef hash, and a few much-needed cups of coffee After breakfast, I made my way up to the ship's bridge to watch as we approached the scenic French coastline and my final stop, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. The destroyer sailed slowly into the port, accompanied by tugboats, and methodically pulled up alongside the pier. The following process of dropping the anchor and using the massive lines to secure the destroyer in place — the reverse of what the crew did in Portsmouth — was as intricate and lengthy as it was in England. It involves tough, manual labor, but for some, that's part of the appeal of serving on a ship. "There's also something kind of majestic, if you will, about pushing a gigantic piece of iron war machinery through the water," shared Chief Petty Officer Chris Miller, who is responsible for the destroyer's self-defense systems. "It takes a lot to make this thing move, and there are a lot of moving pieces to it." "It's very intricate in design and very sophisticated, but it's also very powerful," he added, summing up his thoughts with: "It's awesome."
Business Insider
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
US Navy warships picked up multiple new Iranian ballistic missile kills in the latest defense of Israel
US warships intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles aimed at Israel this month, the Navy confirmed over the weekend, sharing new details from its third defense of Israel in a year and a half. Israel launched a new military operation against Iran on June 13, prompting Tehran to retaliate with waves of missile attacks. The US Navy moved five of its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea for support if needed. The destroyers — USS Thomas Hudner, USS Arleigh Burke, USS The Sullivans, USS Oscar Austin, and USS Paul Ignatius — are equipped with high-end interceptors that are specifically designed for ballistic missile defense. Officials had previously confirmed that the US ships were providing air defense for Israel, but it was unclear if they scored any hits. However, in a statement on Sunday, the Navy revealed the destroyers intercepted "multiple" Iranian ballistic missiles since June 14. The Navy did not say which interceptors the destroyers used against the Iranian missiles and referred additional questions to US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations. Business Insider reached out to CENTCOM for more information but did not receive a response. The disclosure comes as Navy leadership raises concerns that the sea service is burning through one of its top ballistic missile interceptors, the Standard Missile-3. Just last week, Adm. James Kilby, acting chief of naval operations, told lawmakers that American warships were using the SM-3 "at an alarming rate." Navy warships fired multiple SM-3 interceptors to defend Israel from large-scale Iranian missile attacks in April and October of last year. The SM-3 missile is an important element of the Navy's Aegis Combat System, equipped on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers. It uses a kinetic kill vehicle to destroy short- to intermediate-range missiles during the midcourse phase of their flight. The SM-3 is produced in multiple variants, which can cost as little as $10 million on the low end and nearly $30 million on the high end, according to the US Missile Defense Agency. Analysts have argued that the Navy is depleting its SM-3 stockpile in the Middle East without sufficient plans to replace it, which could be an issue in a Pacific conflict, where these interceptors would likely be needed in large quantities. China, a leading concern, has a large arsenal of ballistic missiles. And the SM-3 is not the only missile interceptor that the Navy is heavily expending in the Middle East. American warships have fired hundreds of SM-2s and SM-6s to defend against attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. US military planners have said that one of the challenges of the Red Sea conflict is being forced to use expensive interceptors to defeat cheap Houthi drones. Trying to get on the right side of that cost curve — saving the higher-end missiles for more advanced threats — is an ongoing focus in training across NATO.
Business Insider
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
More Navy firepower has joined the US warships helping shield Israel from Iranian missiles
More Navy combat power has moved into position alongside the US destroyers that are helping shield Israel from Iranian missiles. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military movements, said the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner is now in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, joining destroyers USS Arleigh Burke and USS The Sullivans, and additional warships could be heading that way. The official said Arleigh Burke and The Sullivans have, in recent days, launched missile interceptors in defense of Israel amid Iranian retaliatory attacks. It's unclear if there have been confirmed intercepts. The official said that in addition to sea-based air defense, the US military also provided land-based support to Israel. This potentially involved the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile battery or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system. US warships helped provide air-defense coverage for Israel twice last year, in April and again in October, when Iran launched its first- and second-ever missile attacks against the country. Since Friday, Iran has fired more than 370 ballistic missiles at Israel, killing two dozen people and wounding over 590 others. Many of the munitions have been intercepted, including by Israel's advanced Arrow systems, which, like THAAD, can strike targets in space. Iran's missile and drone attacks are retaliatory and come after Israel launched operation "Rising Lion" aimed at severely degrading Tehran's nuclear program, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had described as an existential threat to his country. Iran has said its nuclear program is for civilian purposes. Israeli fighter jets have carried out scores of airstrikes across Iran recently, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and its leading scientists, as well as key military sites like weapons production facilities, missile launchers, and air defenses. Israel has also eliminated some of Tehran's senior commanders. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington is not involved in Israel's targeting of Iran's nuclear program, limiting its participation to defensive efforts. Tehran has buried its most critical nuclear facilities underground, and Israel lacks the air-dropped weapons to reach them, meaning it likely can't completely wipe out the nuclear program without the US help. Beyond the warships in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Navy also has destroyers in the Red Sea and a carrier strike group elsewhere in the Middle East, with another carrier heading that way. All of these assets are capable of providing air defense, though it's unlikely that all of them will take on that role.
Yomiuri Shimbun
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
US Helps Israel Shoot Down Barrage of Iranian Missiles
AP file photo The future USS Thomas Hudner, a U.S. Navy destroyer named after Korean War veteran Thomas Hudner, during christening ceremony at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, April 1, 2017. The ship was commissioned, Dec. 1, 2018 in Boston. WASHINGTON (AP) — American air defense systems and a Navy destroyer helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and top military leaders, U.S. officials said. The U.S. has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the Middle East capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Iran fired in multiple barrages in retaliation for Israel's initial attack. A Navy destroyer in the eastern Mediterranean Sea also shot down Iranian missiles heading toward Israel, one official said. The United States also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes. The Navy directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House, U.S. officials said. American fighter jets also are patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and air bases in the region are taking additional security precautions, the officials said. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public or to discuss ongoing operations. President Donald Trump met with his National Security Council principals Friday to discuss options. The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran. Typically around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, according to a U.S. official. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Navy has additional assets that it could surge to the Middle East if needed, particularly its aircraft carriers and the warships that sail with them. The USS Carl Vinson is in the Arabian Sea — the only aircraft carrier in the region. The carrier USS Nimitz is in the Indo-Pacific and could be directed toward the Middle East if needed, and the USS George Washington just left its port in Japan and could also be directed to the region if so ordered, one of the officials said. Then-President Joe Biden initially surged ships to protect Israel, a close U.S. ally, following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that launched the war in Gaza. It was seen as a deterrent against Hezbollah and Iran at the time. On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US shifts warships in Mideast in response to Israel strikes
The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two U.S. officials said Friday. The Navy has directed the destroyer Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House. President Donald Trump is meeting with his National Security Council principals Friday to discuss the situation. The U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect those personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran. Typically, around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, according to a third U.S. official. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Navy has additional assets that it could surge to the Middle East if needed, particularly its aircraft carriers and the warships that sail with them. The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson is in the Arabian Sea — the only aircraft carrier in the region. The carrier Nimitz is in the Indo-Pacific and could be directed toward the Middle East if needed, and the carrier George Washington just left its port in Japan and could be directed to the region if so ordered, one of the officials said. Then-President Joe Biden initially surged ships to protect Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that launched the war in Gaza. It was seen as a deterrent against Hezbollah and Iran at the time. On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
