NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — On Sunday, thousands of people were excited to greet their USS Harry S. Truman sailors pier side.
It was a bittersweet homecoming after an extended deployment that made headlines several times for not just missions, but million-dollar mishaps.
Carrier Strike Group 8 lost 3 F/A-18 Super Hornets while at sea, totaling $180 million. One of those jets was shot down by USS Gettysburg in December in what the Navy called a “friendly-fire” accident.
The aircraft carrier was also involved in a collision with a merchant ship near the entrance of the Suez Canal in the beginning of the group’s deployment.
The strike group conducted missions ranging from exercises with NATO allies in Europe to combat operations in the Middle East, with no loss of life.
“Today is not just a homecoming,” said Rear Admiral Sean Bailey, Commander of Carrier Strike Group 8. “It’s the return of every sailor back to their family.”
Bailey described the deployment as “up-tempo”, and its homecoming reflected that.
The Truman was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, which was displayed on the ship when it pulled into view Sunday. Also on display was metal carnage on the side from the collision with the merchant ship.
Issues like the collision and the lost jets left questions of where some issues may lie. Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher Hill said he couldn’t be prouder of the group of sailors.
Particularly, his praised their ability to change what people may perceive to be the shortcoming of Generation X in the military. He said he saw no cowering or fallback, but instead, he said the sailors just kept fighting and fighting.
Some may say U.S. Navy ships haven’t seen this kind of engagement since the Persian Gulf War of 1990.
Truman was in a 50-day streak of continuous strikes, launching Tomahawk missiles and precision airstrikes aimed at degrading the Iranian backed Houthi rebels’ capabilities to disrupt commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Truman also accomplished the largest airstrike in history launched from an aircraft carrier when 125,000 pounds of ordnance was launched against Islamic State terrorists in northeast Somalia.
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