Carrier Captain In Combat: What Went On During 7 Months Under Fire Around The Red Sea
We go in-depth with Capt. Chris "Chowdah" Hill about the Eisenhower's grueling and dangerous deployment that faced a bevy of new tactical realities.
Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 6, 2024 8:52 PM EDT
37 minute read
Navy Capt. Chris "Chowdah" Hill, commander of the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, opens up about the carrier group's recent dangerous and grueling deployment to the Middle East.
Navy Capt. Christopher “Chowdah” Hill commands the Nimitz class aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower which recently returned from the Middle East. The historic, nine-month deployment saw the ship and its escorts under fire from an array of weapons old and new and ended up being one of the most dangerous and grueling the sea service has experienced since the Korean War. Now the combat-proven skipper opened up to TWZ like never before about what being under constant threat of attack was like and the rapidly changing tactical realities he and thousands of his sailors faced while plowing the waters of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG) was called into the region following the Oct. 7 surprise Hamas attack on Israel. Once there, they battled Houthi rebels repeatedly attacking them and commercial shipping off Yemen’s shores. Collectively, the IKECSG used its various weapons to destroy a bevy of Houthi aerial drones, missiles, uncrewed surface vessels, and undersea vehicles, and different kinds of targets ashore, firing nearly 800 missiles and other munitions in the process. They also helped defend Israel from the first-ever direct attack from Iran.
Captain hill on how his tweets would have needed to change if the ship was hit.
Navy Capt. Chris “Chowdah” Hill, commander of the Nimitz class aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. (@Chowdahhill X account)
The Eisenhower and the vessels in the carrier strike group experienced a remarkable number of other firsts.
A U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jet deployed to the flattop claimed the type’s first air-to-air kill, likely downing a Houthi drone. Growlers from Ike’s air wing also employed AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles (AARGM) for the first time in combat in the course of those operations, including in a strike that destroyed an Mi-24/35 Hind gunship helicopter on the ground that The War Zone was first to confirm. An Arleigh Burke class destroyer attached to the carrier strike group fired the Navy’s newest missiles in combat for the first time. An F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot assigned to the Ike became the first woman in U.S. military history to score an air-to-air kill. It was also the first time anti-ship ballistic missiles were used in combat, a challenging threat Ike and its escorts had to confront on a regular basis.
https://www.twz.com/sea/carrier-captain-in-combat-what-went-on-during-7-months-under-fire-around-the-red-sea
