The Houthis say the ship has been sunk several times in recent months. The captain says they are eating cookies and tacos. So what really happened to the USS Dwight D Eisenhower?
The truth is that one of the US Navy’s oldest ships is still in operation, or afloat and sailing, despite Yemeni rebels’ claims of having destroyed the aircraft carrier.
In fact, its commander, Captain Christopher “Chowdah” Hill, is more alive than ever on social media, trying to combat not only the war at sea, but also the war against disinformation.
“I think in the last six months we’ve supposedly been sunk two or three times, which hasn’t happened,” Hill told the AP during a recent visit to the aircraft carrier. They’re trying to maybe get inspired through misinformation, but that doesn’t work for us.”
To combat fake videos circulated by pro-Russian and pro-China social media accounts showing the aircraft carrier being hit, Captain Hill has been sharing happy images of himself and his crew eating cookies and at the local bakery on board.
But it’s not all fun and games. He also shares images of his fellow sailors carrying out their mission in the Red Sea: escorting and defending commercial ships from Houthi attacks.
While these posts may seem unimportant, maintaining morale on board is not.
The Eisenhower is facing the most intense combat since World War II, and its 5,000 employees have made only one short port call during their eight-month rotation in Greece so far.
According to an analysis by the U.S. Naval Institute’s news service, the Eisenhower was also the most utilized aircraft carrier among the entire U.S. fleet over the past five years.
“The whole intention of the social media outreach was to connect with families, bring them closer to the ship,” Hill said. “So if I can post photos of sons and daughters, husbands and wives here, or even fathers and mothers, put them out there, it just brings the family closer to us. And again, that’s our support network. it also took on another role because everyone was watching to see what we were doing.”
Response to asymmetric warfare
However, ammunition also remains a concern. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told the US Senate Armed Services Committee that, in May, the US Navy spent almost a billion euros on weapons to fight in the Red Sea.
Every leader aboard the Eisenhower that the AP spoke to acknowledged that the Navy was trying to use the right weapon against the Houthis, whose asymmetric warfare leads them to use much cheaper munitions.
“My sailors, my ships are priceless — that’s not a calculation I want a captain to have,” said Capt. David Wroe, the commodore who oversees the guided-missile destroyers escorting the Eisenhower.
“Now, using the appropriate effect weapon system on the appropriate threat to preserve magazine depth, to have more missiles, is certainly a pertinent tactical issue.”
For now, the Eisenhower continues its patrol along with the USS Philippine Sea, a cruiser, and two destroyers, the USS Gravely and the USS Mason.
It has already been extended twice and there is always a chance of it happening again.
Taco Tuesdays and Star Wars memes
While even the Houthis’ secret leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, has mentioned the carrier’s name in speeches while making false claims about the ship, Hill has offered unremittingly positive messages online about his sailors on board.
Then there are the Star Wars memes and images of Captain Demo, the Labrador and Golden Retriever mix that roams the ship as a support animal for the sailors.
And when it comes to the Houthi forces monitoring his posts, Hill takes special pleasure in writing about “Taco Tuesdays” on the ship.
“Let’s celebrate ‘Taco Tuesdays’ because it’s my absolute favorite day of the week. This will never end,” said the captain. “If you call it an information warfare campaign, you can. It’s just who I am, you know, at the end of the day.”
“I had a revelation at some point in my career that one of the things all humans require is to be loved and valued,” Hill added.
“So I shouldn’t be afraid, as a leader, to try to love and value everyone, and also to expect other leaders I’m responsible for to love and value their Sailors.”
