US president Donald Trump visited the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier earlier this month in celebration of the Navy’s 250th anniversary. While the event highlighted impressive flyovers and speeches, new images revealing the subpar state of the massive aircraft carrier also came to light. A big flag draped over the damaged section of the boat, which dates back to a collision that occurred nearly eight months previously. In an explanation addressing the carrier’s un-repaired state, the Navy said that “The exterior cosmetic damage to USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) sustained from the collision will get repaired during the ship’s upcoming Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding as planned,” adding that “Immediately following the collision, while in Souda Bay, Greece, new bulkheads were installed inside each of the damaged spaces to establish weathertight integrity.”
During the Truman’s last deployment, the carrier collided with the cargo ship M/V Besiktas-M off the coast of Port Said, Egypt, while it was navigating north of the port. Upon impact, a sponson on the starboard side of the ship was punctured and ultimately tore through the exterior bulkheads of a maintenance space and two storage rooms. Though the Truman’s nuclear reactors were not impacted by the collision, the exterior damage to the carrier was obvious. Despite this, the Truman returned to sea roughly one week following the incident and continued carrying out routine operations following its brief stint at port in Greece for repairs. As previously mentioned, the boat is expected to be fully repaired during its scheduled Refueling and Complex Overhaul coming up.
Notably, this collision was not the only event that troubled the Truman’s previous deployment. Last December, an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet was accidentally fired upon by the USS Gettysburg over the Red Sea. The fourth-generation aircraft crashed into the Red Sea after both of its aviators were able to safely eject. In May, another Super Hornet was lost in the Red Sea following some sort of arrestment failure, which occurred upon the aircraft’s landing. While both aviators were fortunately able to eject, the jet crashed into the sea.
While these mishaps certainly marred the carrier’s overall deployment, Truman played a pivotal role in CENTCOM’s anti-Houthi operations. In a press release detailing the mission of Operation Rough Rider, CENTCOM applauded the Truman and its USS Carl Vinson sister-ship. As detailed in the press release, “The operation has been conducted by a robust assembly of forces to include two Carrier Strike Groups, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group. We are extremely proud of our well-trained and professional forces as they have effectively delivered precise and lethal strikes against Houthi military capabilities.” The Truman was dispatched to the CENTCOM theatre of operation early on in its deployment cycle in response to the Israel-Hamas war and ensuing hostilities in the region.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, The Jerusalem Post, and The Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
Image: DVIDS.
