{"id":74995,"date":"2024-05-21T16:56:43","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T16:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/21\/inside-the-uss-carneys-harrowing-and-unprecedented-deployment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:19:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:19:36","slug":"inside-the-uss-carneys-harrowing-and-unprecedented-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2024\/05\/21\/inside-the-uss-carneys-harrowing-and-unprecedented-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the USS Carney\u2019s harrowing and unprecedented deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When they left Naval Station Mayport, Florida, on Sept. 27, Cmdr. Jeremy Robertson and the sailors he commanded aboard the destroyer Carney had no idea what was in store for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to hear Robertson tell it, they were ready to face the unknown, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen would soon put them to the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carney and its crew would spend the coming months shooting down an at-times relentless salvo of Iran-backed Houthi missiles and drones from Yemen, fired at all types of vessels transiting the claustrophobic confines of the Red Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Houthis fired anti-ship ballistic missiles, Robertson\u2019s sailors had just a handful of breaths in which to decide if and how they would counter the attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom start to finish, it\u2019s anywhere from nine to 20 seconds,\u201d Robertson told reporters on Monday, a day after the Carney returned home to Mayport. \u201cSo very fast, very dynamic. And our systems are doing exactly what we\u2019ve designed them to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Countering these threats so <\/a>swiftly required full confidence in the ship\u2019s tactical action officers, the watch team, and all the systems aboard the vessel, Robertson added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have learned some significant capabilities when it comes to speed,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cSo an [anti-ship ballistic missile] is just way faster than anything else. And we have certain capabilities to be able to detect stuff like that\u2026These are certainly very dangerous areas. And every, every interaction is completely different from one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The destroyer originally joined the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group this fall in the European theater for a scheduled deployment, but headed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in the Middle East on Oct. 18 amid concerns about a larger conflict emerging in the region at the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The very next day, the vessel became the first confirmed U.S. warship<\/a> to intercept a series of Houthi missiles and drones in the Red Sea on Oct. 19, an hours-long melee that would set Carney\u2019s course for months to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNone of us could have prepared for this,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cNone of us could have known what was going to happen\u2026We never had anyone that shied away from the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t