American warships have been escorting and defending commercial vessels in the Red Sea for a while. It’s intense duty for the crews, the Houthis
According to Euro News:
The Eisenhower is facing its most intense combat since World War II, and its 5,000 staff members have gotten just one short port call during the eight-month rotation to Greece so far.
Keeping morale up on any ship is a challenge, but on long deployments, it’s really hard–particularly when the Houthis are reporting that they have successfully sunk you.
The article reports:
An information war online between the US Navy and Houthi rebels has put the USS Dwight D Eisenhower’s existence into question over the past few months. Its commanding officer, Captain Christopher “Chowdah” Hill, is more alive than ever on social media.
The Houthis say it has been sunk several times in the past months. Its captain says they are eating cookies and tacos. So, what really happened to the USS Dwight D Eisenhower?
The truth is, one of the oldest ships in the US Navy is still up and running, or afloat and sailing, despite the Yemeni rebels’ claims of having destroyed the carrier.
In fact, its commanding officer, Captain Christopher “Chowdah” Hill, is more alive than ever on social media, trying to combat not only the war on the sea but also the war on misinformation.
Here are a few pictures from the article:
The article concludes:
While even the secretive leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, has name-dropped the carrier in speeches while making false claims about the vessel, Hill has offered ceaselessly positive messages online about his sailors on board.
Then there are the Star Wars memes and images of Captain Demo, the Labrador-golden retriever mix who roams the ship as a support animal for sailors.
And as far as the Houthi forces watching his postings, Hill takes special pleasure in writing about “Taco Tuesdays” on the ship.
“We’re going to celebrate ‘Taco Tuesdays’ because it’s my absolute favourite day of the week. That will never end,” the captain said. “If you call that an information warfare campaign, you can. It’s just who I am, you know, at the end of the day.”
“I came to a revelation at some point in my career that, one of the things that 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 everybody, and also to expect other leaders that I’m responsible for to love and value their sailors.”
Keep posting, sir!