Two ships destroyed a previous Navy deployment record on Thursday by staying at sea for 161 days in a row to limit crew members’ exposure to the coronavirus.
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, nicknamed Ike, and its guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto left their base of operations in Norfolk, Virginia, on January 17 for training missions and deployments. As the COVID-19 pandemic escalated three months later, they were ordered not to dock at any of the overseas ports.
Difficulties with prolonged periods at sea include not allowing crew members to rest on land and not allowing experts and technicians to make repairs.
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To accommodate the changes, the sailors participated “in a period of ‘rest and recovery’ at sea, leaving the station for a short period of time to allow the crew to relax and revitalize with morale events such as swim calls and picnics on steel beaches, “the Navy said in a statement.
(Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brennen Easter / Us Navy via AP)”/> Sailors participate in a steel beach picnic on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 6, 2020.
(Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brennen Easter / Us Navy via AP)
Sailors planned “Waffle Saturdays,” “steel beach picnics,” where sailors can wear civilian clothes and grill on the flight deck, host jazz cigar socials, and become competitive with basketball contests. Sailors told the Associated Press. In an interview.
At San Jacinto, sailors replaced a mustache contest with the March Madness tournament. The group of 64 people competed to see who could grow the ugliest mustache.
(Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brennen Easter / US Navy via AP)”/> Sailors participate in sporting events on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 6, 2020.
(Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brennen Easter / US Navy via AP)
“Our ships remain undeterred in the face of adversity and this monumental feat will only make our crews and the Navy stronger,” Capt. Kyle Higgins, commander of the USS Eisenhower, said in a statement. “I am very proud of the young men and women I see on the deck every day. Their dedication to the mission is what makes our Navy the greatest combat force the world has ever seen.”
“While all deployments present challenges, especially those of record length, they also unite sailors through shared memories that last a lifetime,” the Navy statement said.
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Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the crews of both ships have remained ready for the mission.
Sailors assigned to the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto pose for a photo on May 17, 2020, during a swim call in the Persian Gulf. (Maxwell Anderson / US Navy Second Class Mass Communication Specialist via AP)
The records of the ships exceed those of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which operated for 160 days in a row in support of the post-9/11 response in February 2002.
However, this is not Ike’s first record: in 1980, the ship held the record for 152 consecutive days in progress during the hostage crisis in Iran.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
