Arrival of Navy destroyer in Caribbean after joining fight against Houthis and Iran

Six months after operating in the eastern Mediterranean and assisting in intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles, the guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner is back at sea, this time patrolling the Caribbean. The vessel reached the region earlier this week, joining a growing number of U.S. Navy ships stationed there over the past four months. According to USNI News, this brings the total of surface warships in the area to twelve.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, which is equipped for ballistic missile defense, departed Naval Station Mayport on December 1. With extensive operational experience, the ship previously deployed to the eastern Mediterranean in October 2023 as part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, responding to the escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict. In November 2023, the destroyer was among the first U.S. Navy vessels to intercept Houthi drones in the Red Sea targeting commercial shipping in the region. The ship returned to port in January 2024.

Earlier this year, the USS Thomas Hudner also operated in the Caribbean before being redeployed to the Mediterranean amid tensions between Iran and Israel in June. During that deployment, it participated in multiple missile interception operations protecting Israel, sometimes as the sole naval asset coordinating with U.S. Patriot missile defenses.

Cmdr. David A. Cook, the ships commanding officer, highlighted the readiness of the crew when the destroyer departed Mayport: Thomas Hudner is combat-ready, and our crew is poised to execute the nations tasking.

The U.S. Navy maintains a significant presence in the Caribbean, including aircraft carriers, surface ships, and a special operations mothership, MV Ocean Trader. Attack submarines and additional air assets such as fighter jets and bombers have also been deployed, along with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.

The arrival of the USS Thomas Hudner coincides with a recent U.S. military strike against a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific on December 4, which resulted in four fatalities. Since September 2, the U.S. has conducted 22 similar airstrikes against ships alleged to be transporting narcotics in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, with at least 87 casualties reported by the Pentagon.

Author: Riley Thompson