Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine offered a moving testimonial to the members of the American Navy on Thursday, declaring, “Far and away, the most important thing — important weapon — on board these ships is the American sailor.”
Speaking at a press briefing alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM’s Brad Cooper, Caine began, “I want to talk briefly today about the men and women enforcing the blockade, America’s sailors and Marines, particularly our destroyer and surface forces. When we talk about an American destroyer, it’s important that you and the American people understand their capabilities.”
“An Arleigh Burke class destroyer is the backbone of the United States Navy surface fleet,” he continued. “Over 500 feet long, they displace 9,000 tons and it is the sports car of the United States Navy. From the keel to the mast, they stand nearly 10 stories tall, and their four gas turbine engines can drive the ship at 30-plus knots. These ships are armed to the teeth with surface-to-air missiles, land attack cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes, five-inch naval guns, multiple electronic warfare systems. Embarked helicopters extend the reach and capability of each and every one of these destroyers.”
Then he turned to the American warriors: “But far and away, the most important thing — important weapon — on board these ships is the American sailor. Over 300 warfighters are the heart and soul of these warships. At sea sometimes for months, and these ships, out in the CENTCOM AOR, have been out there for months. They operate around the clock in a constant state of readiness delivering for our joint force.”
“It’s hot in the engine room,” he explained. “The engineering team keeps the lights on and the ship powered and able to respond to the orders from the bridge. On that bridge, our sailors maintain a constant watch, maneuvering the ship tactically and safely through all congested water space — and there is a lot out there. It is like driving a sports car through a supermarket parking lot on a payday weekend with thousands of kids in that parking lot as you attempt to maneuver through there to get to that ship that would attempt to run that blockade.”
“Down in the Combat Information Center, the CIC, the Tactical Warfare Center of the ship, that is where the decisions are made,” he said. “As threats appear, these young sailors are making real-time decisions on how to identify these threats and handle them, and they always deliver. These ships are run by the youngest sailors in our surface warfare Navy. The helmsman, the sailor on the watch at the bridge, is normally just between 18 to 19 years old, and they are trusted to drive this warship through that supermarket parking lot without hitting anything. The conning officer, an equally young commissioned officer who’s normally just a few years out of college, is the one who is giving that young helmsman the orders on where to take that American warship to execute the mission that the secretary and the president has given us.”
He concluded, “These are incredibly well-trained sailors. They are led by incredible leaders, salty, experienced leaders and trusted with deep responsibility. And I’m so humbled and proud of America’s Navy. These sailors choose to take the road less traveled to go into the historic surface navy and they deliver every single day.”
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