A newly released Navy investigation into four separate incidents from the USS Harry S. Truman Strike group’s recent time in the Red Sea found that more than 100 sailors were put at risk in accidents that were largely preventable.
The USS Truman returned to Norfolk in June after an eight-month deployment that included six months in the Red Sea. During their time in the Middle East, the strike group was under constant threat from missiles and drones while conducting operations against Houthi rebel positions in Yemen.
“The Navy is committed to being a learning organization,” said Jim Kilby, Vice Chief of Naval Operations. “These investigations reinforce the need to continue investing in our people to ensure we deliver battle-ready forces to operational commanders.”
The report details a harrowing friendly fire incident on Dec. 22, 2024 when an F/A 18 pilot ejected after the Norfolk-based cruiser USS Gettysburg fired an SM-2 missile at the fighter, misidentifying the plane as an incoming missile. The Gettysburg crew lost track of Virginia Beach-based fighters from the carrier, as they were preparing to land after an air raid in Yemen.
After 92 seconds, the ship fired on a second fighter. The pilot of that aircraft saw the missile’s engine flame out and held off ejecting, and then watched the missile sail under the F/A 18 before it detonated in water.
The cruiser nearly fired on a third fighter before someone on board the Gettysburg yelled “abort” and stopped the attack. The report blamed poor communication on the ship. The ships had been in the Red Sea for only a week and they had limited training together. Fatigue was another factor in the accident. Some watchstanders on the cruiser were on duty for more than nine hours.
According to a Navy official, the Navy has spent $55 million since the friendly fire incident to upgrade the AEGIS weapon systems, which is used by ships across the fleet to monitor air traffic and target weapons. While not absolving the crew, investigators highlighted a problem with the software that enables ships to identify incoming aircraft as friendly.
On Feb. 12, the USS Truman struck the freighter BESIKTAS-M near Port Said, Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea. The Truman was getting ready to enter the Suez Canal on the way back to the Red Sea from a port stop in Greece. The Navy blames the Truman, which was traveling at an unsafe speed at night, in a congested area, when it hit the merchant ship.
“The investigation into the collision between the Truman and the merchant vessel in February 2025 determined that the collision was avoidable as the carrier's bridge team did not take proper action to avoid the collision,” Kilby said.
The collision tore a 15-foot gash into the rear of the carrier. No one was killed, but eight sailors were on duty less than 10 feet from the site of the collision and “had the collision occurred 100 ft. forward, the impact would have likely pierced a berthing compartment with 120 sleeping sailors,” according to the investigation.
In 2017, the Navy instituted a number of changes after 17 sailors died when two destroyers, the USS McCain and USS Fitzgerald, struck commercial ships in separate incidents. The Navy updated its training requirements and imposed stricter standards to ensure sailors received adequate rest between shifts. Those requirements are not applied in the same way to carrier strike groups, which operate under their own rules, said John Cordle, a retired captain and Navy human factors engineer who worked on the standards.
“Fatigue management, ship handling and training should be identical in the surface Navy, the submarine Navy and the carrier Navy, and right now they're not,” Cordle said.
The Navy remains undermanned. A senior Navy official said there are currently 18,000 positions open on ships deployed around the world, but the Truman Strike Group was certified as ready to deploy.
After the collision and receiving repairs, the USS Truman returned to the Red Sea.
Truman's commander, Capt. Michael D. Snowden was fired after the accident. The report mentions other sailors may face criminal charges, but the Navy has not released any of the names or even the number of sailors who were disciplined after any of the four accidents.
Despite the high operational tempo, the Navy determined that these four major accidents in the Truman strike group were preventable. On April 28, the carrier was under fire and taking evasive maneuvers to avoid incoming missiles when an F/A 18 slid out of the hangar bay along with a tow vehicle. The pilot and the tow operator jumped to safety before the equipment went overboard. The Navy blames a problem with the fighter’s brakes, but also poor communication between the bridge and the hangar crew.
On May 6, another F/A 18 plunged into the sea after landing on the USS Truman. That time, an arrestor cable broke and the plane did not have enough speed to take off. The pilot was rescued from the water. Along with the equipment malfunction, the Navy blames a lack of training, proper maintenance and inadequate manpower.
The carrier strike group was involved in what the Navy has called one of the most intense sea battles since World War II. In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailed attack plans for USS Truman planes to carry out on Houthi Rebel positions in a group chat. That controversy has come to be known as Signalgate.
