US Navy pilots return home after months of shooting down Houthi missiles and drones

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — U.S. Navy fighter pilots returned to Virginia relieved Friday after spending months shooting down missiles and drones launched by the Houthi off the coast of Yemen. the most intense naval battle with which the Navy has been confronted since World War II.

F/A-18 Super Hornets flew in low formation over waiting families before landing at their base in Virginia Beach. Dressed in green flight suits, the pilots hugged women in sundresses and children carrying American flags. Some presented their wives and daughters with red roses.

“We’re going to sit on the couch and try to make up for nine months of lost time,” said Commander Jaime Moreno as he hugged his two young daughters, ages 2 and 4, and kissed his wife, Lynn.

Moreno sounded emotionless, saying he couldn’t be prouder of his team and “everything the last nine months have brought.”

The aircraft carrier battle group USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which also includes three other warships, protected merchant ships and Allied warships under fire in a vital corridor to the Red Sea which leads to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are attacking ships with links to Israel, the US or Britain in what they say is a campaign to support militant Hamas in its war against Israel in the Gaza Strip. However, they often attack ships that have no clear link to Israel or its supporters, jeopardising shipping on a key global trade route.

The US and its allies strike back: A volley of fire in January F/A-18 fighter jets from the Eisenhower and other ships shot down 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and a ballistic missile belonging to the Houthis.

US Navy soldiers saw incoming missiles fired by the Houthis seconds before they were destroyed by their ships’ defense systems. Officials at the Pentagon discussed how to care for seafarers when they return home, including counseling and treatment for possible post-traumatic stress disorder.

Commander Benjamin Orloff, a Navy pilot, told reporters in Virginia Beach on Friday that most sailors, including himself, are not used to coming under fire because of the country’s military operations over the past few decades.

“It was incredibly different,” Orloff said. “And I’ll be honest, it was a little traumatizing for the group. It’s something we don’t think much about until we’re confronted with it.”

At the same time, Orloff said that the sailors responded with courage and resilience.

“It is impressive how all these sailors immediately changed their minds – and despite the threat and stress, continued to do their job without reproach,” said Orloff, adding that it was “one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

The carrier battle group had left Virginia in mid-October. The deployment was extended twice It is important to have a powerful carrier battle group in this unstable region that can launch fighter jets at any time.

The months of fighting and extensions meant additional stress for around 7,000 sailors and their families.

Caitlyn Jeronimus, whose husband Keith is a Navy lieutenant commander and pilot, said she initially thought the deployment would be relatively simple and involve some exercises with other NATO countries. But then Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and plans changed.

“It should be, if you can call it that, an entertaining mission in which he would visit many ports,” said Jeronimus.

She said the Eisenhower’s plans were constantly changing, which was exacerbated by the knowledge that “there were people who wanted to harm the ship.”

Jeronimus relied on naval advisors.

Her two children, aged five and eight, are old enough to understand “that Dad hasn’t been here for a long time,” she said. “It was stressful.”