The U.S. Navy has confirmed a troubling string of preventable incidents aboard the USS Harry S. Truman strike group — and the findings are damning.
According to NBC News, between December 2024 and May 2025, four serious operational failures during the carrier’s Middle East deployment exposed gaps in leadership, training, and equipment maintenance, with no reported casualties but significant equipment losses and embarrassing missteps at sea.
The Navy's formal investigation, released Thursday, followed the Truman strike group’s months-long assignment in a region seeing heightened threats from Houthi rebels and other militant actors — but revealed that not all trouble came from the outside.
Deadly Friendly Fire and System Failures
The first major failure occurred in December 2024, when the USS Gettysburg, part of the strike group, accidentally shot down a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet and nearly targeted another. Yes — Navy-on-Navy fire. Investigators linked this mishap to multiple breakdowns: flawed combat systems, missing joint training, weak communication, and poor coordination between ships that, frankly, should be working together flawlessly.
Adm. Jim Kilby, vice chief of naval operations, placed blame where it belongs: “This was manifested through not following procedures, lack of forceful backup on the cruiser and lack of cohesion across Strike Group units.” In other words — the teamwork wasn’t there, and the command structure let it happen.
Collision Near Egypt Raises Alarms
In February 2025, the Truman collided with a merchant ship near Egypt’s Port Said. Though no injuries were reported, this avoidable incident spotlighted a failure of navigation fundamentals.
The investigators minced no words in describing this as a navigational error. You’d think a carrier with billions of dollars in tech wouldn’t bump into a cargo ship in peacetime. This wasn’t a case of sudden conflict, but rather a breakdown in situational awareness — one that begs the question: Is basic seamanship still being taught in today’s Navy?
Miscommunication Leads to Aircraft Loss
April brought more chaos. While responding to ballistic missile threats in the Red Sea, the Truman conducted emergency maneuvers — during which an F/A-18E and a tow tractor were lost due to mechanical failure and lackluster communication.
Brake failure was partly to blame, but it didn’t help that ship personnel weren’t clearly talking to each other. When your bridge, flight deck control, and hangar team aren’t aligned, you’re asking for accidents. It’s a classic case of too much tech, too little know-how. Something that could’ve been prevented had someone simply picked up a radio — or known how to use it.
Third Jet Lost as Gear Malfunctions
Not to be outdone by the previous blunders, May 2025 saw another F/A-18 lost — this time after the carrier’s tailhook arresting system failed during landing. Investigators chalked it up to subpar maintenance and faulty equipment. If you’re keeping score — that’s three lost fighters in a span of six months, with zero coming from enemy fire.
Even more disheartening is the report’s finding that the crew lacked solid technical knowledge of the equipment they were handling. Training isn’t just a box to check — it’s the difference between a safe landing and another $70 million mistake.
Navy Aims to Learn From Errors
In a statement, Adm. Kilby said the Navy is “committed to being a learning organization,” a comforting phrase that doesn’t erase the reality that learning came at a very high cost.
So far, the Navy promises increased personnel training and systemic reviews. That sounds good on paper, but we’ve heard this tune before — procedural reviews won’t do much unless leadership stops prioritizing bureaucratic fluff over operational grip. What’s more, all of this could have been much worse. Lucky for the Navy — there were no personnel casualties or significant injuries. But next time, we might not be so fortunate.
Lessons Must Prioritize Performance Over Optics
There's an uncomfortable truth here — that in the post-modern Navy, where signaling compliance often trumps old-fashioned readiness, some basics got lost in the shuffle. None of these failures was caused by the enemy. Each was preventable, domestic in origin, and all happened on the watch of a fully equipped, highly funded U.S. carrier strike group. Let’s hope the high command invests more in training our sailors and less in distracting initiatives that don’t belong on the deck of a warship.
