Tag Archives: central command

Old School

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I always love to see the old M-14 clocking in with the fleet. Sure, it is just shooting lines here, but work is work, baby. The steel-and-wood M-14 was officially replaced in service by the M-16 platform in 1967, but is still kicking by all means.

“Crimson Connection.” Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG-113) shoot a line during a replenishment with the fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Lewis, May 13, 2026. The John Finn is deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations to support maritime security in the Middle East. U.S. Navy Photo 260513-D-D0477-9009.

The Pascagoula-built Finn, a Flight IIA Burke, entered the fleet in 2017 and is forward-deployed and assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

The destroyer’s namesake, Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John W. Finn, would no doubt approve of the M-14. He earned his MoH the hardest of ways on 7 December 1941 when he ran to a VP-14 training stand at Kaneohe Bay and worked a water-cooled Browning during the attack on Pearl Harbor, remaining at his gun even after picking up wounds from strafing Japanese fighters, until ordered to seek medical attention.

The Realm of the Valkyries

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Official caption: “A sailor assigned to the USS Thomas Hudner attaches chains to an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter during flight deck operations as part of Operation Epic Fury in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, 16 March 2026.”

Note the four-pack of AGM-114 Hellfires, which entered Navy service in 1998.

VIRIN: 260316-N-NO146-1066M (Released).

CENTCOM officials claim to have destroyed, sunk, or seriously damaged over 100 and possibly as many as 130 Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N) naval vessels since the beginning of Epic Fury. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the smaller vessels were bagged via Hellfire.

An Atlantic Fleet Flight IIA Burke, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), has been seen with MH-60s from the Jacksonville-based Valkyries of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 50 aboard, with a big .50 cal on the starboard side and a four-pack of Hellfires to port.

AN MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, departs Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) during flight operations while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 27, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)

A U.S. Sailor, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, performs clear and safe checks on a .50 caliber machine gun on an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 27, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect

A U.S. Sailor, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, refuels an MH-60R Seahawk during flight deck operations aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 26, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)

$2.5 billion per hull, grease pencil not included

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Official caption: “Keeping Tally. A sailor tallies launches as the USS Thomas Hudner fires a Tomahawk land attack missile in support of Operation Epic Fury in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 5, 2026.”

Note the columns for both TLAMS (43 marks) and SM-3ERs (9 marks); surely a story in two parts, while the fact that Hudner only has a 96-cell VLS is the third act of this tale.

260305-D-D0477-2924M.

The first Flight IIA (TI) Burke, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), commissioned 1 December 2018, and the 66th hull of the class, and since joining the fleet, has been a SUFRFLANT asset, based in Mayport.

Her crew famously earned a Combat Action Ribbon for her time (October 2023 – April 2024) in the Red Sea during the quasi-war with the Houthis. You can bet a second one is inbound.