In keeping with my Memorial Day tribute to our men and women in uniform, I would like to take a moment to thank my cousin Sergio, who used to be a lot of fun to toss in the air and hold upside down by his ankles, and who is now a sailor on the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins — part of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.
The Nimitz and its group, along with the strike groups attached to the USS Stennis and USS Bonhomme Richard, crossed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf on May 23d during daylight – apparently the first time that such a massive armada has crossed through the Strait all at once and in daylight. Neither the crossing nor the war games that followed were announced to the Iranians.
This e-mail from my cousin aboard the Higgins provides a window into how tense the situation is:
We saw an Iranian frigate the other day that was about a couple hundred yards from us. Nothing happened but we had all our guns ready if they did anything. Besides there was one of our frigates acting as a shield for us. Anyways they told everyone to get inside the ship but like I said nothing happened.
Good luck, Sergio. And thanks for protecting us.