Drones downed and biscuits baked: Why the Ike's captain is a social media star
USS Dwight D Eisenhower has returned to her home base following a relentless nine-month deployment in the Red Sea, overseen by the ship's commanding officer, Captain Chris 'Chowdah' Hill.
He has been called the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier's secret weapon, credited with keeping morale up as the crew worked at a continued combat pace shooting down missiles and drones fired by Houthi fighters and attacking launch sites in Yemen.
Setting sail last October, her deployment was twice extended - making it longer than any other US carrier for the last five years - and only involved one brief port call in Greece.
Throughout that time, Capt Hill posted on social media most days, where he engaged with the crew - who he calls his warriors - tackled misinformation, updated on Captain Demo the therapy dog and even kept an official count of the number of cookies baked on the ship.
Having only set up an X account in November, his bio proclaims him as the "Proud Captain of the best damn ship in the Navy".
Writing on X, he said "Leaders need to be into the morale-building business ... It’s about making people feel valued & part of something greater than themselves.
"Leaders literally control this power. And it produces results."
Military career
Capt Hill commands the USS Dwight D Eisenhower, the lead ship in the US Navy's response to the Houthis, along with her three warships USS Philippine Sea, USS Gravely and USS Mason.
A Massachusetts native, he assumed command of the Ike nearly a year ago after more than two decades in the Navy.
He previously executive and commanding officer of an airborne command and control squadron, was a Top Gun instructor, and the executive officer of the aircraft carrier George HW Bush, before becoming the commanding officer of the amphibious transport dock USS Arlington.
He was also involved with Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve in Afghanistan and against the so-called Islamic State.
Tackling misinformation
At the end of May, Houthi rebels claimed missiles hit the Eisenhower, with doctored images and bogus videos widely shared online amplified by pro-Chinese and pro-Russian social media accounts.
Capt Hill quickly responded, sharing with his nearly 90,000 followers videos of the ship conducting normal operations - including a video of a plane landing on the flight deck along with trays of muffins and cinnamon buns fresh from the oven.
He jokingly posted on X "I think we were sunk only twice this year" and later invited journalists to the ship so they could see operations for themselves.
Captain's chair cookies
A cornerstone of his content is photos of sailors sitting in the captain's chair complete with cookies to send a heartfelt message home.
Speaking to Business Insider, Capt Hill said families would frequently write to him asking for pictures of their sailors.
This gave him the idea to invite crew to the bridge, sit them in his captain's chair and post their message home online.
His plan proved a great hit and the requests from families rolled in.
Taco Tuesdays
Another staple for Capt Hill has been the ship's Taco Tuesday, of which he said: "[It's] my absolute favourite day of the week. It's science."
It has become such an institution on board that two sailors got tattoos to honour the tradition during their only brief port call.
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