President Donald Trump personally thanked the two Navy commanders who led the strike he ordered on Syria in a phone call Sunday.
The president expressed his gratitude to Andria Slough, commander of the USS Porter, and Russell Caldwell, commander of the USS Ross, and asked them to relay his gratitude to their crews. He also tweeted his thanks to the Navy Sunday night.
Thank you @USNavy! #USA https://t.co/oD7L8vPgjq
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 10, 2017
Trump had previously thanked the military as a whole the day before.
“Congratulations to our great military men and women for representing the United States, and the world, so well in the Syria attack,” Trump tweeted Saturday.
The Porter and Ross, two Arleigh Burke class destroyers located in the eastern Mediterranean, launched a total of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syria’s al-Shayrat airfield Thursday. The attack was a response to what U.S. officials concluded was a Syrian gas attack on civilians in the country’s northwestern Idlib province ordered by President Bashar al-Assad. Aircraft from the al-Shayrat airfield are believed to be responsible for the gas attack.
“The success of this mission hinged upon our Sailors’ excellent training, technical knowledge and dedication to their work,” Caldwell said in a statement. “It was a distinct honor to hear firsthand from our commander in chief that these operations had a direct impact in support of his national objectives.”
Slough said the president was particularly impressed with the performance of her ship during the strike. “In general, the President was impressed with Porter’s precision and lethality. It was obvious he was extremely pleased with our performance and is glad we’re out here patrolling in U.S. 6th Fleet,” she said.
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