The USO brought Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and social media influencer Livvy Dunne aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Mahan, both currently deployed in the Caribbean.

Skenes and Dunne spent time with more than 1,300 sailors across the two ships, learning about their missions, operations and daily life during a two-day tour at sea in October, according to a USO news release on Thursday.

“It was an absolute honor to get to spend time on board the USS Ford and USS Mahan,” Dunne said in the release. “I have such immense gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices they make, along with their families back home, in order to protect our freedoms.”

Skenes and Dunne toured key mission areas and daily-life spaces, met with ship leaders, shared meals with sailors, visited the onboard USO centers, helped launch an aircraft and learned how the Navy fights fires at sea, according to the release.

Throughout the visit, the pair spent time engaging with sailors, signed autographs and took photos.

“Being able to tour the ships and see the incomparable facilities and equipment onboard was an unparalleled experience,” said Skenes in the release. “Most importantly, being able to meet and spend time with so many brave and real-life heroes, who have sacrificed so much to protect us, was truly unforgettable and special. We can never thank them enough for all that they do.”

The Ford strike group departed for deployment from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., in June with eight warships, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, an F-35 fighter squadron and more than 6,000 sailors and Marines.

The strike group arrived in the Caribbean in November after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strike group to join U.S. forces there to disrupt drug trafficking and degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organizations. Officials describe the U.S. military presence as the largest in the Caribbean in decades.

The strike group includes the nine embarked squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Eight, Destroyer Squadron Two’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers Mahan and the USS Bainbridge and the integrated air and missile defense command ship USS Winston S. Churchill.

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previous coverage

• Gerald R. Ford strike group enters Caribbean Sea
• From the Ford Carrier Strike Group to Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group: What assets has US military sent to Caribbean
• US aircraft carrier arrives in Caribbean region, escalating standoff with Maduro
• Ford Carrier Strike Group’s deployment makes Latin America a nexus of Navy firepower
• Hegseth announces Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group heading to Latin America