What we do know is that the 17th’s 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery fired at least five 227mm rockets of some type at the ex-Racine from the Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands on Kauai. A standard ammunition pod for the HIMARS system contains six rockets, which could indicate that one of them failed or was otherwise grossly off target.

It’s also clear that RIMPAC 2018 was a major opportunity for the HIMARS crews, as well as other Army personnel. For instance, it was the first time an element of the 17th had been under the control of a Navy commander as part of a larger joint force.

It was the first time MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, situated in Hawaii, had worked as part of a so-called “Multi-Domain Task Force” together with units from other U.S. services and partner nations on land and at sea, as well. Together with an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the unmanned aircraft supplied targeting information to the HIMARS crew, as well as American and Japanese shore-based missile launchers, as well.

The Gray Eagle then monitored the situation as the missiles and rockets impacted, continuing to sharing information all the while via its Link 16 data link to Army and other units. "Soldiers crowd around the television screen in the TAC [tactical command post] as they watch the feed ... The target is a decommissioned naval vessel also known as ex-USS Racine … it's a good hit!" the Army described in a subsequent news story.