USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) departed Naval Station Norfolk on Monday for her assignment to the US 6th Fleet. Truman, Carrier Air Wing 1, the guided-missile destroyers USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) and USS Stout (DDG-55), and the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) are set to depart for the Eastern Mediterranean.
“This mission comes on the heels of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group’s nine-month mission, which highlighted the need to continue our sustained presence amid escalating international tensions,” said Adm. Darryl Condle, commander of the US Fleet Forces Command. Of course, problems follow the US fleet, as they lost a military oil tanker that allegedly ran aground in Oman.
“The operational experience gained through these deployments is invaluable in maintaining a deep bench of skilled warfighters with confidence and assurance in their system’s reliability, adaptability and lethality in a rapidly changing security environment.”
Truman’s deployment comes as the Hamas-Israel conflict has dragged on for just under a year and tensions continue in the Red Sea amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthi forces against merchant shipping. In addition to the ongoing conflict with Hamas, Israel has launched several violent attacks against Hezbollah. So the role of the aircraft carrier is to protect Israel from any serious retaliation.
For now, the Pentagon will not be involved in evacuations of Americans unless requested
While the U.S. Embassy in Beirut has asked all Americans to leave Lebanon, the Defense Department has not been asked to evacuate, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Gen. Patrick Ryder said.
The USS Wasp (with Marines and civilian evacuation training), the amphibious readiness group and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are also in the Eastern Mediterranean, should the US need to evacuate. USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and USS Cole (DDG-67) are also in the Eastern Mediterranean as of Monday.
The deployment of the Harry S. Truman strike group follows the departure of the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group from the Middle East. Carrier Strike Group Abraham Lincoln, another West Coast strike group, is currently in the North Arabian Sea. Task forces Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln have been in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea as part of their tenure in Central Command.
Source: US Naval Institute
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