SAN DIEGO- The USS Theodore Roosevelt returned to her home port of San Diego on Tuesday from her second deployment in two years, and after a stint in the spotlight due to a COVID-19 outbreak that grounded the ship during months.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was deployed in December 2020 to the South China Sea with some 4,800 sailors. Earlier that year, the Roosevelt was deployed in January 2020 in the Indo-Pacific, just before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic.
Just a few months after the ship’s first deployment, it was hit by a COVID-19 outbreak, infecting some 1,271 sailors, forcing the ship to arrive early in Guam and sending half the ship’s crew to quarantine. on land. A member of the crew died.
Two months passed before the Roosevelt could return to sea.
The Department of Defense inspector general blamed the ship’s management team for the outbreak, saying in a surveillance report that commanders failed to enforce the social distancing and proper quarantine that exacerbated the outbreak.
The incident led to the firing of Captain Brett Crozier after a letter he sent to naval leaders criticizing his response to the outbreak was leaked to the press. He was replaced by Captain Carlos Sardiello, who assumed command when the ship returned to sea in May 2020.
During their second deployment, three Sailors tested positive for COVID-19, leading to the isolation of several Sailors. The Navy said that, unlike the first time, the Roosevelt was following an aggressive mitigation strategy and no other outbreaks were reported.
A sailor from the USS Roosevelt who tested positive for COVID-19 is in intensive care after he was found unconscious. According to the Navy, so far 416 sailors on board have tested positive for COVID-19.
“We overcame the challenges that COVID-19 brought head-on and successfully deployed to work with our allies and partners from Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea,” said Doug Verissimo, Rear Admiral Commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine.
The countries came together to conduct training exercises to develop their capacities in the Indo-Pacific region. At other points in the ship’s deployment, it joined the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group for various operations.
El Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group también incluye USS Bunker Hill, Destroyer Squadron 23, Carrier Air Wing 11 y USS Russell.
The Roosevelt’s sailors had been at sea for about seven months before their return to San Diego on Tuesday.
– .
