USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and its carrier strike group will begin transiting from Africa to their West Coast homeports after the acting defense secretary announced today their deployment would be coming to a close.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group departed San Diego, Calif., in May for a deployment to the Middle East that began in June. The strike group left the Middle East in November for a quick exercise with the Indian Navy and then returned back to U.S. 5th Fleet.
Two weeks ago, the strike group repositioned to the Horn of Africa, sitting off the coast of Somalia to provide assistance as about 700 U.S. military members were relocated from Somalia to other nearby countries in a reshuffling of personnel directed by the Trump administration.
“The Secretary appreciates the hard work, commitment, and flexibility of more than 5,000 Sailors and Marines of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group who repeatedly demonstrated operational excellence in providing air support to combat operations against terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and ensuring maritime security in critical waterways,” Jonathan Rath Hoffman, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, said in a statement today.
“The Nimitz team provided persistent air cover during the troop drawdowns in Afghanistan and conducted operations and exercises that strengthened enduring partnerships and alliances in the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility.”
The Nimitz CSG was the first strike group to deploy under the Navy’s new COVID-19 procedures to ensure the team didn’t deploy with the virus onboard.
Beginning in early April, the crew went into isolation. After the isolation period and a negative test, they were allowed onto the ship and had to remain there until Nimitz departed its homeport of Bremerton, Wash., on April 27. The carrier sailed to San Diego to pick up its escorts and air wing, and the carrier strike group went to sea during the second week of May for final pre-deployment training and certification exercise and then straight on to deployment in June.
The Pentagon statement called the underway period a 10-month deployment. Though the sailors will have been away from their families for nearly 10 months by the time they get home, the deployment itself will be about eight months long by the time the strike group gets home – which is still longer than the Navy likes to see, with notional plans calling for seven-month deployments to balance operational needs and personnel considerations.
In addition for the deployment being notable as the first under COVID mitigation measures, it’s also notable for being the last operational deployment of a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. The “Death Rattlers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323 from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego are among the CSG’s four strike squadrons and will be the last Hornet squadron to deploy, as the Marines convert legacy squadrons to the new F-35C carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter.
The following is the full statement from the Pentagon on the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group’s upcoming return home:
Following its role in providing support to American troops in Somalia and the arrival of follow-on operational capability, Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller has directed that the USS Nimitz will transit directly home to complete a nearly 10 month deployment.
“The Secretary appreciates the hard work, commitment, and flexibility of more than 5,000 Sailors and Marines of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group who repeatedly demonstrated operational excellence in providing air support to combat operations against terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and ensuring maritime security in critical waterways,” said Jonathan Rath Hoffman, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
“The Nimitz team provided persistent air cover during the troop drawdowns in Afghanistan and conducted operations and exercises that strengthened enduring partnerships and alliances in the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility.
“They conducted themselves admirably throughout the deployment despite the many challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The sacrifices and services of the Sailors, Marines, and their families is greatly appreciated by the entire Department of Defense and were in the finest traditions of the U.S. naval service. We are glad that we can conclude 2020 by announcing these warriors are headed home.”
