By: Sam LaGrone
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), lead ship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8, transits the Atlantic Ocean during a restricted maneuvering exercise on Oct. 13. US Navy Photo
The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is now operating in the Mediterranean Sea after deploying earlier this month from the East Coast, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), the embarked Carrier Air Wing 1 and its escorts passed through the Strait of Gibraltar on Dec. 14 after deploying from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on Dec. 1.
The CSG crossed with the Royal Moroccan Navy’s Sigma-class frigate Allal Ben Abdallah (F 615), U.S. 6th Fleet said in a statement.
The carrier’s entrance into the Mediterranean is the first time a carrier has been in the region since USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) made a brief six-day transit on a return trip to the East Coast from the Middle East in July, according to USNI News’ carrier deployment database. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group spent 25 days in March and April in the Mediterranean on its way to U.S. 5th Fleet.
While in the Eastern Mediterranean in March, Eisenhower launched several strikes in support of the anti-ISIS Operation Inherent Resolve with aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 3.
Truman’s deployment is the third for the carrier since mid-2018. The carrier did back-to-back deployments without a maintenance period. Following its return on June 16, 2020, Truman entered a 10-month availability that completed in May.
Meanwhile, the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit have departed the Persian Gulf and are now operating in the Gulf of Aden.
The ARG/MEU deployed from the West Coast on Aug 12.
The ARG is comprised of three ships: landing helicopter dock USS Essex (LHD-2), amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD-27) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD-52).
This week, Portland tested a laser weapon system against a stationary surface target.
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