A U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carrier strike group has altered its deployment schedule to be close to Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion.
The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is currently in the Mediterranean Sea and could be within range of Ukraine in a short period of time.
An Aircraft Carrier In Europe, Watching Over Events Near Ukraine
Late in December, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Harry S. Truman nuclear aircraft carrier and its escort ships to stay in the Mediterranean Sea instead of proceeding with their schedule that would have them going through the Suez Canal in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
“Our Sailors are always ready to provide flexible mission capabilities, ranging from supporting maritime security operations and provide crisis response capability, to increasing theater security cooperation and providing forward naval presence in fleet areas of operation. We are prepared to integrate seamlessly whether it with the other ships, in the skies, or across the seas,” Captain Gavin Duff, the commanding officer of the USS Truman, said in a press release after a joint exercise with the Moroccan Navy in December.
In reality, however, the lingering presence of the Truman Carrier Strike Group in the region is more of a show of support to NATO allies and Ukraine rather than a threat of force to Russia. In December, President Joe Biden said that the U.S. wouldn’t deploy troops to Ukraine if the Kremlin decided to invade.
According to the U.S. Navy, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to maintain maritime stability and security, and defend U.S., allied and partner interests in Europe and Africa
Besides the nuclear aircraft carrier, the Truman Carrier Strike Group is comprised of the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto and the guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28 (USS Bainbridge, USS Cole, USS Gravely, and USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109).
In addition, the Norwegian Navy has sent HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen, a Fridtjof-Nansen class frigate, to augment the U.S. warships. This is the first time a Norwegian warship has been part of an American carrier strike group.
With a total of nine squadrons and air detachments, Carrier Air Wing 1 includes F/A-18F/E Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, C-2A Greyhound, MH-60S Knight Hawk, and MH-60R Sea Hawk fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
More Muscle If Needed Ukraine Explodes
But the Truman Carrier Strike Group isn’t the only major Navy reaction force that could respond to developments in Ukraine. The Essex Amphibious Ready Group is in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Centered around the USS Essex, a landing helicopter dock, the Essex Amphibious Ready Group is comprised of the USS Portland, an amphibious transport dock, and USS Pearl Harbor, an amphibious dock landing ship.
But the task force’s main power lies in the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit that is embarked in the amphibious ready group. This Marine Corps unit contains a ground and aviation element can conduct battalion-sized operations.
1945’s New Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.
Matthew Schilling
January 5, 2022 at 11:35 am
Wrong CVN. The loitering CVN should have F-35C’s. The Super Hornet saved naval aviation, and is still a great bird, but the F-35C is stealthier, has longer legs and more powerful gear onboard. And how did CVN-75 just go through a major maintenance and NOT get upgraded for the F-35?
Tony
January 5, 2022 at 11:38 am
Let’s hope our sailors have had the proper diversity-in-the-community training, and have undergone toxic masculinity detoxification.
Charles Shick
January 5, 2022 at 12:31 pm
Warmongers unite in taunting the Russian Bear. Perhaps you should study some history…
Def NOT Tony
January 5, 2022 at 12:51 pm
Let’s hope that training isn’t conducted by bitter man like you. 🙂
Matthew Schilling
January 5, 2022 at 12:59 pm
Are the Russians in Syria to taunt the US and Israel? Asking for a friend!
John Brown
January 5, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Wow! A whole Aircraft Carrier strike group? Putin must be shivering in his boots, but of course he’s not.
Alzheimer JOE has already told him if he invades Ukraine he will be really mad and impose more really bad sanctions.
More Russians won’t be able to travel and bring their kids to Disneyworld. Putin will be really put out.
Biden has already appeased Putin with the Nord Stream Pipeline, killed US energy independence resulting in doubling of oil prices, and increased revenues to Russia in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Alzheimer JOE has more than paid for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, told him he won’t do anything if Putin attacks, and of course Putin watched Afghanistan and is 100% aware Biden is nearly brain dead from DEMENTIA, and surrounded by the most incompetent weak woke appeasing group of political/military leaders in US history.
Putin looks at our woke Generals and Admirals firing healthy marines, sailors, soldiers over idiot COVID mandates, and more concerned with indoctrinating our troops in CRT racism and hate and transsexual acceptance and he laughs and knows he can do whatever he pleases.
An Aircraft Carrier Task force means nothing if you have a bunch of appeasers that won’t do anything with it except put it out there as a giant target. Sadly, Putin has Biden’s measure.
NotADimocrapSheep
January 5, 2022 at 3:57 pm
Wag the Dog, Brandon!
Willie
January 5, 2022 at 6:09 pm
First female affirmative action captain, the Russians must be laughing.
sarsfield
January 5, 2022 at 6:54 pm
How will this force make any difference? Aircraft would have to fly over multiple sovereign nations’ borders to get to Ukraine. How does that work? Unless they go into the Black Sea – is Turkey cooperative? Is there enough room there for a CBG? And some Marines in the Gulf? They are a long voyage away from anything. This sounds like a show and nothing else.
LSI
January 6, 2022 at 7:28 am
Democrats are busting a gut to get us another useless war. Do you see Germany, Poland, or any other NATO country involved? Yeah, Norway sent a whole destroyer, but that’s it. Europe will gladly sacrifice as many American lives as it deems necessary to defend the Ukraine. The Ukraine is not our problem! Let the Europeans deal with it.
Alex
January 9, 2022 at 6:02 am
On the contrary, Russia likes it. They have another big target on their radars that can’t even defend themselves.