SAN DIEGO-The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (CVCSG), led by Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, deployed from San Diego, Aug. 2, in support of global maritime security operations.
CVCSG will begin their deployment by taking part in Large Scale Exercise 2021. LSE 2021 is a live, virtual, and constructive, globally-integrated exercise that spans multiple fleets, designed to refine synchronized maritime operations based on a progression of scenarios that will assess modern warfare concepts in support of the joint force.
The deployment also marks the first time that a carrier strike group is deploying with the advanced capabilities of the F-35C Lightning II and Navy CMV-22B Osprey.
Less than a year ago, the strike group's flagship, Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), completed a 17-month maintenance period and retrofit, during which the ship underwent a complete restoration and system retrofit to accommodate F-35C Lightning II mission capabilities.
"Vinson is the first carrier to accommodate a mix of 4th- and 5th- generation strike fighters, providing unprecedented lethality and survivability and ensuring the Navy team can operate and win in contested battlespace now and well into the future," said Capt. Tommy Locke, commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2. "Integrating the new aircraft has truly been a team effort and using these new tools and technology-new sets of multispectral sensors and the information they provide-will increase lethality and survivability of the air wing and strike group. We plan on leveraging recently established tactics, techniques and procedures and developing innovative ways to use the new technologies to enhance our combined warfighting efforts."
The strike group is a multiplatform team of ships, aircraft and more than 7,000 Sailors, capable of carrying out a wide variety of missions around the globe. Deploying ships and aircraft of the strike group include: USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70); nine squadrons of CVW-2; staffs of CSG 1 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1; Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57); and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers of DESRON 1, which include USS Chafee (DDG 90), USS Dewey (DDG 105), USS Higgins (DDG 76), USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), USS O'Kane (DDG 77) and USS Stockdale (DDG 106).
CVW-2 consists of an F-35C squadron, the "Argonauts" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147; three F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadrons, the "Bounty Hunters" of VFA-2, the "Stingers" of VFA-113, and the "Golden Dragons" of VFA-192; the "Gauntlets" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136, operating the EA-18G Growler; the "Black Eagles" of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 113, operating the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye; the "Titans" of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30, operating the CMV-22B Osprey; the "Black Knights" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 4, operating the MH-60S Seahawk; and the "Blue Hawks" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78, operating the MH-60R Seahawk.
Prior to deploying, the strike group successfully completed multiple interoperability operations in the Hawaiian Islands Operating area, which included integrated flight operations between CVW-2's carrier-based aircraft and land-based Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard aircraft, as well as operations with Coast Guard cutters.
Most recently the strike group completed deployment workups, testing every core warfare area within the group's mission sets through a variety of simulated and live events, ensuring the carrier strike group is fully capable across the full spectrum of military operations.
"Our crews and staffs have demonstrated tactical and technical expertise through teamwork; there is no doubt in my mind that the men and women of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group are ready to fight and win decisively from the sea as we deploy in support of sustained presence and power projection," said Rear Adm. Dan Martin, the commander of CSG 1. "One of the hallmarks of aircraft carrier strike groups is their agility-specifically their ability to quickly and effectively respond to the entire spectrum of military operations. From combat missions to humanitarian assistance/disaster relief missions, we can do it all. We sail forward as a visible and powerful symbol of our nation's resolve to maintain America's advantage at sea."
Vinson, the strike group's flagship, on-loaded more than 1,000 tons of ordnance and embarked CVW-2 personnel and aircraft as part of final preparations for deployment. With more than 5,000 crew embarked, and more than 70 aircraft, Vinson is capable of sustaining around-the-clock maritime operations.
"There is no substitute for a fully trained, equipped and integrated team," said Capt. P. Scott Miller, Vinson's commanding officer. "A modern aircraft carrier has the speed, agility and maneuverability to travel with its embarked air wing more than 5,000 miles in less than seven days, and to arrive on station ready to fight, defend or assist as directed. No other weapons system has the responsiveness, endurance, multi-dimensional might, inherent battlespace awareness, or command and control capabilities of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its embarked air wing."
An integral part of U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary to flawlessly execute our Navy's role across the full spectrum of military operations-from combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. U.S. 3rd Fleet works together with our allies and partners to advance freedom of navigation, the rule of law, and other principles that underpin security for the Indo-Pacific region.
To learn more about CSG 1 and Vinson, visit https://no-click.mil/?www.airpac.navy.mil/carlvinson/ and https://no-click.mil/?www.dvidshub.net/unit/CSG1.
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