NNS1504. USS Carl Vinson CVBG wraps up in Arabian Gulf
Navy News Service 15/99 (March 31, 1999)
by JOCS(SW) David M. Butts and JO3 Brian Hess, USS Carl
Vinson Public Affairs

     ABOARD USS CARL VINSON (NNS) -- The USS Carl Vinson
Battle Group (CVBG), led by USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and
Carrier Air Wing (CVW) ELEVEN departed the Arabian Gulf
recently after spending three intense months supporting
Operations Southern Watch and Desert Fox in Southern Iraq.
     The ship began its transit south for a long voyage home
and is expected to arrive at her homeport of Bremerton,
Wash., in early May.
     The Carl Vinson Battle Group includes five ships
homeported in San Diego: USS Antietam (CG 54), USS Princeton
(CG 59), USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS Oldendorf (DD 972) and
USS McClusky (FFG 41); as well as USS Columbus (SSN 762)
homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and USS Rainier (AOE 7)
homeported in Bremerton, Wash.
     Just days before departing the Gulf and embarking on
the downward side of its operational schedule, Carl Vinson's
crew learned that the ship earned the Naval Air Forces
Pacific Battle Efficiency award for 1998.
     "This is acknowledgment of facts that this awesome crew
already knows," said Capt. David M. Crocker, commanding
officer. "The Gold Eagle is the best carrier afloat and that
is no accident. Our Sailors are hard-charging, professional
warriors. They, along with Air Wing ELEVEN, have trained for
many months to bring this formidable, complex fighting
machine together.
     "Each person is here because they bring a specialty
with them," continued Crocker. "It doesn't matter if they
fix aircraft, cook fresh eggs in the morning, convert
reactor power to steam to drive the ship at 30 knots or work
overtime to make sure their shipmates can take the next
advancement exam - each is essential to this ship's mission
and success. We cannot move this ship without any one of
them."
     The carrier departed Bremerton Nov. 6, 1998, embarking
on a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean,
Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf. The deployment began with two
liberty visits to Australia being postponed due to
heightened tensions in the Arabian Gulf. Instead, the ship
made a more direct transit westward, making port calls in
Hong Kong and Singapore. Just out of Singapore, Carl Vinson
got orders to make "best speed" toward the Gulf in support
of the impending Operation Desert Fox.
     "Cohesion and discipline and training were never more
important," Crocker said. "We went through the Strait of
Hormuz in the middle of the night, got on station and our
first aircraft launches in the Gulf were for the closing
strike in the operation. We like to brag about being ready
on arrival - and this deployment proved that decisively."
     Carl Vinson steamed more than 17,000 nautical miles
while conducting operations in the Arabian Gulf. F/14D
Tomcats from CVW-11 participated in air strikes against Iraq
Dec. 19 by launching a successful attack that brought rave
reviews from aircrews for the new attack role of the
venerable, air-supremacy fighter.
     "Aircraft carrier battle groups bring tremendous
flexibility, mobility and strength to the scene of
action," said Rear Adm. Alfred G. Harms Jr., Commander,
Carrier Group THREE, from aboard flagship Carl Vinson.
"The Carl Vinson Battle Group also brings an awesome
array of operational capability, including long-term
sustainability, in-depth defenses, immense power
projection and incredible excellence in all areas.
There is no parallel anywhere in the world for this
multi-role capability."
-USN-