Elements Of Nimitz Strike Group Return To San Diego After Marathon Deployment

San Diego CA

27 February, 2021

6:26 PM

Description

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego February 26, 2021 The guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett returned to San Diego after an 11-month deployment with the carrier strike group led by the USS Nimitz. Marine Corps Fighter Attack Squadron 323 few off the Nimitz on Thursday to return to Miramar, and the Nimitz docked at North Island Friday to disembark San Diego-based helicopter squadrons before heading to its home port in Bremerton, WA. The Nimitz group was the first to deploy after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was kept at sea while the USS Theodore Roosevelt was sidelined by an outbreak."The sailors and Marines of Nimitz Strike Group and their families have given it their all for almost a year. They successfully kept COVID out of the strike group beginning in April of 2020, and stayed healthy throughout our time standing the watch for our nation," said Rear Adm. Jim Kirk, commander of Carrier Strike Group 11. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III flew to the Nimitz on Thursday to congratulate the crew on their marathon mission that covered the Middle East, Africa and Western Pacific. It was the longest deployment of a carrier group since the Vietnam War. While deployed, aircraft from the strike group few combat missions over Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The group also participated in multinational exercises with the Indian, Japanese and Australian navies. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.