Stars and Stripes
April 1, 2022

USS Truman carrier strike group to remain in Mediterranean region for now

The USS Harry S. Truman and at least some of the warships supporting the aircraft carrier will remain on deployment in the Mediterranean Sea region for the foreseeable future, the Pentagon announced.

Officials wouldn’t say Thursday how much longer the Truman carrier strike group will remain there but indicated that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is reviewing the situation daily.

Troops from the 82nd Airborne Division who deployed to Poland also are staying in place, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

***

In December, Austin ordered the Norfolk, Va.-based Truman to remain with U.S. 6th Fleet….The carrier, which left Norfolk on Dec. 1, originally was slated to head to the Middle East.

The Navy sent four U.S.-based destroyers – USS The Sullivans, USS Donald Cook, USS Mitscher and USS Gonzalez – to the region in January and February. U.S. 6th Fleet already has four destroyers based in Rota, Spain.

Since then, the Truman has supported policing and training flights in Eastern Europe to bolster NATO defenses and deter Russian aggression. More than 60 U.S. aircraft are supporting those missions, the Navy said last month.

The Truman also has sailed, in a show of NATO strength, with the French Charles de Gaulle and Italian Cavour carrier strike groups.

Analysts have compared the scale of U.S. ship deployments to 6th Fleet, including 12 destroyers and at least one cruiser, to those of the Cold War.