Airforces Monthly - February 2017

The carrier’s support of Operation
Inherent Resolve (OIR) from the
Mediterranean and the Persian
Gulf demonstrated the flexibility
and capability of US naval forces to
‘posture’ as and when required.
Beginning on June 28, Carrier Air Wing
3 (CVW-3) completed 1,685 combat
sorties and expended 1,581 munitions
from the Persian Gulf and Eastern
Mediterranean Sea. On July 8, ‘Ike’
entered the 5th Fleet AOR to operate in
the Persian Gulf. The carrier returned
to the Mediterranean on December 4
after providing five months of air support
in the fight against IS in the NAG.
“The presence of the ‘Ike’ CSG in the
Mediterranean demonstrates the
capability of the US Navy to conduct
precision strikes on ISIL [Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant, or Daesh] targets in
support of Operation Inherent Resolve
from multiple theatres,” explained Rear
Admiral James Malloy, commander of
CSG-10. “It highlights the mobility,
flexibility, and power projection capability
of the Navy’s globally deployed force.
And with a mobile and sustainable
warship like this aircraft carrier, and
with our strike group cruisers and
destroyers, we can operate where
and when we choose and take the
fight to the enemy, whether it is in the
Arabian Gulf or Mediterranean Sea.”
‘Ike’ in the Med
The ‘Ike’ deployment in the
Mediterranean was unusual. For the past
13 years, until last June, air strikes against
targets in Iraq and Syria had always
been launched from carriers cruising in
the Persian Gulf or Indian Ocean. The
Mediterranean Sea was used only as a
transit corridor to Suez and the 5th Fleet
AOR. On June 3, the USS Harry S Truman
(CVN 75) launched attacks against Daesh
positions from the Mediterranean Sea,
marking the first time a US Navy carrier
had conducted combat operations
from the 6th Fleet AOR since 2003.
CSG-10 consists of the Eisenhower and
the embarked CVW-3, the guided missile
cruisers USS San Jacinto (CG 56) and
USS Monterey (CG 61), and Destroyer
Squadron 26 (DESRON 26) with its
associated guided missile destroyers
USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), USS Mason (DDG
87) and USS Nitze (DDG 94). CSG-10
brought capabilities to the US
6th Fleet area including strike,
A VFA-86 ‘Sidewinders’ F/A-18E Super Hornet is
marshalled into its launch position on the deck of
the ‘Eisenhower’ during operations in the 6th Fleet
AOR. US Navy/PO3C Robert J. Baldock
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