Sailors assigned to USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier prepare to man the rails on the flight deck prior to deployment. Navy photo by MC2 Jonteil L. Johnson.

USS CARL VINSON STRIKE GROUP DEPLOYS
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, 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 are:
• USS Carl Vinson
• Nine squadrons of CVW-2
• Staffs of CSG 1 DESRON
• USS Lake Champlain
• USS Chafee
• USS Dewey
• USS Higgins
• USS Michael Murphy
• USS O’Kane
• USS Stockdale

CVW-2 consists of
• VFA 147
• VFA-2
• VFA-113
• VFA-192
• VAQ 136
• VAW 113
• VRM 30
• HSC 4
• HSM 78
“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 CSG 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.”
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.

Military News | Navy News | Carl Vinson Strike Group deploys