Eisenhower strike group heading home

Left: The USS Eisenhower. The complete 'strike group' involves about 6,000 personnel. Above: A member of the Eisenhower's flight deck crew signals for an F/A-18C Hornet from the "Wildcats" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131 to launch.

NORFOLK - The Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and cruiser Anzio left the 5th Fleet operations area on Friday, passing through the Suez Canal to begin their westward trek home.

The crossing marked the end of their work with combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on a deployment that began more than seven months ago.

They now will join the two other ships in the group - the guided missile destroyers Mason and Ramage - which transited the Suez Canal on Tuesday, the Navy said in a news release Friday.

A fifth ship, the fast attack submarine Newport News, also from Norfolk, is part of the strike group as well.

Read the rest at the Virginian Pilot

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