Enterprise arrives in Middle East as lone carrier; Nimitz, Stennis head to Pacific

Above: Launched in 1960, the USS Enterprise was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, powered by 8 nuclear reactors. Until 1972 it was the largest warship in the world, with a flight deck of 4.5 acres. The Enterprise left its home port in Norfolk, Va., in early July with roughly 5,000 sailors aboard. With the other ships in the strike group, a total of approximately 7,500 sailors and Marines make up the group.

The Enterprise carrier group arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday, replacing two carriers that had left the Gulf after a months-long deployment aimed at sending a signal of strength to Iran.

The U.S. 5th Fleet’s headquarters in Bahrain confirmed that the carriers John C. Stennis and Nimitz were returning to their respective home ports of Bremerton, Wash., and San Diego.

Nimitz was the last of the two carriers to leave the Middle East’s restless waters in mid-July, the Navy said.

After a much-publicized U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf, where the Navy kept a two carrier presence since February, there was at least a week with no U.S. carrier patrolling the area, although there were other Navy vessels in the theater during that week.

“We still had enough ships and air forces available during a weeklong absence of the carrier, so our response capabilities were not diminished,” Navy spokeswoman Lt. Denise Garcia said in Manama, Bahrain.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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