Gonzo Station could stand for a U.S. Navy acronym for "Gulf of Oman Naval Zone of Operations," used to designate an area of carrier-based operations in the Indian Ocean during the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the so-called Tanker War between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran; but, in fact it is nothing more than the name of one a famous Muppets' characters that was popular at the time. Military operational areas are commonly named after pop-cultural icons. Viet Nam was laced with such labels. For example,Arizona Territory, in central Viet Nam, was so named for its famous gunfights (firefights).
Carriers on Gonzo Station normally rotated on three-month cruises before being relieved by another task force. Following Operation Desert Storm, the area of the North Arabian Sea grew less in strategic importance as Gonzo Station was too far away to respond to operational needs in Iraq and the Northern Persian Gulf. As a result, the area of the north Arabian Sea is considered today a "transit area".
Several U.S. Navy carriers served on Gonzo Station, including the USS Ranger (CV-61), USS Midway (CV-41), USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Independence (CV-62), USS Constellation (CV-64), USS Coral Sea (CV-43), USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). While replenishment ships normally rotated on and off line in order to resupply, USS Roanoke (AOR-7) served in formation 180 days.The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)in 1980 served 315 days sea time with an 154 line period (July-Dec) This was the largest American Fleet dispatched to the Indian Ocean since WW2
The origin of GONZO STATION is explained in the first line of this article, GONZO is an acronym for "Gulf of Oman Naval Zone of Operations," used to designate an area of operations for a carrier group that was STATIONED in the stated area of the Gulf of Oman.
One should not read any sinister inflection into this acronym. The defence forces of most countries are littered with acronyms that have no actual meaning except to identify something.
USS John F Kennedy was also stationed in the area along with many ships of allied navies including Australia, Great Brittan, New Zealand and Canada. The carrier groups were routinly over flown by russian aircraft and tracked by russian submarine and smaller fishing boat type electronic listening vessels. The Navy and Marine Amphibious Units from the first Marine Brigade 1/3,2/3,3/3. 3rd Marine Division were deployed at the Time.