Carrier Strike Group 8

Carrier Strike Group 8
Carrier Strike Group 8 emblem
Active 1 Oct 2004-present
Country  United States of America
Branch United States Navy
Type Carrier Strike Group
Role Naval air/surface warfare
Part of United States Fleet Forces Command
Garrison/HQ Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia
Website Official Website
Commanders
Commander Rear Admiral Victorino Mercado, USN[1]
Chief of Staff Captain Keith Kimberly, USN[2]
Senior Enlisted Leader CTTCS(SW/AW) Michael Swaney, USN[3]

Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, abbreviated as CCSG-8 or COMCARSTRKGRU 8, is one of five U.S. Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned to the United States Fleet Forces Command. Carrier strike groups gain and maintain sea control as well as project naval airpower ashore.[4][5]

The current group flagship is the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). The other units of the group are the guided-missile cruiser USS Hué City (CG-66), Carrier Air Wing Seven, and the ships of Destroyer Squadron 28.[Note 1][6][7]

History

During 1994, USS Hue City (CG-66) was a unit of Carrier Group 8.[8] During 1999, the previous Carrier Group 8's flagship was Eisenhower.

In May and June 1998, Vella Gulf completed a two-month BALTOPS Cruise, taking part in the 26th annual maritime exercise BALTOPS '98 in the Western Baltic Sea from 8–19 June 1998. During the exercise, Commander, Carrier Group 8, commanded the exercise from the ship.

From November 2001, at the commencement of Multinational Interception Force (MIF) operations in the Persian Gulf, Royal Australian Navy ships came under the control ('chopped to the OPCON') of Commander Carrier Group 8, Rear Admiral Mark P. Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was also serving as Commander Task Force 50 (CTF 50) embarked in the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

The group was established by redesignation of the former Carrier Group 8 on 1 October 2004.

The Strike Group deployed on 2 January 2010 to the Middle East to help with operations by the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleets.

Effective 1 October 2012, when not deployed, Carrier Strike Group 8 is part of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and its commander reports to Commander Task Force 80, the director of Fleet Forces' Maritime Headquarters. Carrier Strike Group 8 is designated Task Group 80.3.[9]

On 6 October 2014, U.S. Fleet Forces Command announced that the Carrier Strike Group 8 command staff would deploy with Truman, instead of Eisenhower, in accordance with the U.S. Navy's Optimized Fleet Response Plan (O-FRP).[10] This change does not affect the other ships or units that are otherwise assigned to either strike groups.[10]

Carrier Air Wing

An F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-103 prepares to launch from Dwight D. Eisenhower

Carrier Air Wing Seven comprises:

Aircraft operated

Notes

  1. ↑ As of 2012, units of Destroyet Squadron 28 included USS Farragut (DDG-99), USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), USS Elrod (FFG-55), USS Ramage (DDG-61), USS Mitscher (DDG-57), USS Cole (DDG-67)USS Donald Cook (DDG-75), and USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98)

References

  1. ↑ "Rear Admiral Victorino Mercado". Command Info: Commander Carrier Strike Group Eight. Carrier Strike Group Eight. 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  2. ↑ "Captain Keith Kimberly, USN". Command Info: Chief of Staff. Carrier Strike Group Eight. 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  3. ↑ "CTTCS(SW/AW) Michael Swaney". Command Info: Senior Enlisted Leader. Carrier Strike Group Eight. 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  4. ↑ "The Carrier Strike Group". Navy Data. U.S. Navy. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  5. ↑ Addison, Jr., Victor G. (July 2010). "The answer was the Carrier Strike Group ... Now What was the Question?". Naval Institute Proceedings 136 (7): 47. ISSN 0041-798X. Retrieved 2013-10-17. A CSG deploys with a carrier air wing plus rotary-wing assets and is equipped to conduct sustained maritime power-projection, combat, and other missions.
  6. ↑ "Destroyer Squadron 28". Carrier Strike Group Eight. 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  7. ↑ "Destroyer Squadron 28 Ships". Destroyer Squadron 28. 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  8. ↑ USS Hue City Command History 1994
  9. ↑ "USFF Commanders Guidance Brief to Senior Staff 17 Sep_FINAL". Scribd.com. September 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-15. Slides 22, 43—49
  10. 1 2 "Fleet Forces Announces Carrier Schedule Changes". NNS141006-05. U.S. Fleet Forces Public Affairs. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-06.

External links

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