The US Navy, for the first time, is conducting air strikes against the Islamic State from two operational theaters. This is what they communicate from the US Naval Command. "The AV-8B Harrier II of the Marines took off from the USS Boxer in the Persian Gulf, on a joint mission with the F-18 of the USS Harry Truman in the Mediterranean Sea".
The Amphibious Ready Group of the USS Boxer is in operation since 5 last April. Normally it supports the activities of the area belonging to the Fifth Fleet.
The aircraft carrier Truman, meanwhile, continues to carry out its attacks from the Mediterranean Sea. Since last June 148, the carrier has launched 3 sorties against targets in Syria and Iraq. In the Mediterranean, the United States has a second Battle Group formed by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Eisenhower carries the nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 26 and Destroyer Squadron XNUMX. The Battle Group consists of a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, USS San Jacinto and USS Monterey and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. , USS Mason, USS Nitze, USS Stout and USS Roosevelt. It will take over the USS Harry Truman, still active since last December in the military campaign against the Islamic State. Officially, therefore, the United States has two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean. The deployments of the carrier and its related battle group are part of the new fleet optimization plan, which standardizes implementations to seven months.
(photo: USMC)
