Bremerton-Based Stennis Deploys To Gulf

[133724]

BREMERTON, Wash. -- Families said goodbye to sailors boarding the aircraft carrier Stennis Tuesday morning in Bremerton.

The John C. Stennis, with a crew of 3,200, is scheduled to deploy at 10 a.m. as part of President George W. Bush's order for additional U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Stennis had originally been scheduled for duty in the Pacific.

Instead it will conduct maritime security operations in the gulf region.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/10760429/detail.html

And Now there are three (carrier groups in the mid east)

[aquart]

1. They're sailors. Is he deploying them ON LAND?

[napi21]

4. No. He's threatening to bomb Iran nuke facilities.

Of course, this AM on CNN, the host reminded everyone that Iran has purchased antiaircraft systems from Russia, and this has been confirmed by the Russians.

My son was in the Navy for 16 years and he refused to reup several years ago. I tried to talk him out of it then because he only had 4 years to go until he was eligible for his pension. NOW, I'm glad he quit! I would never recommend anyone soining or staying in the military with an idiot CIF like Shrub!

[unc70]

6. Navy being retrained with Marine infantry course

Entire Navy units are "receiving" the standard Marine infantry combat training course. This course is normally taught to young new recruits who have just received basic training. Some of the Navy personnel in the courses now are over 50, rather than about 18-20 for the Marines.

The Navy has now reactivated the Riverine units and they are deploying with the Marines from Lejeune over the next 4-6 weeks. From local news reports, it appears that Lejeune and Bragg will be nearly empty by mid-March.

[Cooley Hurd]

7. No shit!

Are they bringing back the swift boats, too?:shrug:

[aquart]

15. So, yes? He is using our Navy as ground patrol.

[Recursion]

12. A carrier group always has at least a MEU

1 battalion of Marine infantry plus armor, artillery, some helicopters, and support. The Stennis used to float with a MEB (that's a brigade instead of a battalion) but I have no idea what it's packing now.

[wakeme2008]

2. That is only half the sailors

Aircraft carriers go nowhere without a lot of support ships. Each Carrier Group probably has around 6,000 Navy and Marines.

[AllexxisF1]

3. Hold up.

Something is wrong here. Here is the time line I have for all three carrier battle groups.

Late October:

Enterprise leaves Red Sea replaced by Eisenhower from the Mediterranean Sea.

Late December:

Enterprise returns home to San Diego but is rumored to be given 22 days return to sea orders.
Stennis moves in from exercises in the Indian Ocean and deploys to Red Sea.

So... how is Stennis at home when it supposedly was on war games in the Indian Ocean and already in the Red Sea?

Do I have this time line all wrong?

[Cooley Hurd]

5. This site is probably the best in regards to where our carriers are:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/where.htm

:thumbsup:

[sabra]

8. kick

[shanti]

9. bremerton

i thought that bremerton only held the mothball fleet....

[uppityperson]

10. Nope, they are home to a bunch of active military stuff/people

[shanti]

11. ok, thanks

ya learn something new every day :hi:

[uppityperson]

13. They have a bunch of mothballed stuff, and an active shipyard and

several (big boats with people, non-technical, non-military term) there. And nearby is the nuclear sub base, making the area not a good place to be if someone decides to go after USA navy places.

[Megahurtz]

14. Kripes!

Here we go! Stack 'em up in the Gulf!:sarcasm:

:scared::nuke:

I haven't heard of anything being deployed out of freaking Bremerton since World War II.

[maddezmom]

16. NEWS ANALYSIS: U.S. turns focus to Iran

WASHINGTON - Provocative words by President Bush and a fresh American military buildup in the Persian Gulf seem to mark a new focus on Iran that could signal another Cold War or even a deadly confrontation.

As the USS Stennis aircraft carrier began its journey to the Gulf on Tuesday, top administration officials traveling in the region defended the increased U.S. presence there as the only way to impress on Iran that the four-year slog in Iraq has not made America vulnerable.

Sending a second carrier to the Gulf for the first time since 2003 and positioning a Patriot missile battalion in the region, mark a broader U.S. stand in the Middle East at a time when diplomatic efforts with countries such as Iran and Syria have stalled.

It also puts U.S. policy at odds with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's recommendation that the administration should reach out to Iran and Syria to bring more regional support to Iraq.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070117/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iran