Observing 2008 Scheduled Deployments

The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has been given their orders.

Three locally based Navy warships from Everett and a Navy air squadron from Whidbey Island will depart Mar. 13 for a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific, the Navy said Thursday.

The USS Abraham Lincoln, based at Naval Station Everett, will lead Carrier Strike Group nine, grow its own crew to nearly 5,000 as it takes on pilots and crews of nearly 10 air squadrons.

Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
USS Mobile Bay (CG 53)
USS Russell (DDG 59)
USS Shoup (DDG 86)
USS Momsen (DDG 92)
USS Curts (FFG 38)

CVW-2 USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
VFA-2 F/A-18F Bounty Hunters
VFA-137 F/A-18E Kestrels
VFA-151 F/A-18C Vigilantes
VFA-34 F/A-18C Blue Blasters
VAQ-131 EA-6B Lancers
VAW-116 E-2C Sun Kings
HS-2 HH-60H/SH-60F Golden Falcons
HSL-47 SH-60B Saberhawks
VRC-30 Det 2 C-2A Providers

The March CSG Pacific deployments for the last few years has been one of the most active, most interesting to observe, and I'd bet one of the better deployments one could make in the Navy. On top of all of the exercises the Strike Group will participate in, they are also going to be at sea during the Olympic Games in China this year. We also note they will be at sea during the usual periods we see North Korea try to grab headlines with their nonsense, usually in the early summer when the humidity is high and the power is low.

Among other scheduled deployments upcoming this year we continue to observe is the USS George Washington, which will put to sea in April for its move to the Pacific to replace the Kitty Hawk in Japan. We also expect to see the Reagan CSG deploy in the spring to replace the Truman CSG in the Gulf, and the Peleliu ESG will be making a deployment later this year from the Pacific as well. Also later this year we expect to see both the Roosevelt CSG and Iwo Jima ESG deploy from the Atlantic. The Iwo Jima ESG in particular will be one to watch for, because it will be the first deployment for the USS San Antonio (LPD 17), sometime in the Sept/Oct time frame.

Among other deployment activities we continue to look for, it is unclear which ship if any will replace the USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) as her tour approaches completion. The combination of delays into service of the first few LPD-17s and the busy schedule for LSDs, from operations in the fifth fleet to security cooperation exercises like Global Fleet Stations, POA 2007, and CARAT, the amphibious fleet has been working overtime.

From what we understand, there will be a Global Fleet Station mission to east Africa in a few months, but we are yet to see an announcement regarding which ship will fill that role. We also remain curious if the Navy will both conduct a GFS in east Africa, and also continue the single deployments of amphibious ships to the 5th fleet, or continue the GFS off West Africa after the USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) mission completes.

Given the rotation schedules and observing the amphibious ships working up for the ESG deployments, it looks to us that one of the next ships in line for one of these independent amphibious ship deployments, at least from an availability perspective, might be the USS New Orleans (LPD 18).

Could we see both the USS San Antonio (LPD 17) and USS New Orleans (LPD 18) both on deployment by the end of the year? Probably not, but the lack of availability for amphibious ships due to their heavy usage is noteworthy, and we observe that when the Navy dips into its bag of ships, they will probably pull out another LSD. It is going to cost a fortune to support the LSD fleet in the future as LSDs continue to be in use more average days annually than any other platform type by percentage. Want to live at sea in the US Navy? Serve on an LSD.