The US Navy will be sending two carrier strike groups to the Pacific on Monday. Due to the recent coronavirus outbreaks, it prompted Navy sailors to keep the crew from getting COVID-19.
Several deployments from two sides of the world will be forthcoming as two carrier group that will meet in the pacific for operations. This is a representation of the carrier forces that only the US can muster, as one of the most powerful warships on earth
Navy sources have confirmed that the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) embarked from its homeport, Yokosuka in Japan to begin its yearly spring patrol, the US 7th Fleet. Along with the ship is its Air Wing 5 that stays at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni with the Destroyer Squadron 15 as its escorts on the patrol, reported by USNI News.
Before going on patrol, the ship has done its annual repair in April with sea trials completed in May in preparation for spring patrol.
As an ad joiner, the Navy said that the USS Reagan dispatch will be included adding about 1,000 tons ordnance stored onboard, these weapons will lower it about 5-inches from the waterline, in addition to the crew and all the planes from CVW-5, this statement came from Task Force 70.
How did the navy keep infection of the crew to 0?
According to Stripes, one precaution taken to avoid getting sidelined by the COVID-19 infection, all the 5,000 crew were kept in isolation for two -weeks or restriction of movement (ROM period), all members were tested for COVID-19. This action to isolate all personnel is to create a protective bubble, keeping the virus out.
The USS Nimitz back in action!
On the West Coast in the US, the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) underwent the same isolation method, exactly two-weeks ahead of the exact dispatch starting on Monday. Many Navy ship and crew were affected by the coronavirus, so counter-measures are taken seriously.
Reports say that the USS Nimitz has begun its deployment when it leaves San Diego on 11:30 am, local time, for an extended Western Pacific Deployment, Navy ship spotter sent a confirmation of the ship moving out to USNI News on a Monday.
Sources confirm that the 8,000 crew of the Nimitz CSG and the Air Wing 17 assigned to it were placed in isolation early in April. Respectively, the Nimitz was as the homeport in Bremerton, Washington, the CSG personnel and pilots were in California to keep the schedule for the spring patrol with USS Reagan, mention in CBS8.
Just like the Reagan, Nimitz returned from finishing the training exercises called composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX).
All the ships that will be joining the USS Nimitz CSG and do the composite training unit exercise for all the ships in the carrier strike group.
These ships will be the USS Princeton (CG-59) a guided-missile cruiser, USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53), USS Sterett (DDG-104), and the USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114). All these are Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. Last is the Carrier Air Wing 17, with air groups from several airbases from several states in the US.
The USS Prince left the San Diego Naval Station as one of the Nimitz CSG, confirmed USNI News. Princeton departed Naval Station San Diego on Saturday as part of the Nimitz CSG.
These procedures used on the two CSG was developed after the USS Theodore Roosevelt, got docked for 60 days because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Both the Reagan and Nimitz CSGs will enter the pacific with increased tensions from China, and provide more support to small US Naval squadrons.
