[Blood of Tyrants]

My guess is that the Nimitz will sail near top speed (40 knots or more?) to get to the Gulf as quickly as possible and planes from both the Lincoln and the Nimitz will participate in the attack. The Lincoln will then head home after a few days leaving the Lincoln to patrol and mop up.

[glorgau]

My guess is that the Nimitz will sail near top speed (40 knots or more?) to get to the Gulf as quickly as possible and planes from both the Lincoln and the Nimitz will participate in the attack.

Well, the Nimitz might not get there on time. It could only be around the Northern Pacific (Korea/Taiwan) at the time any conflict in Iraq breaks out. :-)

[kms61]

The speed of the battle group is dictated by the speed of the slowest ship. In addition, high speed put's a lot more wear and tear on the machinery, and burns a whole lot more fuel...not a consideration with Nimitz, but definitely a factor with the non-nuclear components of the group.

I seem to recall reading that steaming speeds of more than about 25 knots are a rarity even among ships capable of much faster.