Truman to return in May
By JACK DORSEY, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 23, 2003
Last updated: 6:36 PM
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A Navy official confirmed Tuesday night that the Norfolk-based battle group, with 12 ships and roughly 8,150 personnel, has been released by the U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The battle group will remain in the Mediterranean Sea for a brief time, then will head back across the Atlantic.
The Truman's return will be the first large Atlantic Fleet homecoming after the war with Iraq. From Hampton Roads, nearly 60 ships and 29,500 troops are deployed.
The battle group spent most of its deployment in the Mediterranean, where the Truman air wing flew regular missions over Iraq. Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from submarines and surface ships in the battle group from the Med and the Red Sea.
A late-May return would actually be early for the Truman, which left Norfolk on Dec. 5. Normally, the group's deployment would have ended June 5 -- if the Navy had kept to its usually rigid six-month deployment schedule. Many ships have deployed longer than six months since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
News of the Truman's return will be warmly received by family members of the crew, such as Virginia Beach's Chrissy Becker, whose husband, Daniel, is an aviation electronics technician aboard the carrier. This is her husband's fourth deployment.
``This time was worse than any of the others,'' she said. ``For one thing, it was the war, and for another, the ages of the children.''
The Beckers have three children -- Jacob, 10; Allen, 7; and Danielle, 6. Chrissy Becker said that Danielle will be especially happy to see her father.
``She's a real daddy's girl,'' Becker said.
Emily Agunod of Norfolk also was excited to hear the news. Her husband, Anthony, is an aviation storekeeper aboard the Truman who has been on numerous deployments.
``I've lost count -- I think this is his seventh,'' she said.
Anthony Agunod was also deployed during Desert Storm in 1991, which was difficult, she said, because they were expecting their first child, Arianne, who is now 12. They also have a son, Alex, 9.
``But this one was tougher because of the kids, and the war,'' she said. ``It's hard on the kids because they worry over their dad.''
Another Norfolk-based carrier battle group, the Theodore Roosevelt's, is also in the Mediterranean. The Navy says no decision has been made on when to bring that group back.
The Roosevelt left Norfolk Jan. 6 for a training exercise and had not been scheduled to deploy until June. But the battle group and its 8,400 personnel wound up leaving for the Med immediately after completion of the training, without returning to Norfolk.
Vice Adm. Timothy Keating suggested to reporters on April 12 that the Roosevelt and the Constellation, based in San Diego, likely would be the next to leave, though he would not predict when that would be.
A week ago, the Navy said it was releasing the carriers Abraham Lincoln and Kitty Hawk from Middle East duties. The Lincoln is returning to its base in Everett, Wash., next week and the Kitty Hawk will return to Japan, where it is based.
The Navy has a commitment to supply whatever air support is needed for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and that could keep the Roosevelt at sea for a while longer. However, with the war winding down, the Roosevelt could be released soon.
The Truman battle group, commanded by Rear Adm. John D. Stufflebeem, includes Air Wing 3, on the Truman; the guided-missile cruiser San Jacinto; guided-missile destroyers Oscar Austin, Mitscher and Donald Cook; destroyers Briscoe and Deyo; the guided-missile frigate Hawes; attack submarines Pittsburgh and Montpelier; the oiler Kanawha; and the ammunition ship Mount Baker.
All the ships are based in Norfolk except the Pittsburgh, which is based in Groton, Conn., and the Kanawha and Mount Baker, which have no permanent homeports.
The Roosevelt battle group, commanded by Rear Adm. John C. Harvey Jr., includes Air Wing 8, on the Roosevelt; guided-missile cruisers Anzio and Cape St. George; guided-missile destroyers Arleigh Burke, Porter and Winston Churchill; the destroyer Stump; the guided-missile frigate Carr; the fast-combat support ship Arctic; and two unnamed attack submarines.
Reach Jack Dorsey at 446-2284 or jdorsey@pilotonline.com
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