The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt returned home to San Diego on Tuesday following a nine-month deployment that saw its West Pacific cruise detoured to the Middle East as war threatened to break out between Israel and Iran.
TR was rushed to the Middle East in July, after East Coast carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was wrapping up its own extended deployment battling missile and drone salvos fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Carrier presence in the Middle East has traditionally been handled by Virginia-based carriers, but none of those carriers were ready to replace Ike, prompting TR’s diversion to the region.
As tensions have ebbed and flowed this year, TR operated alongside fellow West Coast carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East before departing those waters in September and heading home.
“The strike group’s ability to quickly adjust from operations in [the West Pacific to the Middle East] is a testament to both the flexibility of our naval forces as well as the strength and training of our Navy Sailors,” Carrier Strike Group 9 Commander Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander said in a statement.
Theodore Roosevelt’s strike group includes Carrier Air Wing 11, the cruiser Lake Erie and the destroyers Russell, Halsey, John S. McCain and Daniel Inouye.
Lake Erie and McCain remain deployed to the West Pacific, the Navy said, while the other strike group warships have returned to their home ports.
Strike group sailors flew more than 9,000 sorties and logged 21,000 flight hours, while steaming more than 71,000 nautical miles and conducting 28 at-sea resupplies, according to the Navy.
Those sailors also did port calls in Bahrain, Diego Garcia, Guam, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
“The crew worked incredibly hard and maintained mission focus this entire deployment,” Capt. Brian Schrum, Theodore Roosevelt’s commanding officer, said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of our Sailors and the work accomplished across the world’s oceans to keep our nation safe at home.”
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
