Third US aircraft carrier heads to the Gulf

[allemand]

Source: AFP

MANAMA (AFP) - Another US Navy aircraft carrier is heading towards the Middle East, boosting the number of the giant warships in the region to three, the navy said in a statement on Tuesday.

The nuclear-powered USS Enterprise and its strike group will join the USS John C. Stennis and USS Nimitz in the navy's Fifth Fleet area of operation, which includes Gulf waters off Iran.

"The Enterprise is heading to Fifth Fleet waters and is not replacing any other ships in the area," a US Navy spokesperson told AFP without elaborating.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070710/pl_afp/usnavygulfiran_070710131952

[napi21]

1. Check this thread from yesterday! This is normal rotation!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1288431&mesg_id=1288431

[ret5hd]

2. So if its normal rotation, which of the other 2 is coming home?

I thought the OP stated it was neither?

[Cooley Hurd]

3. The article directly quotes the US Navy saying the Big "E" isn't replacing another carrier...

The author of the other thread (FogerRox - FR. Hmmm) is incorrect.

[allemand]

4. "The Enterprise ... is not replacing any other ships in the area".

How can this be a normal rotation if the Enterprise does not replace any other carrier strike group?

[napi21]

5. PLEASE read the list again.

The Stennis is NEAR THE END of it's 6 month deployment! I guess it's possible that the Enterprise and the Stennis will both be in the Gulf for a very short time, but if sure sounds like a replacement to me!



1) Nimitz is in India, @ Anchor, crews on leave
2) Enterprise as of june was in the mniddle of qualifications, easy coast.
3) Kitty Hawk is in the Coral Sea.
4) Ike is in Norfolk Va.
5) Carl Vinson is drydocked untill 2010.
6) Theodore Roosevelt is in Norfolk for a 9 month maintence cycle.
7) G. Washington just got out of drydock in Norfolk.
8) Stennis is in the Persian Gulf. And is near the end of its 6 month deployment.
9) Harry S. Truman is training on the east coast.
10) Ronald Reagan is in SAn Diego.
11) GHW Bush has not yet been delivered to the Navy.
12) Lincoln is off the state of Washington, from its home port of BRemmington.

[allemand]

6. One possibility is that the Stennis is "ordered to stay in the area"

as Seymour Hersh predicted in March:

"Two carrier strike groups—the Eisenhower and the Stennis—are now in the Arabian Sea. One plan is for them to be relieved early in the spring, but there is worry within the military that they may be ordered to stay in the area after the new carriers arrive, according to several sources."

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/05/070305fa_fact_hersh

On the other hand, Gareth Porter reported in May that Adm. Fallon had vetoed such an option:

Adm. William Fallon, then President George W. Bush's nominee to head the Central Command (CENTCOM), expressed strong opposition in February to an administration plan to increase the number of carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf from two to three and vowed privately there would be no war against Iran as long as he was chief of CENTCOM, according to sources with access to his thinking.

Fallon's resistance to the proposed deployment of a third aircraft carrier was followed by a shift in the Bush administration's Iran policy in February and March away from increased military threats and toward diplomatic engagement with Iran. That shift, for which no credible explanation has been offered by administration officials, suggests that Fallon's resistance to a crucial deployment was a major factor in the intra-administration struggle over policy toward Iran.

The plan to add a third carrier strike group in the Gulf had been a key element in a broader strategy discussed at high levels to intimidate Iran by a series of military moves suggesting preparations for a military strike.

Commander's Veto Sank Threatening Gulf Buildup
http://www.antiwar.com/porter/?articleid=10976

[atreides1]

7. Tell you what

Let's just wait and see if the Stennis does leave the AO, before we come to any conclusions about what may or may not be hapenning.

Besides, do you really trust the military of George W. Bush to tell the truth about anything?

[napi21]

9. Agreed. Let's wait and see. I DON'T trust Shrub's goons to tell me

the truth about anything! I happen to think most of what they've said recently about all the carriers heading to the PG is just another way to hype his threat to Iran, or to get us to believe that! I read a post yesterday that said how surprised the guy was that there weren't 10 carriers in the Gulf by now, and that all he's heard was that another one was going there and none leaving. Mind manipulation is their specialty!

[lovuian]

18. And for the people who made jokes of us CONCERNED

posters that considered a navy buildup in the Middle East over Iran
perhaps the jokes will be seen as just foolishness in the times of seriousness

If you think America newspapers or the Military is going to tell you that we are going to bomb Iran
well you are mistaken ... you have to be watchful and observant

I really don't care about the jokes cause I admit I can be a alarmist at times and ya have to take things in perspective

the really funny thing is I adore the jokesters because I HOPE that they are always right

lov you guys truly do
But wake up there is a navy buildup for a reason and Bush went to talk to the Navy Academy for a reason

this makes me sick to see this buildup and the Secret going on behind closed doors in Congress
that was revealed by Kucinich and why Presidential Directive 51 is implace

[Cooley Hurd]

8. You DO understand that the Stennis could remain on station indefinitiely...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1274169

USS Enterprise Strike Group deploys to the Persian Gulf

<snip>
Enterprise, along with other ships in the strike group, is heading overseas for a regularly scheduled deployment. However, it is unclear when they will be coming home.

"We provide maritime options to the president and the reason we don't know is because we always leave our options open and for us to set a date would not be set some expectations we may or may not meet," Captain Ronald Horton the Enterprise Commanding Officer tells Ten On Your Side.
</snip>

If they won't commit to saying the Enterprise is going to be out for 6 months, why do you think the Stennis will come home after her normal rotation?:shrug:

[FarCenter]

24. Looks like up to 5 are available

Nimitz left Chennai and is in the Bay of Bengal. It arrived in 5th fleet in May.

Enterprise has completed carrier qualifications and is leaving for 5th fleet per the story.

Stennis is in the Persian Gulf. It arrived in 5th fleet in mid-February.

Truman did carrier qualifications in May and while training now, could be sent.

Eisenhower was doing carier qualifications July 7 - 9 in West Atlantic.

http://www.gonavy.jp/CVLocation.html

[lovuian]

16. Check this thread out too

http://search.hp.netscape.com/hp/boomframe.jsp?query=democratic+underground&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D7027e90fe0180f90%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery%3Ddemocratic%2Bunderground%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.democraticunderground.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DCompaqTop%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F

[lovuian]

17. There was a bit of a argument going on over this

http://search.hp.netscape.com/hp/boomframe.jsp?query=democratic+underground&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D7027e90fe0180f90%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery%3Ddemocratic%2Bunderground%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.democraticunderground.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DCompaqTop%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F

[Up2Late]

10. Call me crazy, but this could be a GOOD thing, sort of.

Think, the U.S. Pull out from Saigon, Vietnam, circ. 1975.:dilemma:

In other words, this could be the getting the ships in place for the beginning of the end of the Iraq fiasco.

[allemand]

11. USS Enterprise to Replace Carrier in Gulf Area

USS Enterprise to Replace Carrier in Gulf Area (Update2)
By Tony Capaccio

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Navy is sending the USS Enterprise carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf area to replace another carrier now deployed in the region, a Pentagon spokesman said.

Two carrier groups -- the USS John C. Stennis and the USS Nimitz -- are now with the Fifth Fleet in the Gulf region. The Enterprise will replace one of them as part of a ``scheduled swap,'' spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Another defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified that carrier as the Nimitz.

``It's a routine deployment of the Enterprise'' and does not portend changing U.S. policy that calls for keeping two carriers in the region, Whitman told reporters at the Pentagon.

``There are two in the region right now,'' Whitman said. ``Has the department made a decision for three carriers in the gulf? No.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aiSGID6Rvz.M

:crazy:

[billyoc]

12. Again?! We have more 3rd aircraft carriers

than Al-Qaeda has number 2 men. :eyes:

[Mnemosyne]

23. Just several months ago was the last one, iirc. n/t

[allemand]

13. Pentagon denies plans to add third carrier in the Gulf

Pentagon denies plans to add third carrier in the Gulf
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Pentagon_denies_plans_to_add_third__07102007.html

"Defense officials later told reporters that the carrier USS Stennis is expected to have left the region by the time the Enterprise arrives, and that the new carrier will replace the USS Nimitz.

"I don't think it's a one for one replacement. But Enterprise is coming in and one would logically conclude that both (the Stennis and Nimitz) are leaving in the not too distant future," said a Pentagon official.

The next carrier, the USS Truman, is not scheduled to deploy to the Gulf until the fall, which would leave only a single carrier for a period, the official said. (...)

Navy officials in Bahrain said the Enterprise was not replacing either the Stennis or the Nimitz, leaving what Pentagon officials later said was an erroneous impression that the number of aircraft carriers would go up to three."

[ret5hd]

14. And Reuters:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1294168

[lovuian]

15. A confirmation is that USS Enterprise and that 3carriers

will be in the Middle East 7500 men strong

Thanks for the confirmation from AFP

"The Enterprise is heading to Fifth Fleet waters and is not replacing any other ships in the area," a US Navy spokesperson told AFP without elaborating.

I think thats says it all
for those who doubt reality
here is confirmed

http://search.hp.netscape.com/hp/boomframe.jsp?query=democratic+underground&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D7027e90fe0180f90%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery%3Ddemocratic%2Bunderground%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.democraticunderground.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DCompaqTop%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F

[wakeme2008]

19. Pentagon denies plans to add third carrier in the Gulf

Source: Rawstory-AFP

Published: Tuesday July 10, 2007


The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise is deploying to the Gulf region where it will replace one and possibly both carriers already there, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

Navy officials had earlier raised the possibility that the Enterprise would increase the number of carriers in the region to three, which would be the biggest US naval presence in the Gulf since the US invasion of Iraq.

But Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman denied that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has decided to up the number of carriers to three, and said the deployment of the Enterprise was part of a "routine swap."





Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Pentagon_denies_plans_to_add_third__07102007.html

[Wwagsthedog]

20. What this means is that a 3rd carrier is being added. nt

[wakeme2008]

21. No normal rotation

The Stunis group is do to come home after it's 8 months over there.

[lovuian]

22. its three they think they need them for some reason

wonder why??? I think we have hit on the third carrier mystery

[sanskritwarrior]

26. LOL yeah we do use them

1. One Aircraft carrier is always on station to send fast movers into Iraq to conduct TACAIROPS........

2. Second Aircraft carrier is always on station to react to piracy threats, smuggling ops, and other unforeseen missions

3. Third carrier is always farther east to provide fast mover support to Southern Afghanistan where most of the Taliban is.......

So yeah all three already have missions........Saying they are getting ready for Iran is cuckoo bananas.......... :crazy:

[allemand]

25. "Stennis is slated to return to its homeport ... in late August"

"The carrier Enterprise and its strike group left Naval Station Norfolk, Va., for the region on Saturday. But according to the Pentagon official, who requested anonymity when discussing ongoing operations, the Stennis is slated to return to its homeport in Bremerton, Wash., in late August. So even though it’s possible that the Enterprise could arrive before the Stennis leaves — making for a total of three carrier groups and a big-deck amphib in the area — that shouldn’t last long."

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/07/navy_gulf_deployments_070710w/

So there will be three carriers in the region, after all??

[lovuian]

27. Well we will just have to see and pray its nothing

and believe me I hope you are right

It might be just a show of force to intimidate Iran

[Lionel Mandrake]

28. That's three too many sitting ducks

It's already so crowded in the Gulf that US and Iranian ships must cooperate closely to avoid getting in each other's way. If there were hostilities, one or more US carriers would likely be sunk. That would be another unnecessary tragedy to add to 9/11. Why must we be so stupid all the time????

[sanskritwarrior]

30. Ummm all three carriers are not in the Gulf

and any attack on Iran would be prefaced by the carriers moving out of the Gulf.........US standoff capability means we can sit 500 miles off Iran's coast and still follow the mission plan.

The carriers go into the gulf to DARE Iran to do something, we would move them if we were about to start shooting........

[phildo]

31. Just have to get one close enough to draw fire. Or at least say

they were shot at.

Think "Gulf of Tonkin."

[Lionel Mandrake]

32. What if we weren't about to start shooting, but

someone else started shooting. Assuming our Intelligence community was performing up to its usual standards, we would have no advance warning.

For example, suppose Israel decides to take out a few industrial plants related to Iran's nuclear program. Is it possible that Iran would blame us and act accordingly?

[bemildred]

29. U.S., Iran do Persian Gulf squeeze

ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS — Iran and the United States remain so far apart on so many issues that they refuse to talk about them.

But in the cramped sea routes of the Persian Gulf, U.S. and Iranian warship sailors and fighter pilots speak to each other daily.

---

"We are operating very close to their territorial waters in a very confined space with a tremendous amount of traffic, be it the small dhows, be it the supertankers going up to the oil platforms," said U.S. Navy Capt. Sterling Gilliam Jr., commander of air operations for this nuclear-powered supercarrier and its associated ships.

---

Nearly half of the U.S. Navy's 277 warships are stationed close to Iran, alongside most of Tehran's estimated 140 naval surface ships and six submarines, according to GlobalSecurity.org. More than five dozen aircraft are aboard the Stennis, along with dozens more aboard the Nimitz, another U.S. aircraft carrier in the gulf.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-stennis11jul11,0,7338129.story?coll=la-home-center

[Posteritatis]

33. The amount of chatter that article mentions is interesting

I would've thought things there would consist of a lot of glaring and games of chicken and the occasional threat or something. Getting beyond that, any kind of communication's good, I suppose.

Though I had no clue the US had something like 130 warships in the area. How's that figure, anyway? I know there's the three Navy carrier groups (and one of the Marine ones) with their escorts in the area, but I'm pretty sure those groups aren't that large.

Are there a bunch of unattached ships? Smaller patrol-boat type dealies? Are they counting auxiliaries like tankers as 'warships' (which I know they are for the Iranian figure of 140)? Anyone know?