NORFOLK, Va. — The last local ship of the Truman Carrier Strike Group left Naval Station Norfolk on Wednesday.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) is now headed to the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations for a regularly scheduled deployment. It follows the flagship USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) aircraft carrier and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), which left the port earlier this week.
The ship’s departure comes days after the Department of Defense announced plans to send more troops to the Middle East amid rising tensions between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“This deployment comes on the heels of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group’s nine-month mission that highlighted the need for continuity in our sustained presence amid escalating international tensions,” said Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “The Truman Carrier Strike Group will contribute to the ongoing training and combat readiness of our naval forces. The operational experience gained through these deployments is invaluable for maintaining a deep bench of skilled warfighters with trust and confidence in their system’s reliability, adaptability, and lethality in a rapidly changing security environment.”
How long the deployment will last is also unclear, though Fleet Forces Admiral Daryl Caudle stated in an op-ed piece that the operation is expected to last seven months.
It's been two years since the carrier strike group returned home to Norfolk following its most recent deployment in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.