"You won't come home for the holidays": The US Navy prepares for a deployment of up to a year against Iran
Senior US Navy officials informed the families of the crew of the USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group that their loved ones will not return home for the holidays, asking them to prepare for an operational deployment lasting a full year. A Navy commander warned of Iran's strike capabilities and the difficulty of defending against them.
Senior US Navy officials informed the families of the crew of the USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group that their loved ones will not return home for the holidays, asking them to prepare for an operational deployment lasting a full year. According to a report by MS NOW, the remarks were made at a heated meeting attended by about 500 family members, held on November 9 at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia. This is the second time the group's mission has been extended; it departed Norfolk on March 31 for a deployment planned to last six to seven months. About 7,000 personnel arrived in the Middle East in April. The crew went 187 days without docking at a port, until October 4 when the carrier stopped in Phuket, Thailand, for four days of rest. Commander of US Navy Forces Command, Admiral Karl Thomas, told the families that Iran has a large number of one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles and has learned to operate them repeatedly against American ships enforcing the blockade. Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, said the group had protected 3,000 vessels from attacks. The families demanded to know when the group would return. Cao replied that the condition is for Iran to agree to give up nuclear weapons. Navy officials said the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group is preparing to replace the George H.W. Bush group.