Bush deploys as Ford repairs continue during extended deployment

Aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush, shown here, departed Norfolk, Virginia, for deployment. (US Navy)

The George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10 departed Norfolk, Virginia, on 31 March for a regularly scheduled deployment.

US Navy (USN) officials would not comment on the specific destination for CSG 10, anchored by aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush (CVN 77), noting a need for deployment “flexibility” in light of global tensions in different areas of responsibility now.

However, when asked about the incorporation of lessons learned from other operations during media interviews on 31 March on the pier next to Bush before the carrier's departure, Captain Martin Fentress Jr. commander of the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 deployed on Bush, noted he has been in touch with his counterparts for air wings aboard aircraft carriers USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

Lincoln has been operating in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman region in support of recent operations against Iran. Ford anchored in the Port of Split, Croatia, 28 March, following an Adriatic Sea transit from Souda Bay, Greece, where the ship conducted a working port visit to resupply, refuel, and conduct repairs, the USN confirmed on 30 March.

Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center personnel, including structural engineers, naval architects, and other subject matter experts, conducted a repair assessment on Ford while the carrier was in Souda Bay. Military and federal civilian law enforcement officials are also continuing investigations into a fire aboard the ship originating in the ship's laundry facilities, the USN said in a release.