Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, abbreviated as CCSG-8 or COMCARSTRKGRU 8, is one of five
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
carrier strike group
A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer Squadron (naval), squad ...
s currently assigned to the
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...
. the group
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
is the
''Nimitz''-class aircraft carrier . , the other units of the group are the guided-missile cruiser ,
Carrier Air Wing One, the ships of
Destroyer Squadron 28[As of 2021, Destroyer Squadron 28 was made up of , , , and ] as well as the
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...
's frigate
HNoMS ''Fridtjof Nansen'' (F310), which joined the strike group for one deployment.
The group was placed under
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
command as a result of the
buildup of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border prior to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
History
During 1994, was a unit of Carrier Group 8.
During 1999, the previous Carrier Group 8's flagship was ''Eisenhower''.
In May and June 1998, ''Vella Gulf'' completed a two-month
BALTOPS
BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it.
The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, repleni ...
Cruise, taking part in the 26th annual maritime exercise BALTOPS '98 in the Western
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
from 8–19 June 1998. During the exercise, Commander, Carrier Group 8, commanded the exercise from the ship.
From November 2001, at the commencement of Multinational Interception Force (MIF) operations in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
,
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
ships came under the control ('chopped to the OPCON') of Commander Carrier Group 8, Rear Admiral
Mark P. Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was also serving as Commander Task Force 50 (CTF 50) embarked in the carrier .
The group was established by redesignation of the former Carrier Group 8 on 1 October 2004.
The Strike Group deployed on 2 January 2010 to the Middle East to help with operations by the U.S.
5th and
6th Fleets.
Effective 1 October 2012, when not deployed, Carrier Strike Group 8 is part of the
U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and its commander reports to Commander
Task Force 80, the director of Fleet Forces' Maritime Headquarters. Carrier Strike Group 8 is designated Task Group 80.3.
On 6 October 2014,
U.S. Fleet Forces Command announced that the Carrier Strike Group 8 command staff would deploy with ''Truman'', instead of ''Eisenhower'', in accordance with the U.S. Navy's Optimized Fleet Response Plan (O-FRP).
This change does not affect the other ships or units that are otherwise assigned to either strike groups.
[
On 24 January 2022 it was announced that the strike group had been placed under ]NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
command for planned exercises in the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. This was the first time a full US carrier strike group had been placed under NATO command since the Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.
On 14 December 2024 the strike group entered the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, for the first time since March 2020, and took part in Operation Prosperity Guardian
Operation Prosperity Guardian is a United States-led military operation by a multinational Military coalition, coalition formed in December 2023 to respond to Red Sea crisis#Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, Houthi-led attacks on shipp ...
in the Red Sea
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
.
Past Commanders
* Rear Admiral Jay L. Johnson
* Rear Admiral Charles S. Abbot, May 1994 - July 1995
* Rear Admiral William J. Fallon, July 1995 - February 1996
* Rear Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, February 1996 - August 1997
* Rear Admiral Mark P. Fitzgerald
* Rear Admiral George E. Mayer
* Rear Admiral H. Denby Starling II, July 2003 - July 2004Michael M. Gilday
Michael Martin Gilday (born October 10, 1962) is a retired United States Navy officer who last served as the 32nd Chief of Naval Operations, chief of naval operations from August 22, 2019 to August 14, 2023. Gilday commanded two Destroyer, destr ...
, June 2013 - June 2014
Carrier Air Wing
Carrier Air Wing One comprises:
*''Strike Fighter Squadron 11'', (VFA-11
Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11) is a United States Navy strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, United States. The squadron was established in 1950 and is nicknamed "Red Rippers" (call sign "Ripper"). VFA ...
)
*''Strike Fighter Squadron 81'', ( VFA-81)
*''Strike Fighter Squadron 34'', (VFA-34
Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34), also known as the "Blue Blasters", is a United States Navy Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. They are a part of Carrier Air Win ...
)
*''Strike Fighter Squadron 211'', ( VFA-211)
*''Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126'', ( VAW-126)
*''Electronic attack Squadron 140'', ( VAQ-137)
*''Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 Det. 2'', ( VRC-40)
*''Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11'', ( HSC-11)
*''Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 72'', ( HSM-72)
Aircraft operated
*F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twinjet, twin-engine, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Ho ...
* EA-18 Growler
* E-2C Hawkeye
* C-2A Greyhound
* MH-60S Seahawk
* MH-60R Seahawk
Notes
References
External links
Projected new Fleet Response Plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrier Strike Group 08
Carrier Strike Groups
Military in Norfolk, Virginia
Military units and formations established in 2004