The Pentagon announced over the weekend that two Norfolk-based carriers will be off the coast of Israel and Gaza.
The USS Eisenhower got underway Saturday, which was one day later than the aircraft carrier was scheduled to depart Norfolk with its crew of 5,000. When they left, the carrier was still officially bound for Europe, according to a statement put out Saturday by US Second Fleet.
Saturday night, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced that the Ike would be diverted to the eastern Mediterranean to join the USS Gerald R. Ford off the coast of Israel.
“The increases to U.S. force posture signal the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” said Austin, in a statement.
The US ships are not expected to engage directly in the conflict, but having two carrier groups stationed in the region is a massive show of force by the US. The other ships in Ike's carrier group got underway, as scheduled Friday. The ships include the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely and USS Mason, and Carrier Air Wing 3, with its squadron of F/A 18 Hornets.
The Ford arrived in the region last week, after a series of attacks by Hamas followed by a declaration of war by Israel. The Ford’s carrier group includes the USS Normandy, USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt. The Ford left Norfolk in May and may be close to the end of its deployment.
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