Days before Taiwan elected a president favoring sovereignty over closer ties to China, the U.S. quietly deployed a third career strike group to the western Pacific. The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) left San Diego on Thursday, joining the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).
“U.S. quietly deployed a 3rd carrier strike group (CSG) to the western Pacific,” reported an independent journalist on X, adding, “They could have left in a hurry.” Another quote stated, “Aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT got underway Thursday to follow VINSON CSG + join REAGAN CSG in the region.”
The USS Theodore Roosevelt is the fourth Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the United States Navy. The deployment, not announced before Thursday’s departure, was confirmed by a defense official with USNI News on Friday. Spotters witnessed the carrier leaving with a detachment of C-2A Greyhounds from the East Coast. The Greyhounds filled in for the grounded CV-22B Ospreys.
“Two C-2A Greyhounds from the ‘Rawhides’ of Fleet Logistics Squadron (VRC) 40 will get underway with Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to provide crucial carrier onboard delivery (COD) services,” Naval Air Forces stated to USNI News. “U.S. Navy carrier air wings are uniquely flexible to interchange platforms within the air wing, and C-2A Greyhounds are a proven platform capable of carrying out logistical support and personnel transport to aircraft carriers.”
The USS Theodore Roosevelt, accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70), is set to follow the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), which was in the Philippine Sea after deploying to the Western Pacific in October.
The Vinson had planned a five to six-month deployment, and the Roosevelt was scheduled to relieve it. However, Thursday’s deployment was earlier than anticipated. The Vinson had headed toward Taiwan amid the elections this weekend.
The USS Ronald Reagan was the only forward-deployed carrier, completing its final patrol in November and is due to return home in 2024. “Anytime & anywhere TR reports for duty, she (a floating city of 5,500 Sailors) brings 4.5 acres of sovereign U.S. territory & 97,000 tons of diplomacy,” according to the U.S. Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
