Biden orders USS Nimitz aircraft carrier home in possible signal to Iran
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin instructed the carrier and and the 5,000 sailors and Marines of its strike group to return home after being deployed for over 240 days.
By ZACHARY KEYSER FEBRUARY 4, 2021 12:13
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin instructed the carrier and and the 5,000 sailors and Marines of its strike group to return home after being deployed for over 240 days.
The United States aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, known for anchoring US power in the Middle East, has been ordered back home, US Naval Institute News said citing American officials.
The move was seen as a possible signal to Iran to deescalate tensions amid efforts by the Biden administration to open negotiations on a new nuclear deal.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin instructed the carrier and the 5,000 sailors and Marines of its strike group to return home after being deployed for over 240 days.
Over the course of its deployment, the USS Nimitz was responsible for providing air cover during the troop drawbacks in Afghanistan, running operations and exercises to strengthen US Central Command and US Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility, according to the Pentagon. It has also conducted brief missions in Somalia carrying out air raids on extremists in the country and it was involved in training the Indian Navy's 7th Fleet.
The Nimitz is 100,000 tons of power. Laid down in 1968, it is one of the largest American warships. It is one of 10 similar ships in its class: the Eisenhower, Vinson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Washington, Stennis, Truman, Reagan and Bush.
US Naval Institute News says that the Nimitz was operating within the US 7th Fleet off the coast of west India when it got the order to go home after nearly eight months on the water.
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https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/uss-nimitz-naval-aircraft-carrier-ordered-to-head-home-657649
