USS Harry S. Truman strike group to participate in NATO exercise amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine
by Caitlin Doornbos
• Stars and Stripes • January 21, 2022
WASHINGTON – The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group will participate in a NATO exercise in the Mediterranean Sea starting Monday amid simmering tensions over Russia amassing troops along its border with Ukraine, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday.
Neither Kirby nor Navy officials would specify what elements of the strike group would participate alongside the aircraft carrier, though the ship was operating last month with the guided-missile destroyers USS Banbridge, USS Cole, USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham, according to a Dec. 23 service statement.
“[The exercise is] designed to demonstrate NATO's ability to integrate the highest maritime strike capabilities of an aircraft carrier strike group to support the deterrence and defense of the alliance,” Kirby said during a news briefing at the Pentagon.
https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2022-01-21/pentagon-nato-exercise-russia-ukraine-blinken-belarus-4372671.html
