Carrier Strike Group Twelve (CSG-12 or CARSTRKGRU 12) is one of four U.S. Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned to the United States Fleet Forces Command. is the aircraft carrier assigned as the strike group's flagship. Units currently assigned to Carrier Strike Group Twelve include Carrier Air Wing Eight, the USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) and Destroyer Squadron 2.
Between 2006 and 2011, with as its flagship, the group made four deployments to the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Middle East. Strike group aircraft flew over 13,000 air combat missions in support of coalition ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 2006's Operation Medusa and Operation Mountain Fury in Afghanistan. The group's surface warships were also involved in several high-profile anti-piracy operations. The group participated in the multilateral exercises Anatolian Sun 2006, Reliant Mermaid 2007, BALTOPS 2008, and Malabar 2015; the bilateral exercise Inspired Union 2006; and the joint exercise Exercise Bold Alligator 2012.
The 2015 deployment was led by its new flagship, , which has since left the group and shifted homeport to Naval Base San Diego, California. Carrier Strike Group Twelve was the first U.S. Navy carrier strike group to deploy with a Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) capability that integrates all units via a data link to gain a more comprehensive overview of its operational battlespace. To augment this NIFC-CA capability, the strike group embarked the new E-2D airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft, making its first overseas deployment.
Predecessor history 1966–2004 After 8 December 1966, (flag) and of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 8 were involved in the response to the sinking of off Greece. Commanding CRUDESFLOT 8 at the time was Rear Admiral John D. Bulkeley.Starbuster, p. 59.
On 30 June 1973, Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla 8 was re-designated as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8 (CCDG-8). Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8 subsequently served as the Immediate Superior-in-Command (ISIC) for the , , and carrier battle groups. The group took part in Operation Southern Watch and Operation Deny Flight.
In 1986, while commanding Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8, Rear Admiral David E. Jeremiah commanded the Saratoga group and Task Group 60.2 of the U.S. Sixth Fleet during a series of operations code-named Attain Document. They were intended to assert freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Sidra as well as to challenge Libya's maritime territorial claims. The Saratoga battle group and the rest of Task Force 60 later carried out Operation El Dorado Canyon, a series of punitive air strikes against Libya in retaliations to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing. During both operations, Admiral Jeremiah commanded Task Force 60, the three-carrier task force of the Sixth Fleet, code-named Battle Force Zulu.
In the middle of 1992, there was a Navy reorganization. Each of the Navy's 12 existing carrier battle groups was planned to consist of an aircraft carrier; an embarked carrier air wing; cruiser, destroyer, and frigate units; and two nuclear-powered attack submarines. The group's composition after the reorganization can be seen below.
Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, late 1992 Cruisers/Submarines Destroyer Squadron 24 Carrier Air Wing 17 squadrons embarked aboard USS Hayler (DD-997) USS John L. Hall (FFG-32) Fighter Squadron 103: F-14B Airborne Early Warning Sqd. 125: E-2C USS Thomas S. Gates (CG-51) USS Moosbrugger (DD-980) Fighter Squadron 74: F-14B Sea Control Squadron 30: S-3B USS Comte de Grasse (DD-974) Strike Fighter Squadron 83: F/A-18C Helicopter Anti-Submarine Sqd. 9: SH-3H USS Dale (CG-19) USS Arthur W. Radford (DD-968) Strike Fighter Squadron 81: F/A-18C —— USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN-705) —— —— Attack Squadron 35: A-7E —— —— —— Airborne Early Warning Sqd. 132: EA-6B ——
On 30 September 1992, when Saratoga accidentally fired two Sea Sparrow missiles at the Turkish destroyer minelayer , during Exercise 'Display Determination '92,' Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight was embarked.
During the early period of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight was embarked aboard Theodore Roosevelt as a part of Task Force 60, striking Iraqi targets from the Mediterranean Sea.
On 1 September 2004, Rear Admiral James W. Stevenson Jr., Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, took command of the Enterprise group. Admiral Stevenson had been in command of Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight since May 2004. Formerly, the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group had been under the command of Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group 12 based in Naval Station Mayport, Florida. On 1 October 2004, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8 was re-designated as Carrier Strike Group Twelve.
History 2004 onwards On 3 September 2004, the group's flagship Enterprise entered the Newport News shipyard for an extended selected restricted availability overhaul. On 13 October 2005, the Enterprise pulled away from Norfolk Naval Station's Pier 12 for sea trials. Enterprises post-overhaul sea trials ended on 15 October 2005.
2006 deployment
On 2 May 2006, the strike group departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for its 2006 deployment under the command of Rear Admiral Ray Spicer. The group trained with naval forces from Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, and Greece during its transit through the Mediterranean. The frigate Nichols participated in Anatolian Sun, a Proliferation Security Initiative exercise, held between 24 and 26 May 2006 hosted for the first time by Turkey.
The group spent two periods with the U.S. Fifth Fleet during its 2006 deployment. During the deployment, Carrier Air Wing One delivered 65,000 pounds (29,483.50 kilograms) of ordnance, including 137 precision weapons, to provide air support of Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Its aircraft completed more than 8,300 sorties, of which 2,186 were combat missions while flying more than 22,500 hours and making 6,916-day and night arrested landings. Carrier Air Wing One provided the first combat air support to Operation Enduring Freedom from an aircraft carrier in more than three years.
The first Fifth Fleet rotation began when the strike group entered the Persian Gulf on 6 June 2006. During this initial rotation, Carrier Air Wing One flew 781 sorties in support of Coalition ground forces in Afghanistan for a total of 3,832 flight hours. The air wing also flew an additional 237 sorties in support of ground forces in Iraq for a total of 455 flight hours. Carrier Strike Group Twelve ended this first operational phase and departed the Persian Gulf on 6 July 2006. The strike group subsequently conducted a two-month deployment with the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific which included training exercises with Carrier Strike Group Five. This was the first time that an East Coast-based carrier air wing had operated in the western Pacific in 18 years, and the first time that the carrier had operated in the Pacific since its transfer to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
On 28 August 2006, the group rejoined the Fifth Fleet and began its second rotation in the Persian Gulf on 8 September 2006. Beginning on 2 September 2006, the strike group provided combat air support (pictured) for two major ground operations, with coalition forces engaging Taliban insurgents in the Kandahar Province as part of Operation Medusa while Operation Mountain Fury targeted Taliban forces in the Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Paktia, Logar provinces adjacent to the Pakistani border. All four strike fighter squadrons from Carrier Air Wing One flew more than 450 sorties and delivered over 100 precision weapons during this second rotation to the Persian Gulf which ended on 1 November 2006. Carrier Strike Group Twelve returned to Norfolk on 18 November 2006. 2006 deployment force composition Warships Carrier Air Wing One squadrons embarked aboard USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 (VMFA-251): F/A-18C(N) Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 123 (VAW-123): E-2C NP USS McFaul (DDG-74) Strike Fighter Squadron 211 (VFA-211): F/A-18F Sea Control Squadron 32 (VS-32): S-3B Strike Fighter Squadron 136 (VFA-136): F/A-18C Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 11 (HS-11): SH-60F/HH-60H Strike Fighter Squadron 86 (VFA-86): F/A-18C(N) Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 (VRC-40), Det. 4: C-2A Electronic Attack Squadron 137 (VAQ-137): EA-6B —— 2006 deployment combat operations, exercises, and port visits Number Regional Exercises Port Visits Notes Duration U.S. Force Bilateral/Multilateral Partner(s) Operating Area Location Dates 1st: —— Carrier Strike Group 12 —— —— Split, Croatia 17–21 May 2006 2nd: various Carrier Strike Group 12 Theater Security: Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, and Greece Mediterranean Sea Souda Bay, Crete 23 May 2006 3rd: 24–26 May 2006 Nichols Anatolian Sun 06: France, Portugal, Turkey Mediterranean Sea Anatalya, Turkey 25 May 2006 5th: 6 Jun to 6 July 2006 Carrier Strike Group 12 Operation Enduring Freedom: ISAFOver 1011 combat sorties were flown by Carrier Air Wing One from 19 March to 9 April 2011. Persian Gulf —— —— 5th: 16 July 2006 Carrier Strike Group 12 Carrier Strike Group 5 Philippine Sea Pusan, Korea 18 July 2006 6th: —— Carrier Strike Group 12 —— —— Hong Kong 27–30 Sep 2006 7th: —— Carrier Strike Group 12 —— —— Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1 August 2006 8th: —— Carrier Strike Group 12 —— —— Singapore 3–6 Aug 2006 9th: 3–21 Sep 2006 Carrier Strike Group 12 Inspired Union 06: Pakistan Navy Northern Arabian Sea Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 15–19 Aug 2006 10th: 2 Sep to 1 November 2006 Carrier Strike Group 12 Operation Enduring Freedom: ISAFIncludes Operation Medusa and Operation Mountain Fury.Persian Gulf Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates 18–23 Oct 2006
2007 deployment
On 7 July 2007, the group departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for its 2007 deployment under the command of Rear Admiral Daniel P. Holloway. The group entered the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of responsibility on 16 July 2007. Seven days later, on 23 July 2007, two French Rafale M jet fighters landed on board the Enterprise and were subsequently launched, a first for an American aircraft carrier. The group then visited Cannes, France.
The group entered the U.S. Fifth Fleet area on 1 August 2007 and began air operations over the Persian Gulf on 12 August 2007. During its 2007 deployment to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One flew more than 7,500 missions, which included 1,676 combat missions, and made more than 6,500 arrested landings for a total of 20,300 hours. Aircraft dropped 73 air-to-ground weapons and fired 4,149 rounds of 20-mm ammunition in support of ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Strike group units also protected the Iraqi oil terminals at Al Başrah and Khor Al Amaya.
On 25 September 2007, the Tanzanian-flagged passenger ferry Spice Islander I was off the coast of Somalia when she experienced engine problems due to contaminated fuel. After the alarm had been raised via Kenya, the destroyer Stout, operating with Combined Task Force 150, was dispatched to her aid. Spice Islander had been on a voyage from Oman to Tanzania, and it was not carrying any passengers. The destroyer James E. Williams also responded. Stout provided the ship with of fuel and supplied the ten-man crew with food and water. After her engines were restarted, she resumed her voyage to Tanzania.