The USS Gerald R. Ford, a 100,000-ton aircraft carrier that is the world’s largest, and the vessels that make up its strike group left Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Tuesday to join the European Theater, where it will be closer to Israel.
The Ford and destroyer USS Bainbridge will meet up with destroyer USS Forest Sherman, which deployed in May, Stars and Stripes reported Tuesday. They are part of Carrier Strike Group 12, a force of 4,500 sailors that also includes destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Mitscher and USS Mahan, and nine aviation squadrons.
“We are America’s away team,” said Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, commander of the strike group, according to Stars and Stripes. “As we say farewell to our loved ones today, it is with the knowledge that we are taking the watch and protecting our America values of freedom, prosperity and security on the high seas through sustained operations. Our force is the physical reality of the notion of ‘peace through strength.'”
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