U.S. Carl Vinson Strike Group departs for deployment to Western Pacific

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Navy announced Friday that the Carl Vinson Strike Group had departed the West Coast on Thursday and Friday to the Western Pacific for a regular deployment.

According to a U.S. Navy's announcement, ships and units carried more than 6,000 assigned sailors to execute the mission, the second time for the strike group to operate throughout the Asian Pacific region under the Third Fleet's command and control.

Ships deploying from the Third Fleet to the Western Pacific traditionally shifted to the Seventh Fleet after crossing the international dateline.

The strike group, a premier U.S. naval force, includes aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), and guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) from Destroyer Squadron 1.

"The strike group demonstrated readiness for executing missions across all warfare areas after successfully conducting a series of at-sea drills, missile shoots, and strike operations using a variety of naval platforms and weapons," said the U.S. navy. Enditem