Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, abbreviated as CCSG-8 or COMCARSTRKGRU 8, is one of five

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

carrier strike group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least tw ...

s currently assigned to the

United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...

. the group

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

is the ''Nimitz''-class aircraft carrier . , the other units of the group are the guided-missile cruiser ,

Carrier Air Wing One Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, with most of its various squadrons also home based at NAS Oceana. Additional squadrons are based at Naval Station Norfolk ...

, the ships of

Destroyer Squadron 28 Destroyer Squadron 28 (DESRON 28), is a squadron of warships of the United States Navy. It is an operational component of Carrier Strike Group Eight. The squadron was formed in 1951. DESRON 28 was re-established on 1 September 1995, during the ...

As of 2021, Destroyer Squadron 28 was made up of , , , and as well as the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, 3 ...

's frigate HNoMS ''Fridtjof Nansen'' (F310), which joined the strike group for one deployment. The group was placed under

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

command as a result of the buildup of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border prior to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

History

During 1994, was a unit of Carrier Group 8. During 1999, the previous Carrier Group 8's flagship was ''Eisenhower''. In May and June 1998, ''Vella Gulf'' completed a two-month

BALTOPS BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, replenis ...

Cruise, taking part in the 26th annual maritime exercise BALTOPS '98 in the Western

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

from 8–19 June 1998. During the exercise, Commander, Carrier Group 8, commanded the exercise from the ship. From November 2001, at the commencement of Multinational Interception Force (MIF) operations in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

ships came under the control ('chopped to the OPCON') of Commander Carrier Group 8, Rear Admiral Mark P. Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was also serving as Commander Task Force 50 (CTF 50) embarked in the carrier . The group was established by redesignation of the former Carrier Group 8 on 1 October 2004. The Strike Group deployed on 2 January 2010 to the Middle East to help with operations by the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleets. Effective 1 October 2012, when not deployed, Carrier Strike Group 8 is part of the

U.S. Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...

, and its commander reports to Commander

Task Force 80 Task Force 80, abbreviated as TF-80, has been the designation of several U.S. Navy task forces, with its current use associated with the United States Fleet Forces Command headquartered at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Historical antecedents ...

, the director of Fleet Forces' Maritime Headquarters. Carrier Strike Group 8 is designated Task Group 80.3. On 6 October 2014,

announced that the Carrier Strike Group 8 command staff would deploy with ''Truman'', instead of ''Eisenhower'', in accordance with the U.S. Navy's Optimized Fleet Response Plan (O-FRP). This change does not affect the other ships or units that are otherwise assigned to either strike groups. On 24 January 2022 it was announced that the strike group had been placed under

command for planned exercises in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. This was the first time a full US carrier strike group had been placed under NATO command since the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

Past Commanders

* Rear Admiral

Jay L. Johnson Jay Lynn Johnson (born June 5, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the 26th Chief of Naval Operations from 1996 to 2000. He was later president and chief executive officer of General Dynamics. Early life Johnson was born ...

* Rear Admiral Charles S. Abbot, May 1994 - July 1995 * Rear Admiral William J. Fallon, July 1995 - February 1996 * Rear Admiral

Gregory G. Johnson Admiral Gregory Gordon Johnson (born July 11, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral and former commander of United States Naval Forces Europe and Allied Forces Southern Europe. Naval career Johnson is from Westmanland, Maine. He attende ...

, February 1996 - August 1997 * Rear Admiral Mark P. Fitzgerald * Rear Admiral George E. Mayer * Rear Admiral H. Denby Starling II, July 2003 - July 2004 * Rear Admiral William J. McCarthy, July 2004 - July 2005 * Rear Admiral Allen G. Myers, July 2005 - June 2007 * Rear Admiral Philip H. Cullom * Rear Admiral Kurt W. Tidd * Rear Admiral

Philip S. Davidson Philip Scot Davidson (born August 24, 1960) is a retired four-star admiral in the United States Navy who last served as the 25th commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command from May 30, 2018 to April 30, 2021. He previously served as the comm ...

* Rear Admiral Michael C. Manazir, September 2011 - June 2013 * Rear Admiral

Michael M. Gilday Michael Martin Gilday (born October 10, 1962) is a United States Navy officer who has served as the 32nd Chief of Naval Operations, chief of naval operations since August 22, 2019. Gilday has commanded two Destroyer, destroyers, served as Directo ...

, June 2013 - June 2014 * Rear Admiral Victorino G. Mercado, June 2014 - April 2015 * Rear Admiral Bret C. Batchelder, April 2015 - July 2016 * Rear Admiral Dale E. Horan, July 2016 - September 2017 * Rear Admiral Eugene H. Black III, September 2017 - April 2019 * Rear Admiral Andrew J. Loiselle, April 2019 - June 2020 * Rear Admiral Ryan B. Scholl, June 2020 - August 2021 * Rear Admiral Curt A. Renshaw, August 2021 - May 2022 * Rear Admiral Paul C. Spedero Jr., May 2022 - present

Carrier Air Wing

comprises: *''Strike Fighter Squadron 11'', (

VFA-11 Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11) is a United States Navy strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, United States. The squadron was established in 1950 and is nicknamed "Red Rippers" (call sign "Ripper"). VFA-11 ...

) *''Strike Fighter Squadron 81'', (

VFA-81 Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81), also known as the "Sunliners", is a United States Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. They are a part of Carrier Air Wing One, their radio callsign is ''Inf ...

) *''Strike Fighter Squadron 34'', (

VFA-34 Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34), also known as the "Blue Blasters", is a United States Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. They are a part of Carrier Air Wing 1 and are attached to the air ...

) *''Strike Fighter Squadron 211'', ( VFA-211) *''Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126'', (

VAW-126 Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126 (VAW-126), nicknamed the "Seahawks", is a carrier airborne early warning squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron is based at NS Norfolk, equipped with five E-2D Hawkeye aircraft. Squadron his ...

) *''Electronic attack Squadron 140'', ( VAQ-137) *''Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 Det. 2'', (

VRC-40 Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 (VRC-40), also known as the "Rawhides", is a United States Navy fleet logistics support squadron based at NS Norfolk. Commissioned in 1960, it is one of only two active fleet logistics squadrons in the Navy, th ...

) *''Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11'', ( HSC-11) *''Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 72'', (

HSM-72 HSM-72 Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven-Two, also known as ''Proud Warriors'' is a helicopter squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The Proud Warriors are a part of Carrier Air Wing One and deploy abo ...

)

Aircraft operated

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...

EA-18 Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. T ...

E-2C Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable tactical Airborne early warning and control, airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed duri ...

C-2A Greyhound Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

MH-60S Seahawk The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...

MH-60R Seahawk The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...

Notes

References

External links

Projected new Fleet Response Plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrier Strike Group 08 Carrier Strike Groups Military in Norfolk, Virginia Military units and formations established in 2004