Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, abbreviated as CCSG-8 or COMCARSTRKGRU 8, is one of five U.S. Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned to the United States Fleet Forces Command. As of 2018[update] the group flagship is the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). As of 2021[update], the other units of the group are the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56), Carrier Air Wing One, the ships of Destroyer Squadron 28[Note 1] as well as the Royal Norwegian Navy's frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F310), which joined the strike group for one deployment.[4]
The group was placed under NATO command as a result of the buildup of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5]
During 1994, USS Hue City (CG-66) was a unit of Carrier Group 8.[6] During 1999, the previous Carrier Group 8's flagship was Eisenhower.
In May and June 1998, Vella Gulf completed a two-month BALTOPS Cruise, taking part in the 26th annual maritime exercise BALTOPS '98 in the Western Baltic Sea 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, Royal Australian Navy 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 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).
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, and its commander reports to Commander Task Force 80, the director of Fleet Forces' Maritime Headquarters. Carrier Strike Group 8 is designated Task Group 80.3.[7]
On 6 October 2014, U.S. Fleet Forces Command 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).[8] This change does not affect the other ships or units that are otherwise assigned to either strike groups.[8]
On 24 January 2022 it was announced that the strike group had been placed under NATO command for planned exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. This was the first time a full US carrier strike group had been placed under NATO command since the Cold War.[9]
On 14 December 2024 the strike group entered the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, for the first time since March 2020,[10] and took part in Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea.[11]
Carrier Air Wing One comprises:
Slides 22, 43–49
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