Carrier Strike Group Twelve

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. Carrier strike groups gain and maintain sea control as well as project naval airpower ashore.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CV-71) is the strike group's current flagship, replacing the recently deactivated USS Enterprise (CVN-65). As of 2013, other units assigned to the group included Carrier Air Wing One embarked on board the Theodore Roosevelt; the Ticonderoga-class cruiser cruisers USS Vicksburg (CG-69) and USS Normandy (CG-60); and Destroyer Squadron 2.

Between 2006 and 2011, Carrier Strike Group Twelve made four deployments to the U.S. Fifth Fleet operating in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea. 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 Iraq. The group's surface warships were also involved in several high-profile anti-piracy operations. The group participated in the multi-lateral exercises Anatolian Sun 2006, Reliant Mermaid 2007, and BALTOPS 2008; the bilateral exercise Inspired Union 2006; and the joint exercise Exercise Bold Alligator 2012.

Historical background
On 30 June 1973, Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla Eight was re-designated as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight (CCDG-8). Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8 subsequently served as the Immediate Superior-in-Command (ISIC) for the USS Saratoga (CV-60), USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) carrier battle groups. The group took part in Operation Southern Watch and Operation Deny Flight.

In 1986, while commanding Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, Rear Admiral David E. Jeremiah commanded the USS Saratoga (CV-60) carrier battle 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 the territorial claims of Libya to that body of water. Subsequently, the Saratoga carrier battle group and the rest of Task Force 60 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, the U.S. Navy instituted a concept which mandated greater task group integration of naval air and surface warfare assets into a more permanent carrier battle group structure. Instead of routinely changing the cruisers, destroyers, and frigates assigned to each carrier battle group, there was an attempt made to affiliate certain escorts more permanently with the carriers they escorted. 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. For details regarding this re-alignments as it pertained to Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, see the chart below.

During the early period of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Commander Carrier 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 Twelve (CCDG-12) based in Naval Station Mayport, Florida. On 1 October 2004, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight (CruDesGru 8) was re-designated as Carrier Strike Group Twelve.
 * Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, late 1992

Command structure
Commander Carrier Strike Group Twelve (COMCARSTRKGRU 12 or CCSG 12) is responsible for unit-level training, integrated training, and material readiness for the ships and aviation squadrons assigned to the group. When not deployed, the strike group is part of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and its commander reports to Commander Task Force 80. The commander of Task Force 80 is the director of Fleet Forces' Maritime Headquarters, and Carrier Strike Group Twelve is designated Task Group 80.5.

When deployed overseas, the group comes under command of the numbered fleet (i.e., Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, or Seventh) in whose area it is operating, and will have a task force or task group designator, for example, Task Group 50.1 in the Fifth Fleet area.

Group commanders since 2004 have included:

Operational history
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. Enterprise's 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. Carrier Strike Group Twelve conducted training with naval forces from Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, and Greece during its transit through the Mediterranean. The guided-missile frigate Nichols (pictued) participated in Anatolian Sun, a Proliferation Security Initiative exercise, held between 24–26 May 2006 that was hosted for the first time by Turkey.

Carrier Strike Group Twelve conducted two operational rotations with the 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.

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
 * 2006 deployment exercises and port visits

2007 deployment
On 7 July 2007, Carrier Strike Group Twelve departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for its 2007 deployment under the command of Rear Admiral Daniel P. Holloway. Carrier Strike Group Twelve 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 paid a scheduled port visit to Cannes, France. Carrier Strike Group Twelve entered the U.S. Fifth Fleet area on 1 August 2007 and began combat air operations in 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. The 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 7,800 USgal of fuel and supplied the ten-man crew with food and water. After her engines were restarted, she resumed her voyage to Tanzania.

On the morning of 30 October 2007, Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters, based in Bahrain, received a call from the International Maritime Bureau, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, providing the status of the North Korean cargo vessel Dai Hong Dan (pictured), which had been taken over the previous day by Somali pirates. The ship was approximately 60 nmi northeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. At that time, the guided-missile destroyer James E. Williams was about 50 nmi from the vessel and sent a helicopter to investigate the situation. The James E. Williams arrived in the vicinity of the Korean ship midday local time and contacted the pirates via bridge-to-bridge radio, ordering them to give up their weapons. At that point, the Korean crew had confronted the Somali pirates, regained control of the ship, and began communicating with the James E. Williams, requesting medical assistance. The crew said the pirates had been in control of the bridge, but the crew had retained control of the steering and engineering spaces. The James E. Williams crew provided care and assistance for approximately 12 hours to crew members and Somali pirates aboard Dai Hong Dan. Six pirates were captured, and one was killed. The pirates remained aboard Dai Hong Dan.

On 5 November 2007, the destroyers James E. Williams and Arleigh Burke provided aid to the crew of the M/V Ching Fong Hwa 168  (pictured), a Taiwanese-flagged fishing trawler that had been seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia in May. After the Somali pirates returned to shore, the destroyer escorted the Taiwanese ship out of Somali waters and provided needed supplies and medical assistance. Finally, the guided-missile destroyer Forrest Sherman executed a circumnavigation of the African continent while performing theater security operations with local military forces as the flagship of Task Group 60.5, the U.S. Navy's Southeast Africa task force. Forrest Sherman was also the first American warship to land a helicopter operated by the Ukrainian Navy.

Carrier Strike Group Twelve transited the Suez Canal on 1 December 2007, and the group returned to Norfolk on 13 December 2007.

For this deployment, Enterprise received the Battle "E" award, the Battenberg Cup, and the Admiral Flatley Memorial Award for the year 2007. Also during this deployment, the strike group was the second U.S. Navy carrier strike group to deploy with the new ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) targeting system for its F/A-18 strike fighters. This new system allowed its pilots to use their weapon systems at higher altitude with greater accuracy and safety. Finally, the 2007 deployment marked the final cruise for squadron VS-32 and its S-3 Viking aircraft (pictured). During this deployment, VS-32 aircraft flew 960 sorties, which totaled more than 2,200 flight hours, and included more than 950 carrier landings. Squadron VS-32 operated at sea for 180 days with only 13 days spent in port.
 * 2007 deployment force composition


 * 2007–2008 deployment exercises and port visits

2008–2010 operations
On 11 April 2008, the Enterprise began a two-year, $661.7 USD million Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) overhaul at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard in Virginia.

While his flagship was going into refit, Rear Admiral Daniel P. Holloway was given the task of supervising Exercise BALTOPS 2008, that took place from 8 to 18 June 2008 (pictured). BALTOPS began in 1971 as a NATO freedom of navigation exercise directed against the Soviet Union in the Baltic, and it is now a Partnership for Peace interoperability exercise involving former Warsaw Pact adversaries, including Russia. Holloway used the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) as his temporary flagship which was joined by two other U.S. naval vessels, the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) from Destroyer Squadron 22 and the fleet oiler USNS Patuxent (T-AO-201) from the Military Sealift Command, to form Task Group 369.4. Gettysburg returned to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, on 14 July 2008.

Enterprise returned to Naval Station Norfolk on 19 April 2010 after completing its post-overhaul sea trials, signalling the start of the pre-deployment training cycle for Carrier Strike Group Twelve.

2011 deployment
On 13 January 2011, Carrier Strike Group Twelve departed its homebase of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, under the command of Rear Admiral Terry B. Kraft. The strike group entered the U.S. Sixth Fleet's area of responsibility on 20 January 2011 and following its transit of the Suez Canal on 15 February 2011, joined the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

During the 2011 deployment, aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One flew 7764 sorties, with more than 7120 combat sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Units of Carrier Strike Group Twelve also disrupted nine piracy attacks, resulting in the capture of 75 suspected pirates and the detention of an additional 18 suspected pirates. Also during this deployment, the guided-missile destroyer Barry was detached from Carrier Strike Group Twelve in order to participate in Operation Odyssey Dawn. During that operation, on 19 March 2011, Barry was credited for launching the 2000th Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile.

In February 2011, the Enterprise, the Leyte Gulf, Sterrett. and the Buckley, as well as the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG-104), responded to the seizure of the American yacht Quest by Somali pirates off the coast of Oman. During this event four pirates were killed, and 15 were taken into custody. Enterprise is the first U.S. aircraft carrier to directly support an counter-piracy incident. Enterprise and Leyte Gulf also supported the recapture of the 37,000-dwt. Liberian-flagged bulk carrier M/V Arrilah-1 from Somali pirates by United Arab Emirates special operation forces on 2 April 2011.

On 6 March 2011, while operating with Combined Task Force 151, the destroyer Buckley responded to a distress call from the Bahamian-flagged, Japanese-operated oil tanker MV Guanabara which had reported on the previous day of being under attack from Somali pirates while operating 328 nmi southeast of Duqm, Oman. Joining Buckley was the Turkish frigate TCG Giresun from NATO's Operation Ocean Shield. After determining that the Guanabaras crew was safely in the ship's citadel, Bulkeleys boarding team, supported overhead by its embarked SH-60 helicopter, secured the Bahamian-flagged vessel and detained four suspected pirates (pictured). Three of the pirates were subsequently indicted in Japan, and the fourth was turned over to juvenile authorities, as it was determined that he was a minor.

On 24 March 2011, units from Carrier Strike Group Twelve disrupted a pirate attack on the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel M/V Falcon Trader II. While operating in the Arabian Sea in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, at 10:00 A.M. local time, the carrier Enterprise and cruiser Leyte Gulf responded to a distress call from the Falcon Trader II reporting that suspected pirates in a small skiff were attempting to board the ship. A follow-up message reported that the pirates had boarded the Falcon Trader II, but confirmed that her crew was safely in the ship's citadel. A SH-60F helicopter from squadron HS-11 embarked on the Enterprise and a SH-60B helicopter from squadron HSL-48 on board the Leyte Gulf were dispatched to investigate the situation. Once on the scene, the HS-11 helicopter fired warning shots at the suspected pirates in the skiff, prompting them to flee the scene. The helicopter pursued the skiff which was observed trying to rendezvous with a suspected pirate mother ship. The helicopter came under small arms fire, but the flight crew were not harmed while the helicopter maintained surveillance of the situation. On 25 March 2011, after determining there were no pirates aboard, the Leyte Gulf sent a boarding party to the Falcon Trader II to free its crew (pictured).

On 16 May 2011, the Bulkeley responded to a mayday call from the Panamanian-flagged, German-owned, 306,500-dwt very large crude carrier Artemis Glory. Bulkeley dispatched a SH-60B helicopter to the last reported position of the ship. Observing that a skiff carrying four men was firing upon the Artemis Glory, the HSL-48 helicopter opened fire, killing four suspected pirates. Without any Navy or Artemis Glory casualties, the ship was able to continue to its next port-of-call.

On 21 June 2011, the Navy's oldest aircraft carrier - Enterprise - passed the Navy's newest carrier, the George H.W. Bush, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (pictured) as Carrier Strike Group Two relieved Carrier Strike Group Twelve as the Fifth Fleet's in-theater carrier strike group. Carrier Strike Group Twelve transited the Suez Canal on 24 June 1022 and the Strait of Gibraltar on 3 July 2011. On 15 July 2011, the group returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, completing its 2011 deployment.
 * 2011 deployment force composition


 * 2011 deployment exercises and port visits

Bold Alligator 2012
On 11 January 2012, the strike group proceeded to sea for pre-deployment training and its Composite Training Unit Exercise. From 30 January to 12 February 2012, the group took part in Bold Alligator 2012, the largest amphibious assault exercise held on the east coast of the United States since 2002. Bold Alligator 2012 also served as the group Joint Task Force Exercise, the final pre-deployment training exercise needed to receive its combat-readiness certification. During the exercise, the air wing completed 3,830 flight hours, made 2,052 arrested landings, and received a 96 percent sortie completion rate. This included a single-day total of 107 sorties flown on 6 February 2012 during the exercise amphibious assault phase. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta visited Enterprise on 21 January 2012, observing flight operations and meeting members of the crew. The strike group completed its pre-deployment training and returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on 10 February 2012.

2012 deployment
On 11 March 2012, Carrier Strike Group Twelve departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for its 2012 deployment under the command of Rear Admiral Walter E. Carter, Jr. The strike group transited the Strait of Gibraltar on 23 March 2012, and it subsequently conducted a passing exercise with Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 between 24–25 March 2012 (pictured).

The strike group transited the Suez Canal to join the Fifth Fleet on 3 April. On 8 April 2012, the guided-missile destroyer Porter was detached in order to join Combined Task Force 151 for counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

On 1 May, Carrier Strike Group Twelve began combat air support to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, with Carrier Air Wing One flying 29 sorties that first day. The strike group operated with Carrier Strike Group Nine until CSG-9 was relieved by Carrier Strike Group Eight on 16–17 July 2012. In total, aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One flew 9,875 sorties, of which 2,241 were combat missions, while the Enterprise made ten transits through the Strait of Hormuz. The average flight time per sortie was almost six hours per flight. During this deployment, the strike group's longest at-sea period was 52 days.

On the evening of 8 August, the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG-95) rescued ten mariners from a burning Iranian-flagged dhow (pictured) while operating in the Gulf of Oman. Of the ten mariners, eight were identified as Iranians and two were Pakistanis. The rescued mariners received medical treatment and transport to the carrier Enterprise before being repatriated back to Iran on 10 August 2012. James E. Williams reentered the Mediterranean Sea on 25 August.

On 12 August, at 1:00 a.m. local time, the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG-78) collided with the Panamanian-flagged, Japanese-owned oil tanker M/V Otowasan near the Strait of Hormuz. The collision ripped a large hole in Porter's starboard side above the waterline, forcing her to put into Jebel Ali, Dubai, for inspection and repairs. No one on either ship was injured from the collision. The Otowasan had been en route from Fujairah, UAE, to Mesaieed, Qatar, at the time of the collision.

On 12 October 2012, the strike group transited the Suez Canal, with Porter rejoining following extensive repairs. From 24–26 October, Enterprise offloaded munitions to USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE-2) and USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE-9), at sea in the Atlantic. On 4 November, Enterprise, returned to Norfolk after steaming 80,968 nmi during the seven-and-a-half-month deployment.
 * 2012 deployment force composition
 * 2012 deployment exercises and port visits

Unit changes
Following the 2012 deployment, three units of Carrier Strike Group Twelve are slated for decommissioning or reassignment. Enterprise (pictured) was inactivated on 1 December 2012 at Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia, with its actual decommissioning scheduled to begin no later than 15 March 2013.

Initially, the U.S. Navy had planned to retire Vicksburg along with three other s in fiscal year 2013. However, after much discussion, Vicksburg and two other Ticonderoga-class cruisers were retained under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, with Vicksburg joining the USS Normandy (CG-60) as units of Carrier Strike Group Twelve.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was reassigned to be the group's new flagship. Carrier Air Wing One was reassigned to Theodore Roosevelt. The Theodore Roosevelt returned to Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia, on 29 August 2013, completing its post-overhaul sea trials that concluded its four-year mid-life Refueling and Complex Overhaul.

On 22 October 2012, the Department of Defense announced that Rear Admiral Kevin Kovacich was selected to take command of Carrier Strike Group Twelve. Admiral Kovacich took command of the strike group on 15 April 2013.

2013–2014 operations
On 14 September 2013, Theodore Roosevelt successfully completed flight deck certification which entailed completing a total of 160 carrier landings during daytime and night-time operations. Other certification drills included rigging the emergency barricade, flight deck firefighting evolutions, and crash and salvage operations. On 17 September 2013, Theodore Roosevelt completed its first underway replenishment in over four years.