After nearly two months deployed and a stop off in the Mediterranean Sea, the Carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group launched their jets on their first strikes against ISIS from the Persian Gulf on Friday, as they continue the campaign to destroy the militants sowing chaos in Iraq and Syria. the fight to have arrived in 5th Fleet to continue their campaign against ISIS.
Ike and its embarked Carrier Air Wing 3 have been deployed for nearly two months and earlier carried out ISIS strikes from the Mediterranean Sea. began combat sorties on Friday, according to a Navy release.
"The efforts of the 'Ike-Battle Axe' team have and will continue to be instrumental in the fight against ISIL," air wing commander Capt. Jeffrey Anderson said in a Navy release Friday.
Ike is the latest in a rotation of carriers sent to the gulf to fight ISIS since the George H.W. Bush dropped the first Operation Inherent Resolve bombs in June 2014. Since then, the Carl Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt and the Harry S. Truman have all joined in the fight to " dismantle and roll back terrorist networks in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere and to ensure free flow of commerce," according to the release. Truman set the record for most bombs dropped in its extended deployment.
The Ike left Norfolk on June 1, spending several weeks launching 116 sorties attacks from the Med in support of Operation Inherent Resolve on its way to relieve the Truman Carrier Strike Group in 5th Fleet.
Truman's Middle East deployment was extended by a month in April to give it more time in 5th and 6th Fleet while as Eisenhower prepared to take over.
Ike is escorted by the cruisers San Jacinto and Monterey and the destroyers Stout, Roosevelt, Mason and Nitze. Carrier Air Wing 3 includes the Strike Fighter Squadron 32 "Swordsmen," VFA-86 "Sidewinders," VFA-105 "Gunslingers," VFA-131 "Wildcats," Electronic Attack Squadron 130 "Zappers," Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 123 "Screwtops," Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 "Rawhides," Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 74 "Swamp Foxes" and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 7 "Dusty Dogs."
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
