THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160450
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
They served as the centerpiece for the 50th anniversary of D-Day off the coast of France in June. They supported NATO airstrikes on Serbian forces. They countered Iraq's latest threat in a quick turnaround trip into the Persian Gulf last month.
And, now, the carrier George Washington and the 14 other ships in the battle group are coming home.
All 15 ships and submarines, plus the aircraft assigned, are scheduled to return to their East Coast bases today through Friday.
About the only crisis they missed during the past six months was in Haiti.
``And I had a funny feeling that if they knew our number they would have sent us there, too,'' said Capt. Robert G. Sprigg, the George Washington's commanding officer. ``But they already had us going 30 knots in the opposite direction, so we couldn't cover Haiti at the same time.''
Sprigg, in a satellite telephone interview Tuesday, said he couldn't be more proud of the entire battle group's accomplishments.
But he acknowledged that the 51,000 miles - a distance equal to twice around the globe - covered by the carrier and part of its joint task force did take a toll.
``I think we are coming home like a race well-run,'' Sprigg said. ``At the end there is that good feeling of exhaustion, but these guys are pulling right to the finish lines.''
Capt. Billy L. Lewis, commanding officer of the guided-missile cruiser Thomas S. Gates, said no one could complain that they had too little to do on this deploy
ment.
``I don't know where I've ever been on a deployment where the battle group was stretched so far and where we've been called upon to do such a wide variety of jobs,'' Lewis said in a separate satellite call. ``It started out with D-Day in England and just went on.''
The Gates steamed more than 41,000 miles.
Between the D-Day ceremony off Normandy, France, and the latest Persian Gulf scare, the battle group patrolled in the Mediterranean and in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Bosnia. There, the George Washington launched EA-6B Prowler jets to support NATO airstrikes against Serbian forces. The Prowlers were used as special aerial jamming units during the bombing of Serb-held positions near Sarajevo.
The Gates spent three different periods in the Adriatic, acting as the anti-air-warfare commander for the battle group, monitoring air activity in the region.
In August it headed the U.S. contingent for the French Naval Review, participated in other 50th anniversary events and worked in the Red Sea and with NATO forces in the Black Sea. It also operated in the Persian Gulf for a month in September.
``We didn't miss much,'' Lewis said. ``Everybody came through in great order. I can't tell you how proud I am of the crew.''
So varied were the battle group's assignments that the cruiser Cape St. George, also making its first overseas deployment, linked up with three South Korean navy ships making their way out of the Black Sea into the Mediterranean.
For the George Washington, making its first overseas deployment since being commissioned July 4, 1992, the cruise has been nearly flawless. One helicopter went down because of engine failure, but its crew was rescued. For the most part, all 12,000 sailors and Marines in the battle group are coming home safe.
Aircraft squadrons in Air Wing 7 were scheduled to return to their bases as early as 8:30 a.m. today, with arrivals lasting through midmorning. Those from Hampton Roads are:
Two squadrons of F-14B Tomcats - VF-142 Ghostriders and VF-143 Pukin' Dogs - and one squadron of A-6E Intruders - VA-34 Blue Blasters - all from Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.
One squadron of E-2C Hawkeye radar planes - VAW-121 Bluetails - and one detachment of C-2 Greyhound transports - VRC-40 Rawhides - all from Norfolk Naval Air Station.
Scheduled to return to Norfolk on Thursday are the George Washington; the cruisers San Jacinto, Thomas S. Gates and Cape St. George; the guided-missile destroyer Barry; the oiler Kalamazoo; and the attack submarines Hyman G. Rickover and Newport News. Specific times for arrival will be released today. Ships belonging to the Guam amphibious ready group that are returning to Norfolk Naval Station and Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base are assault ship Guam, transport dock Austin, dock landing ship Tortuga and tank landing ship Harlan County.
The other three ships of the battle group are returning to homeports elsewhere on the East Coast.
During the past six months, the amphibious ships conducted contingency operations off the coast of Somalia in the Red Sea, participated in multinational exercises, showed the flag in the Black Sea and filled in for the George Washington battle group in the Adriatic, off the coast of Bosnia.
The submarine Newport News was the first submarine in the task group to pass through the Suez Canal as a result of the Iraqi troop movements last month. The submarine, which cruised more than 28,000 miles, was prepared to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Its sister sub, the Rickover, worked with five different NATO nations on various operations, including special operations and repeated strike warfare exercises.
The sailors are returning home fairly well decorated as well. Depending on where their ships were deployed, some will receive the Southwest Asian Service Ribbon, the Sea Service Ribbon and the Navy Unit Commendation for their service in the D-Day activities. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
COMING HOME: THE WASHINGTON BATTLE GROUP
Color photo
The Navy's newest carrier, the George Washington, is returning from
its first six-month deployment. Here's what happened: MAY 20: Leaves
Norfolk.
JUNE 6: Arrives off the coast of France to participate in the 50th
anniversary of D-Day invasion with President Clinton coming aboard.
The Washington ferries President Clinton, 40 White House aides and
23 members of the White House press corps across the English
Channel.
JUNE-JULY: Sails down the west coast of Europe and into the
Mediterranean Sea. The ship takes part in exercises about 950 miles
off the coast of Bosnia in June, but quickly steams closer and
launches EA-6B Prowler jets to support NATO air strikes against
Serbian forces.
AUG. 5: Provides support from the Adriatic Sea as NATO warplanes
attack Bosnian Serb military positions near Sarajevo, blasting apart
an anti-tank vehicle, after the rebels had seized heavy arms from
U.N. peacekeepers and shot a French helicopter with machine-gun
fire.
SEPT. 6: Takes part in training in the Persian Gulf.
Returns to the Mediterranean.
OCT. 7: Ordered to the Middle East by Clinton after Iraqi troops
were seen massing on the Kuwait border.
OCT. 10-16: Returns to the Persian Gulf along with two Norfolk-based
ships in its battle group - the guided-missile cruiser San Jacinto
and the guided-missile destroyer John Barry. Ordered back to Middle
East by Clinton after Iraqi troops are seen massing on the border
with Kuwait. Later enforces a no-flying zone over southern Iraq.
THURSDAY, NOV. 17: To arrive home ``on time.''
KEYWORDS: IRAQ PERSIAN GULF by CNB