THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 23, 1996 TAG: 9601230238
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM GILLESPIE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
The nuclear-powered carrier George Washington and amphibious assault ship Guam will head a battle group and amphibious ready group of 15 vessels and 16 aircraft squadrons which will depart East Coast bases beginning Friday for the Mediterranean Sea.
The battle group, commanded by Rear Adm. Henry C. Griffin III, will relieve the carrier America Battle Group, which deployed in August. The America battle group has been primarily in the Adriatic Sea in support of the United Nations effort in Bosnia.
It is expected to return home in late February.
In preparation for their deployment, the Washington and Guam battle groups participated in joint task force exercises off the Atlantic Coast in December, which were described by Griffin as their ``final examination'' before deployment, culminating a year of intense preparation.
``We are ready to serve as the nation's fast response force wherever and whenever needed,'' Griffin said.
The battle group is self-contained and is ideally suited to operate in theaters such as Bosnia, according to Griffin. It is ``flexible, highly mobile and ready on arrival,'' he said.
``The men and women of this battle group have worked hard to ensure they are ready to serve this nation,'' said Adm. William J. Flanagan Jr., Commander in Chief U.S. Atlantic Fleet. ``I'm very proud of what they have accomplished and confident they will represent our nation well.''
The aircraft carrier America, flagship of the battle group, will be decommissioned when it returns in February, having served for more than three decades.
Fourteen of the 15 vessels making up the battle group are from Norfolk:
Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington
Guided-missile cruiser San Jacinto
Guided-missile destroyers Barry and Stout
Destroyers Conolly and Arthur W. Radford
Guided-missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts
Oiler Merrimack
Nuclear-powered attack submarines Scranton and Baltimore
Amphibious assault ship Guam
Amphibious transport docking ship Trenton
Dock landing ships Tortuga and Portland
The ammunition ship Mount Baker, homeported at Naval Station Charleston, S.C., is also part of the battle group. by CNB