thedrifter
08-20-07, 07:36 AM
US sends aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to Persian Gulf
Source: CCTV.com | 08-20-2007 11:00
The U.S. Navy has sent aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Persian Gulf. It replaces two carriers deployed there earlier in the year amid tensions with Iran. The US says the move is essential in bringing security and stability to the area.
The USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, with the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, has been in the region since the beginning of August.
A pilot onboard the carrier says the USS Enterprise is there to conduct security operations and provide air support for ground forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Captain Nicole Aunapu, pilot with the FA 251, said, "Our primary mission is to support the marines and the army on the ground in operations 'Iraqi' and 'Enduring Freedom'. So, we'll fly a typical mission taken off the boat here over to Iraq, hit the tanker to get some gas and then we'll support the marines on the ground, we'll do whatever they need, convoy, escort, search for IEDs."
Apart from concerns over Iraq, the United States has been flexing its muscles in a standoff with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.
Tension over Tehran's nuclear ambitions has raised regional fears of a military confrontation. Iran has dismissed previous U.S. drills off its coast as morale-boosting exercises, saying it had missiles that could sink big war ships in the Persian Gulf.
But the two sides have initiated talks aimed at easing the conflict in Iraq.
Ellie
Source: CCTV.com | 08-20-2007 11:00
The U.S. Navy has sent aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Persian Gulf. It replaces two carriers deployed there earlier in the year amid tensions with Iran. The US says the move is essential in bringing security and stability to the area.
The USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, with the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, has been in the region since the beginning of August.
A pilot onboard the carrier says the USS Enterprise is there to conduct security operations and provide air support for ground forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Captain Nicole Aunapu, pilot with the FA 251, said, "Our primary mission is to support the marines and the army on the ground in operations 'Iraqi' and 'Enduring Freedom'. So, we'll fly a typical mission taken off the boat here over to Iraq, hit the tanker to get some gas and then we'll support the marines on the ground, we'll do whatever they need, convoy, escort, search for IEDs."
Apart from concerns over Iraq, the United States has been flexing its muscles in a standoff with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.
Tension over Tehran's nuclear ambitions has raised regional fears of a military confrontation. Iran has dismissed previous U.S. drills off its coast as morale-boosting exercises, saying it had missiles that could sink big war ships in the Persian Gulf.
But the two sides have initiated talks aimed at easing the conflict in Iraq.
Ellie