11/19/2015: Sailors aboard guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) man the rails as the ship departs Naval Station Norfolk as part of the Harry S. Truman Strike Group.
The strike group departs Naval Station Norfolk to deploy in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.
With CVN 75 as the flagship, strike group assets include the embarked squadrons of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28 and ships USS Anzio (CG 68), USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), USS Gravely (DDG 107) and USS Gonzalez (DDG 66).
Credit: Navy Public Affairs Support Element East:11/16/15
When a strike force like the Truman goes to sea, it is a commitment of the military and their families to defeating the kind of evil represented by ISIS,
On November 16, 2015, the USS Truman, with surface combatants set out into Harm’s Way with families, loved ones and supporters of the United States Navy waving good-by as the Strike Group left Norfolk Naval Base, through Hampton Roads and then cleared Willoughby Spit and was visible from Little Creek Amphibious Base and many historic Civil War fortifications.
Much like the fanatical Nazis celebrated their sense of ethnic purity against the “weaker” Anglo-Saxon races, ISIS believes its ideological purity will prevail over the “weakness” of the West.
The fleet represents what America has become — a powerful multi-ethnic society, that in spite of its differences, finds ways to work together, notably against those who seem dedicated to the extermination of civilized society.