The John C. Stennis Strike Group (JCSSG) will return from a summer deployment to the Northern and Western Pacific on Nov. 1, after spending five months operating at sea.

The strike group, comprised of five ships and a submarine includes; the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), guided missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), guided missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83), frigate USS Ford (FFG 54), fast attack submarine USS Salt Lake City (SSN 716), and the replenishment ship USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7).

The strike group began deployment May 24, heading to the Gulf of Alaska to participate in exercise Northern Edge 2004, a joint exercise with the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps followed by a goodwill port visit to Victoria, British Columbia.

JCSSG continued to Hawaii for the bi-annual Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) hosted by Commander, Third Fleet. More than 40 ships, seven submarines, 100 aircraft and nearly 18,000 Sailors, airmen, Marines, soldiers and Coast Guard personnel from seven nations participated in a myriad of naval air, surface, sub-surface and communications exercises on the high seas.

The WESTPAC deployment was also a first-time test of the Navy’s new construct for deploying naval forces as part of the Fleet Response Plan (FRP). Under the FRP, the Navy maintains the ability to simultaneously deploy six carrier strike groups (CSGs) in less than 30 days to support contingency operations around the world, and have two more CSGs ready to support or relieve elements of the initial responding forces within three months.

Following RIMPAC, JCSSG and the Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group rendezvoused near Japan to conduct a joint air and sea training exercise (JASEX). The two strike groups conducted a series of training exercises focused on air, surface and underwater training scenarios.

The strike group then made goodwill visits in Southern Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Following departure from Port Klang, Malaysia, F/A-18 Hornets and F-14D Tomcats assigned to the strike group conducted aerial proficiency exercises over the South China Sea with Soviet-designed MiG-29 Fulcrums from the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

On the transit south towards Australia, members of the 67th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC) visited USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) on Sept. 16 to experience a day of carrier operations at sea.  JCOC is the only civilian-to-military orientation program sponsored by the Secretary of Defense.

Following JCOC, JCSSG ships visited ports in Western Australia.  USS John C. Stennis, USS Howard, USS Lake Champlain and USNS Rainier visited Fremantle/Perth while USS Ford made a port visit to Bunbury.

The port visits in Australia were considered the highlight of the deployment by a majority of the crew.

When the strike group reached Hawaii on the journey home, more than 1,300 family and friends embarked strike group ships for a Tiger Cruise from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to the ships’ respective homeports on the west coast.

The San Diego-based aircraft carrier, commanded by Capt. David Buss, is the center of the Strike Group and is the flagship for Rear Adm. Patrick Walsh, Commander, Carrier Strike Group Seven. Stennis will change homeports from San Diego, Calif to Bremerton Wash, in January 2005