Carrier Strike Group 11

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Carrier Strike Group 11: a quick overview

Carrier Strike Group 11 (CSG-11) is a United States Navy carrier strike group. Its current flagship is the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68). The group is based at Naval Station Everett, Washington, and is part of the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet.

What’s in the group
- Ships: USS Nimitz, the guided-missile cruisers USS Lake Erie (CG-70) and USS Princeton (CG-59), and Destroyer Squadron 9.
- Air wing and aircraft: Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) aboard Nimitz, with fighters (F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and F/A-18C Hornets), electronic warfare aircraft (EA-18G Growler), helicopters (MH-60R Seahawk and MH-60S Knighthawk), early warning (E-2C Hawkeye), and transport (C-2A Greyhound).
- Role: naval air and surface warfare, protecting the fleet and projecting power abroad.

A history of missions
- The group has fought in major conflicts, including Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operations Iraqi Freedom and other Afghanistan-related operations from 2001–2021.
- It has also supported security operations in the Persian Gulf, the Horn of Africa, and the Western Pacific.

Key deployments and activities
- Between 2006 and 2013, CSG-11 made four deployments to the U.S. Fifth Fleet area (Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea) and one surge deployment to the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific.
- It participated in multi-national exercises such as Malabar (2005), Key Resolve/Foal Eagle (2008), and Valiant Shield (2007).
- Notable events include: in 2005, USS Princeton helped the Iranian dhow Hamid with engine problems; in 2007, group ships conducted boarding and security operations in the Persian Gulf; in 2008, U.S. fighters intercepted Russian bombers near the carrier.
- The group’s deployments often involved extensive air operations, including thousands of sorties and hundreds of flight hours supporting coalition missions.
- In 2010–2011, the Nimitz’s homeport shifted to Everett, Washington, and in 2012 the group took part in RIMPAC exercises off Hawaii.
- The 2013 deployment to the Seventh Fleet featured operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and CVW-11 aircraft began combat sorties in Afghanistan in June 2013. The Royal Navy’s Dragon joined the group in the Gulf of Oman during that period.
- The group completed long deployments, manually tallying thousands of flight hours and sorties, before returning home in late 2013.

Later years and changes
- In 2014–2015, the Nimitz prepared for a major maintenance period and then shifted home-port changes as part of scheduled maintenance and reorganization.
- In 2017, CSG-11 was preparing for a Western Pacific deployment amid regional tensions, and after the collision involving another U.S. destroyer, a Royal New Zealand Navy frigate joined the operations as a temporary replacement in the area.

Today
Carrier Strike Group 11 remains a flexible, multi-mission force capable of conducting air, surface, and maritime security operations in support of U.S. Navy objectives around the world.