NAPLES, Italy — A Navy carrier strike group that has battled Iranian-backed Houthi militants for months left the Middle East and arrived in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Norfolk-based aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, along with embarked Carrier Air Wing 1 of Virginia Beach and the destroyer USS Jason Dunham, arrived Thursday at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay on the Greek island of Crete.
The group’s visit follows nearly two months of combat operations in the Middle East, the Truman Carrier Strike Group said in a statement.
The “working port visit” allows for maintenance activities while offering sailors a chance to take a break, the Navy said.
It wasn’t clear Friday whether the ships will return to the Middle East.
The Destroyer USS Stout and the cruiser USS Gettysburg, both part of the Hampton Roads-based strike group, remained in the Red Sea.
The Navy has kept a near-constant carrier strike group presence in the Middle East since November 2023 in the aftermath of Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7 of the same year. Houthi militants began their campaign against ships in the Red Sea weeks afterward.
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower spent nearly seven months in and around the Red Sea defending against Houthi attacks, returning to Naval Station Norfolk in July after a historic nine-month deployment. The aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln also have been on duty in the region for shorter timespans.
The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and the Truman group “have operated in the most intense period of sustained combat activity for the U.S. Navy since World War II,” the Navy said.
Since Dec. 14, the Truman group has supported multiple strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, according to the statement. Those actions include attacks on Dec. 30 and 31 against a Houthi command hub, weapons production facility and storage facilities that included missiles and drones.
On Feb. 1, the group conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State in Somalia in support of Africa Command and in coordination with the Somali government, the Navy said. Those strikes killed multiple ISIS operatives, the Pentagon said at the time.
The Truman group also has fended off several Houthi attacks, including multiple one-way aerial attack drones and anti-ship cruise missiles on Dec. 22.
In an apparent friendly fire incident the same day, USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down an F/A-18 Super Hornet as the jet was launching from Truman in response to Houthi threats. The two aviators aboard were rescued, with one reportedly suffering minor injuries.
The stop in Crete marks the third port visit for the group since leaving Naval Station Norfolk in September. Other stops include Oslo and Marseille, France, the Navy said.