User:Marcd30319/Marcd30319 original Carrier Group Seven

Carrier Group Seven, designated CarGru-7, was an U.S. Navy aircraft carrier formation. CarGru-7 was initially created as Carrier Division Seven (CarDiv 7) during World War Two, and its mission was to provide night air combat patrols for the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Fast Carrier Task Force. After the war, CarDiv 7 saw service in the Viet Nam War as a carrier task group of the Task Force 77. Following its re-designation to CarGru-7 in 1973, Carrier Group Seven saw action in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Southern Watch, and Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan (OEF-A) as a carrier battle group of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

Background
Because of accelerated training to meet wartime demands, as well as pre-war carrier doctrine, U.S. naval aviators did not receive night-time carrier flight training that had been a pre-war requirement. Consequently, U.S. carrier task forces could not launch and recover combat air patrols at night, and this left U.S. warships operating in enemy waters vulnerable to Japanese night air counter-attacks. For example, after U.S. daylight naval air strike on Kwajalein of 4 December 1943, the departing U.S. carrier task force, Task Force 50, was attacked by land-based Japanese Betty bombers that evening, with the carrier USS Lexington (CV-16) taking a torpedo hit that seriously damaged her rudder.

Formation
On 19 December 1944, Carrier Division Seven (CarDiv 7) was established as U.S. Navy's first night carrier division with Rear Admiral Matthias B. Gardner at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Its mission was to provide a night air operational capability to U.S. Pacific Fleet's Fast Carrier Task Force during the Pacific War against the Japanese Empire.

Admiral Gardner was a logical choice to command the Navy's first night carrier division since, as the commanding officer of the carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6), an experimental three-aircraft night squadron was created as part of Carrier Air Group Six was embarked onboard the Enterprise. This three-plane team saw action off Makin Island when it successfully broke up a large group of land-based Betty bombers that atempted to attack Task Group 50.2 on the night of 26 November 1943. Specialized night training, radar-equipped aircraft, and specially-converted carriers were needed to develop effective carrier night operational capabilties, and following his promotion, Admiral Gardner was placed on command of Carrier Division Eleven (CarDiv 11), the Pacific Fleet's carrier training command, to develop and deploy an operational night carrier division consisting of the Enterprise and two light aircraft carrriers, the USS Independence (CVL-22) and USS Bataan (CVL-29). On 7 August 1944,

Carrier Division Seven
On 22 March 1956, Carrier Division Seven (CarDiv 7) was re-established under the command of Rear Admiral Lester K. Rice at Naval Air Station Alameda, California, with its initial deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean (WESTPAC) taking place onboard the carrier USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31) in 1957. CARDIV-7 and its successors had the following aircraft carriers assigned to it:

Commander Carrier Division Seven (ComCarDiv 7) served as the flag officer in immediate command of those aircraft carriers assigned to Carrier Division Seven under the administrative auspices of the U.S. Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet, the naval aviation type command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

On 6 April 1964, Rear Admiral William F. Bringle assumed command of Carrier Division Seven. With the carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) as his flagship and Carrier Air Wing Eleven embarked, Admiral Bringle also served as Commander Task Group 77.4 during the period of 29 March to 29 June 1964 in support of Yankee Team aerial reconnaissance operations over Laos prior to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

Bringle subsequently served as Commander Task Group 77.6 during the period of 29 March to 29 June 1964 as well as served Commander Task Force Seventy Seven (CTF-77) from 28 May to 27 June 27 1965 in support of Operation Rolling Thunder.

During the Vietnam War, Aircraft carriers assigned to Carrier Division Seven (CarDiv 7) operated as part of Task Force 77, operating at Yankee Station and Dixie Station, and participated with such air campaigns as Operation Rolling Thunder, Operation Barrel Roll, Operation Steel Tiger, Operation Commando Hunt, Operation Tiger Hound, Operation Iron Hand, Operation Pocket Money, Operation Linebacker, and Operation Linebacker II

Following her three-year SCB-110A modernization overhaul, the carrier USS Coral Sea (CV-43) was assigned to Carrier Division Seven, and she made three WESTPAC deployments over the next four years, with the third being Coral Sea's first Vietnam combat deployment from 7 December 1964 to 1 November 1965. During her third Vietnam combat deployment, from 26 July 1967 to 6 April 1968, Coral Sea implemented a new anti-MiG combat patrol (MiGCAP) plan developed by the ComCarDiv 7 staff.

Carrier Group Seven
Effective 30 June 1973, Carrier Division Seven was re-designated as Carrier Group Seven (CarGru 7). Commander Carrier Division Seven (ComCarDiv 7) was re-designated as Commander Carrier Group Seven (ComCarGru 7) and in this capacity, continued to act as the flag officer in immediate command of those aircraft carriers assigned to CarGru 7 under the administrative auspices of the U.S. Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet (COMNAVAIRPAC).

Nimitz battle group

 * 1992 force composition

Surge 97


Between 14–24 July 1997, Carrier Group Seven participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 97-2 (JTFEX 97-2) off the coast of southern California, which also served as a "Revolution in Strike Warfare" demonstration. Subsequently know as Surge 97, this latter event was designed to demonstrate the capability of an aircraft carrier and its embarked air wing to surge carrier-based airpower in a littoral warfare scenario. At the time, Carrier Air Wing Nine consisted of 14 F-14As, 36 F/A-18Cs, 4 EA-6Bs, 8 S-3Bs, 2 ES-3As, and 4 E-2Cs, but of those aircraft only 9 F-14As, 32 F/A-18Cs, 4 EA-6Bs, 5 S-3Bs, and 4 E-2Cs were mission capable on the first day of this surge. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group transited the Suez Canal on 7 March 1998, arrived in the Persian Gulf on 11 March 1998 to relieved the USS George Washington (CVN-73)'s carrier strike group.

On 20 July 1997, the carrier Nimitz and Carrier Air Wing Nine began a high-intensity strike campaign. When flight operations were completed four days later, the carrier Nimitz and Carrier Air Wing Nine had generated 771 strike sorties while putting 1,336 bombs on target. Carrier Air Wing Nine flew 975 fixed-wing sorties during this four-day surge operation. Almost 80 percent of the sorties flown were strike sorties, with strike support accounting for another 10 percent. F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters flew nearly 80 percent of the strike sorties. Of the 771 strike sorties, 727 were loaded with ordnance while 44 were electronic support sorties by EA-6B Prowlers. During this four-day period, only a portion of the medium-range interdiction strikes required tanking support. KC-135 and KC-130 tanker aircraft provided most of this support. S-3 Vikings conducted recovery tanking and supplied more than one-third of the fuel passed to Carrier Air Wing Nine aircraft during this surge operation. F/A-18 Hornets flew 4.5 sorties per day while F-14 Tomcats flew 2.5 sorties per day. This surge had been preceeded by a 16-hour preparation after undergoing four days that had generated about 700 fixed-winged sorties.

A subsequent study by the Center for Naval Analyses determined that Nimitz and Carrier Air Wing Nine could have maintained this high-sortie operational tempo for another twelve to twenty-four hours before requiring its ordnance and aviation fuel stocks to be replenished as well as equipment maintenance and rest for its crews.

1997-1998 deployment
On 15 July 1998, operational control of the carrier Nimitz shifted from Carrier Group Seven to Cruiser-Destroyer Group Five. Rear Admiral Daniel R. Bowler initially served as Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Five (CCDG-5) at the time of this transfer until he was subsequently relieved by Rear Admiral Peter W. Marzluff.

1998-1999 operations
On 26 February 1998, the Stennis Battle Group departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, with Commander Carrier Group Seven (ComCarGru7) embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) which was making her maiden deployment. On 12 March 1998, The John C. Stennis strike group executed five rotations to the Persian Gulf to support Operation Southern Watch (OSW). The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group departed the Persian Gulf on 19 July 1998 for her new home port of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, arriving on 26 August 1998.

Stennis was underway for FleetEx 00-1 exercises between 29 October and 8 November 1998. Beginning in October 1998, Stennis entered a 6-month Phased Incremental Availability (PIA), 6-month-ling maintenance and system upgrade cycle, at North Island, California, which was completed on 10 April 1999. Stennis was underway to conduct its Tailored Ship's Training Availability (TSTA) 1 pre-deployment exercises in Southern California Operating Areas between 19–26 May 1999 and TSTA II/III/Final Evaluation's Period (FEP) pre-deployment exercises between 12-28 July 1999, with a port visit at Victoria, British Columbia, from 28 July to 1 August 1999, before returning to San Diego on 4 August 1999. The carrier also underwent its Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) between 06-26 August 1999. Stennis participated in FleetEx 00-1 exercises between 29 October and 08 November 1999.


 * 1998 deployment force composition
 * 1998 Operation Southern Watch underway periods & port visits

Trojan Blade: The Legend of the CARGRU 7 Axe
From the Carrier Group Strike Seven's online history page:
 * The origins of this mighty instrument lie deep in Greek history. When peace had finally fallen upon their ravaged land, the brave sailors of the Trojan fleet gathered their worn swords and beat them into plowshares. Yet they also sought some means of honoring their fallen compatriots. Consequently, a few of the remaining spears and shields were smelted in the hottest furnaces of Troy, tempered by the most skilled craftsman, and cast into an axe head of epic proportions. A call then went forth upon the land to locate a sturdy oak which might be formed into a handle for this sacred memorial. After days of searching, a young woodsman located just such a tree deep in the virgin forests in which he plied his trade. From that tree he hewed a shaft of incredible strength, and with a warm, luxuriant finish. This powerful handle was soon joined with the mighty axe head to form a moving testament to those Trojans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.


 * The "Trojan Blade" (as it had come to be called), was soon coveted by the emerging nations of a growing civilization, and possession of it was the cause of many a pitched battle around the world over the following years. Historians are unable to trace its exact path during the 17th and 18th centuries, but its colorful tale is picked up once again in 1853, when the Emperor of Japan presented it to Commodore Matthew C. Perry to honor him on the occasion of his opening of the Meiji Empire to the rest of the world. Since that time, this fabulous trophy has remained in the possession of the U.S. Navy and has been carried into battle by some of its most distinguished commanders.


 * Its home with the Pacific Fleet was established during the fighting in that theater during World War II; ADM "Bull" Halsey credited his success against Yamamoto's navy to the spiritual strength that he was able to draw from the "Trojan Blade". He subsequently refused to see it transferred from the Pacific and there it remains, now by direction of the CNO. In April 1956, RADM Lester K. Rice took command of Carrier Division Seven, and was presented the "Trojan Blade" by ADM Halsey in recognition of that auspicious occasion. Ever since, the spiritual fire that Halsey found so vital has similarly inspired the leaders of the finest carrier group in the U.S. Navy. The names Clifton, Hardisty, and Arthur are proudly emblazoned upon the tremendous axe as evidence of the great hands through which it has passed.


 * This mighty axe - born of fire and tested by battle - remains with Carrier Strike Group Seven today. A strong testament to those men who, over the centuries, have given their lives in defense of principles they held dear.