TRUMAN ‘TOP GUNS’ - TO THE FORE FOR NATO

The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) remains in the Mediterranean and has most recently trained in the Adriatic with regional allies while also giving her people a break in Croatia.

In this video we see how the Truman spearheaded the large NATO-led Neptune Strike 22, during which the tight working partnership of Italian and American naval forces was overseen by the Strike Force NATO (STRIKFORNATO) joint battle staff, under the direction of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

At a time of high tension between NATO and Russia, with major units of Moscow’s navy also deployed into the Mediterranean, Neptune Strike 22 was a timely reminder of how the Alliance nations can bring together, and tightly integrate, formidable conventional deterrent power.

That resides not just in the strike jets at sea - which we see being launched from and landing back aboard the Truman - but also in the major surface and submarine escorts accompanying the NATO carriers, with quite a number armed with long-range Land-attack Cruise Missiles (LACM).

The units committed to what was also dubbed ‘Vigilance Activity Neptune Strike’ were not only the Truman and Italian carrier ITS Cavour but also 15 other naval vessels, along with around 90 aircraft.

Land-based jets were among those involved, including, as we also see in this video, Greek Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters making a rendezvous with US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets over the Ionian Sea. At one point far below we see the USS Harry S. Truman.

In the video we also see USN Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operators training with the Italian Navy in board and search techniques, plus Italian and American carriers along with their escorts and the US Sixth Fleet/STRIKFORNATO command ship USS Mount Whitney gathered together.

Keeping such naval power at sea is a never-ending task and the video ends with helicopters carrying out a Vertical Replenishment (VERTREP) with an American supply vessel to ensure Harry S. Truman can maintain a watch thousands of miles from home.

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