U.S. Aircraft Carrier Harry S. Truman Is In Coronavirus Limbo Because It Is A 'Clean' Ship

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman transits the Strait of Gibraltar, April 7, 2020.(MC3 Maxwell Higins/U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Maxwell Higgins)

Reuters: Exclusive: Too risky to come home, crew of 'clean' U.S. warship in coronavirus limbo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On any given day, the U.S. aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman can be found off the Atlantic coast of the United States, probably somewhere between Virginia and Florida. Its crew would love to come home to their families. But they can’t. They’re just too valuable right now.

That’s because the Truman is a “clean” ship, free from the coronavirus thanks to a longer-than-expected deployment at sea that started in November. The deployment has kept its battle-ready 4,500 crew out of reach of a pandemic that is wreaking havoc elsewhere in the Navy.

Captain Kavon “Hak” Hakimzadeh and members of his crew described to Reuters in exclusive interviews the mixed emotions of being so close to home, but too precious to pull into port, as the Truman settles into a pandemic-driven operational limbo.

“This is a really weird situation for us,” Hakimzadeh told Reuters by phone, the only way to speak to anyone on board given a ban on visitors.

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WNU Editor: This is a unique quarantine bubble.

The Pentagon Tried Again To Decommission The Aircraft Carrier USS Harry Truman

The carrier Harry S. Truman, left, and the cruiser Normandy transit the Atlantic Ocean. Truman was again the target of Pentagon budget cuts until the decision was reversed earlier this year. (MC2 Scott Swofford/U.S. Navy)

Defense News: Memo reveals Pentagon again tried to decommission the carrier Truman, cut an air wing

WASHINGTON — Despite causing a political firestorm earlier this year and forcing President Donald Trump to publicly reverse his administration’s position on the matter, the U.S. military again tried to push a plan that would lead to the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman retiring 25 years early and would defund a carrier air wing, according to a White House memo obtained by Defense News.

The plan, which was killed sometime in November during a back-and-forth between the Pentagon and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, was recycled from the 2020 budget submission. At the time, the move was framed as a way to pay for investments in unmanned technologies and long-range hypersonic missiles.

The now-reversed decision to defund the Truman’s refueling lends further insight into the pressures the Navy faces in this budget cycle.

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Update #1: The Pentagon has tried twice this year to mothball one of its aircraft carriers, but it keeps getting shut down (Business Insider)
Update #2: White House Once Again Torpedos Pentagon Plan to Retire Broken USS Truman Early (Sputnik)

WNU editor: The problem is money. Specifically the lack of it. The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is currently deployed to the Middle East .... USS Harry S. Truman starts operations in Middle East as long deployment for USS Abraham Lincoln continues (WTKR).

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Deploys Without Its Aircraft Carrier

The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and ships assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group in the Atlantic Ocean while conducting composite training unit exercise on February 16, 2018. US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Scott Swofford

USNI News: Escorts Deploy Without USS Harry S. Truman as East Coast Carrier Shortage Persists

Surface escorts from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group left their homeports today to kick off an overseas deployment.

Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) did not.

After the carrier was sidelined at the end of August with a malfunction in the ship’s electrical distribution system, engineers continue to assess the problem. “The aircraft carrier’s repairs are progressing, and all efforts are being made to deploy the carrier and air wing as soon as possible,” according to a Navy statement to USNI News.

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Update: A US Navy carrier strike group is weirdly deploying without its aircraft carrier after it broke down (Business Insider)

WNU Editor: This was expected .... USS Harry S. Truman Suffers Major Electrical Malfunction, Raising Questions About Upcoming Deployment (USNI News). And to think that just a few months ago they wanted to retire the USS Harry Truman .... Trump Administration Will Not Retire The Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman (April 30, 2019).

Trump Administration Will Not Retire The Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman transits the Atlantic Ocean, December 12, 2018. US Navy/Mass Comm. Specialist 2nd Class Scott Swofford

Daily Press: USS Harry S. Truman will not be retired ahead of schedule, Pence says

The Trump administration is dropping its pitch to mothball the USS Harry S. Truman at its midlife point.

Vice President Mike Pence made the announcement Tuesday during an all-hands call aboard the Truman at Naval Station Norfolk.

“We are keeping the best carrier in the world in the fight. We are not retiring the Truman,” Pence said, adding: “The USS Harry S. Truman is going to be giving ‘em hell for many more years to come.”

That phrase — “give ’em hell” — is a reference to the carrier’s battle cry. Pence’s announcement, amid weeks of debate over the future of the carrier, was met with cheers from hundreds of sailors. A Pentagon budget proposal called for retiring the Truman halfway through its intended 50-year service life by skipping its midlife refueling, scheduled to begin in 2024. By bypassing that overhaul, the Navy estimated it would save about $3.4 billion, money that it could reinvest elsewhere.

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WNU Editor: The Pentagon still wants to retire the aircraft carrier .... CNO nominee backs Navy plan to scrap USS Truman as White House vows to keep the ship (Stars and Stripes). More here .... We can't stay 'stagnant': Navy chief defends decision to decommission aircraft carrier (Washington Examiner)

More News On The Trump Administration Not Retiring The Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman

Trump administration reverses course on decision to decommission carrier Truman -- Defense News
Trump drops plan to retire the USS Truman -- The Hill
Pence: No Early Retirement for USS Harry S. Truman -- USNI News
Trump administration reverses course on decision to decommission carrier Truman -- Defense News
Vice President Pence: Trump Will Save Carrier Truman from Early Retirement -- Military.com
Trump administration just sank the Pentagon's controversial plans to mothball an aircraft carrier decades early -- Business Insider
USS Harry S. Truman will not be retired ahead of schedule, Pence says -- Virginia Pilot
Trump Admin Reverses Decision to Retire Aircraft Carrier USS Truman Early -- Sputnik

Russian Warships Are Stalking The Aircraft Carrier USS Harry Truman In The Mediterranean Sea (Video)

ITV News: On board the USS Harry S Truman: Playing cat and mouse with the Russian navy in the eastern Mediterranean

When she’s operational you won’t find the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman on any map or app.

The best way to track her is to keep her within sight, which is what the Russians are doing.

As she goes about her business in the eastern Mediterranean, the Truman is flanked by six US destroyers, her escorts.

If you think of the bodyguards running alongside Kim Jong-un’s limo you get the picture.

But beyond the escorts, to starboard and port, we can see Russian frigates.

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Update #1: Russian Frigate Stalks USS Harry Truman in Eastern Mediterranean (VIDEO) (Sputnik)
Update #2: Russia warships stalk US aircraft carrier in ‘cat and mouse chase’ (Daily Star)

WNU Editor: Everyone is watching everyone.

A Look At What Life Is Like Aboard The Aircraft Carrier USS Harry Truman

Daily Mail: On board the $4.5billion US carrier Harry S Truman which is as long as the Empire State Building, houses more than 5,000 people, and can launch two fighter jets every 40 seconds against the Islamic State

* US carrier Truman been supporting attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria under Operation Inherent Resolve
* Ships this size are designed to 'project American presence and power off any coast' according to the US navy
* Working together, the crew can fire off two planes every 40 seconds during daylight, or 60 seconds at night
* Crews work 12-hour shifts and the kitchen makes a whopping 17,000 meals every day to feed its residents

On the edge of a thunderstorm somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean, the $4.5billion US carrier Harry S. Truman rumbles as its fighters launch into the darkening sky.

With lightning bolts flashing in the distance,the nuclear-powered vessel - which weighs 97,000 tons - is waging a war thousands of miles away in Syria.

'It's a pleasure to see a year's worth of training in action,' Rear Admiral Gene Black, commander of the carrier strike group, notes from the ship's bridge as the deadly choreography unfolds on the flight deck below.

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Update: Dodging planes and a taste of home: life on a U.S. aircraft carrier (Reuters)

WNU Editor: 5,500 aboard a ship. 12 hour shifts. Constant activity. Definitely never a boring day aboard this ship .... and it should not be.