The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and two destroyers left Norfolk on deployments on Saturday.
The first to leave Naval Station Norfolk was the USS Truxtun. The guided missile destroyer is part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group.
The Bush itself got a late start Saturday afternoon. A Navy spokesman said the ship was delayed by four hours while an organism was cleaned from seawater.
The Bush and the Truxtun were the only ships from the Bush carrier strike group leaving Hampton roads, the rest of the group left from Florida.
The group will meet up and head to the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
Other sailors also left on a separate deployment Saturday on board the USS Arleigh Burke.
The guided missile destroyer is scheduled to be gone for eight months.
