The Navy’s Norfolk-based USS George H.W. Bush and the rest of Carrier Strike Group Two (CSG-2) will be relieved this month by the San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson and Carrier Strike Group One, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus confirmed on Tuesday.
The USS George H.W. Bush left Norfolk in February en route to the Mediterranean Sea, along with the USS Truxtun and USS Arleigh Burke, and the Mayport-based USS Philippine Sea and USS Roosevelt .
- Photos: The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group on deployment
- Photos: The USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group on deployment
In June, the group entered the Persian Gulf as the situation in Iraq began to intensify.
In August, F/A-18 jets flying off the Bush carried out the first airstrikes against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq.
The Norfolk-based Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, comprised of the USS Bataan, USS Mesa Verde , USS Gunston Hall and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp LeJeune, N.C., were also serving in the Persion Gulf alongside the Bush and CSG-2.
The group also left Norfolk in February, just a few weeks before CSG-2.
They have been relieved by the San Diego-based Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group.
