San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and sister ships arrived Tuesday in Singapore for a scheduled port visit that includes working in a soup kitchen and helping a group educate poor children, the Navy says.
Also there are Carrier Air Wing 2, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain.
The Carl Vinson Strike Group completed two weeks of routine operations in the Asia-Pacific region, including maritime exercises with the Republic of Korea Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The ship also operated in the South China Sea during this deployment.
“This port visit reaffirms our commitment to the U.S.-Singapore defense relationship and our shared belief that lawful use of the sea and airspace are essential to prosperity, stability and security for all nations in the Pacific,” said Rear Adm. Jim Kilby, strike group commander. “We greatly appreciate the opportunity to return or in many cases visit this great country for the first time.”
Carl Vinson will host a reception for VIPs including U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to Singapore Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath; Vice Adm. Nora Tyson, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet; Fleet Commander Cheong Kwok Chien; and various high commissioners, military attaches and distinguished members of the U.S. and Singapore Diplomatic Corps.
“Vinson sailors are excited about Singapore and this port visit,” said Capt. Doug Verissimo, Carl Vinson commanding officer. “They tirelessly execute the carrier’s mission in providing a presence here in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. They work hard to better themselves personally and professionally, and now they have an opportunity to get some well-deserved rest and take in the sights and culture of Singapore.”
During the port visit, sailors will volunteer off-duty time to various charitable and community organizations. CVW-2 sailors will volunteer at Willing Hearts, a soup kitchen, and sailors aboard Lake Champlain will volunteer with Child @ Street 11, a nonprofit group dedicated to helping low-income families provide education for their children.
Additionally, members of Carl Vinson’s Junior Enlisted Association and Second Class Petty Officers Association will volunteer at a food bank where they will move food and receive donations.
The strike group will continue on their regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment after departing Singapore.
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups have patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific routinely for more than 70 years. Carl Vinson has deployed to the region and has operated in the South China Sea during 16 separate deployments over its 35-year history.
Carrier Strike Group 1 departed San Diego for a regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific, Jan. 5. Carl Vinson, CVW 2 and embarked Destroyer Squadron 1 deployed with Lake Champlain and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy and Wayne E. Meyer.
Carrier Strike Group 1 deployed with about 6,500 sailors and will focus on maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. The strike group assets will conduct bilateral exercises in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region to include anti-submarine warfare, maneuvering drills, gunnery exercises, and visit, board, search, and seizure subject-matter-expert exchanges.
