Carrier Air Wing 9 Returns from Indo-Pacific Deployment
Brett Davis is a lifelong journalist and writer with extensive experience writing about defense issues and technology. He studied journalism and photography at the University of North Alabama in his hometown of Florence and then earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. He worked for a dozen years as Washington Correspondent for the Huntsville Times newspaper, then became editor of Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, published at the time by McGraw-Hill. He served as content manager for Backfence.com, a pioneering local journalism website, was editor of Unmanned Systems magazine at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International and editor in chief of Inside Unmanned Systems magazine for Autonomous Media. He previously served as Deputy Editor of Seapower magazine. He’s also a fiction writer: His latest, The Moon Above, is the story of a Tuskegee Airman published by Scarsdale Publishing.
SAN DIEGO — Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, embarked aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), returned from a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 3rd and 7th Fleet areas of operations on Aug. 9, USS Abraham Lincoln public affairs said in a release.
CVW-9 is the first carrier strike group to deploy with a U.S. Marine Corps F-35C Lightning II squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, and the second to deploy with a Navy CMV-22 Osprey squadron, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30.
During the deployment, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 executed more than 21,307 fixed-wing and helicopter flight hours comprising of 10,250 sorties, 8,437 launches and 8,487 aircraft arrestments.
“Carrier Air Wing 9 Sailors and Marines worked together over the last seven months, providing a credible deterrent to any potential adversary in the Pacific,” said Capt. Lew Callaway, commander, CVW-9. “Naval aviators culminated 100 years of aircraft carrier aviation history operating fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft from a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier at sea. We are grateful for the chance to serve, and celebrate our return to home port, family, and friends.”
CVW-9 participated in dual carrier operations in the South China Sea with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, as well as joint exercise Valiant Shield in June 2022, and bilateral exercises Noble Fusion in February and Jungle Warfare in March, both with the Japanese Self-Defense Force. Most recently, CVW-9 trained alongside 26 participating nations during Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2022 in July.
“Words cannot express just how proud I am of the Sailors and Marines attached to CVW-9,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Craig Vavruska, command master chief, CVW-9. “They expertly applied their training and faced each mission with strength and resilience. Their families have a lot to be proud of.”
CVW-9 and Lincoln deployed Jan. 3 as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. Along with CVW-9 and Lincoln, the ABECSG also consists of the embarked staffs of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21; the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Spruance (DDG 111).