US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102) got underway from Naval Station Everett on October 3 to join aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on deployment.
Sampson is assigned to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9, which has spent the past year preparing for deployment. CSG 9 completed a series of pre-deployment inspections and training evolutions, including Board of Inspection and Survey and a Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX).
The strike group’s readiness was evaluated through a variety of training scenarios covering command and control functions, crew safety evolutions, search and rescue operations, damage control testing, and other operational capabilities that ultimately certify the strike group for deployment.
Sampson will deploy with the staff of Destroyer Squadron 23 and the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW 17) embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Other ships deploying with the strike group include the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and guided-missile destroyers USS Halsey (DDG 97), USS Higgins (DDG 76), and USS Preble (DDG 88).
U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Pacific and coordinates with U.S. 7th Fleet to plan and execute missions based on their complementary strengths throughout the entire Pacific theater of operations.