Ford, Ike carrier strike groups exercise in Eastern Mediterranean

By Geoff Ziezulewicz

 Nov 4, 08:29 AM

Ships from the Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike groups, U.S. 6th Fleet command ship Mount Whitney and Italian Navy frigates Carlo Margottini and Virginio Fasan sail in formation in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Janae Chambers/Navy)

As the world waits to see whether the Israel-Hamas war will balloon into a larger regional conflict, two U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups conducted exercises together in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea this week.

Sailors from the Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as two Italian frigates — Virginio Fasan and Carlo Margottini — and the U.S. 6th Fleet flagship Mount Whitney, engaged in “high-value unit defense, ballistic missile defense, replenishments-at-sea, cross-deck flight operations and maritime security operations,” the Navy said Friday.

More than 11,000 U.S. personnel participated in the three-day exercise.