On 18 December 2011, strike group aircraft flew the final carrier-based air mission over Iraq, effectively ending U.S. naval support for Operation New Dawn.

Since ComUSNAVCENT operated from on board ship, he established NAVCENT-Riyadh as a staff organization to provide continuous Navy representation at United States Central Command headquarters.

This change resulted in the Navy flag officer at NAVCENT Riyadh's remaining relatively junior to other Service representatives, particularly the Air Force.

[38] Reflecting the reduced responsibilities while the ships were undergoing overhauls, Rear Admiral Clingan was succeeded by Captain Scott A. Berg in September 2005 as carrier strike group commander.

[40] During its 2007 deployment, Carrier Air Wing Nine flew more than 7,900 sorties providing more than 22,000 flight hours and dropping nearly 90,000 pounds of ordnance in support of the International Security Assistance Force operating on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[42] On 23 May 2007, Stennis, along with eight other warships including the aircraft carrier Nimitz and amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, passed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf (pictured).

The exercise brought together more than 30 ships, including carrier strike groups led by the Kitty Hawk and Nimitz; 280 aircraft; and more than 20,000 service members from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard.

The squadron kept three helicopters aloft throughout the entire four-day exercise for a total of 222 flight hours and conducted 28 simulated attacks on two U.S. and two Japanese submarines.

Stennis was subsequently joined by Carrier Air Wing Nine, Destroyer Squadron Twenty-one, and the guided-missile cruiser Mobile Bay.

[64] On 13 October 2011, the guided-missile destroyer Kidd was directed to join Carrier Strike Group 5 to provide disaster relief to flood-ravaged Thailand.

[67] On 18 December 2011, the strike group's aircraft flew the final carrier-based air sortie over Iraq, effectively ending U.S. naval support for Operation New Dawn.

The final command-and-control mission for U.S. forces over Iraq was flown by an E-2C Hawkeye (pictured) from Airborne Early Warning Squadron 112, catapulting off the carrier Stennis at 7:32 am and returning at 11:04 a.m, both local time.

[10] While operating with Combined Task Force 151, on 13 December 2011, the destroyer Pinckney disrupted a group of suspected pirates south of Yemen near the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor.

At approximately 8:40 am local time, the merchant vessel M/V Nordic Apollo reported to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, Dubai, of being fired upon by pirates in a skiff.

As Pinckney closed, the skiff stopped and the suspected pirates threw their weapons overboard, which were identified as five AK-47 rifles, one rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher.

[68] On 5 January 2012, at approximately 12:30 p.m local time, an SH-60S Seahawk helicopter from guided-missile destroyer Kidd detected a suspected pirate skiff alongside the Iranian-flagged fishing dhow Al Molai operating in the northern Arabian Sea.

The pirates forced the Al Molai crew to live in harsh conditions under the constant threat of violence with limited supplies and medical aid.

[69] On 18 January 2012, at 7:53 am local time, an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter from the squadron HSM-71 spotted the Iranian fishing vessel Al Mamsoor disabled in the Arabian Sea.

Dewey dispatched a visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team (pictured) which discovered that the Al Mamsoor was in a sinking condition for the previous three days.

It then steamed through the Strait of Hormuz to the North Arabian Sea to provide combat air support to coalition ground forces in Afghanistan.

The cruiser Mobile Bay and destroyers Pinckney, Kidd, Dewey, and Wayne E. Meyer returned to Naval Base San Diego.

[72] Between 29 June and 17 July 2012, Stennis conducted Fleet Replacement Squadron Carrier Qualifications and Sustainment Exercises off the coast of southern California.

On 27 August 2012, four months ahead of schedule, the group departed for an eight-month U.S. Fifth Fleet deployment under the command of Rear Admiral Charles M.

[100][101] In that capacity, on 2 March 2013, the Farragut joined the guided-missile frigate Nicholas is aiding distressed mariners aboard a dhow in the Gulf of Aden.

During over five months of operations, Carrier Air Wing Nine had flown a total of more than 9,000 sorties and more than 23,000 flight hours in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

[105] On 29 April 2013, the carrier Vinson and the cruiser Mobile Bay arrived at Naval Station San Diego, California, ending the 2013 deployment.

The strike group had steamed over 66,000 nautical miles (122,000 km; 76,000 mi) and aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing Nine had flown 10,000 sorties totaling 30,400 flight hours during the eight-month-long operation.

[106] On 27 June 2013, the carrier John C. Stennis began a scheduled 14-month-long overhaul when it entered drydock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility at Bremerton, Washington (pictured).

[119] Between 7–11 October 2013, the cruiser Mobile Bay and destroyer Dewey participated with other U.S. and Canadian warships in a Task Group Exercise (TGEX) maneuvers.

[120][121] Following this exercise, the Mobile Bay began its Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) overhaul at the BAE Systems ship repair facility in San Diego, California, with a completion date of May 2014.