Admiral Wylie had arrived on board the Oklahoma City as Commander Cruiser Division 3 on 22 August 1961, and merely changed titles in September without shifting flagship.

[9] The primary mission of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 9 during the Vietnam War era had been to ensure the effective employment of approximately 60 cruisers and destroyers in the United States Seventh Fleet.

This offshore firepower, and the equally important role of search and rescue coordination, were vital parts of the extensive naval presence in the South China Sea.

While on deployment, Kitty Hawk spent nine days off the coast of Somalia supporting U.S. Marines and coalition forces involved in Operation Restore Hope.

Seventeen days later, Kitty Hawk led a joint, coalition offensive strike against targets in southern Iraq.

On 15 July 1998, Rear Admiral Daniel R. Bowler (and his relief RADM Peter W. Marzluff), Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 5, assumed operational control of Nimitz.

From 21 September 2001 to 13 December 2001, following an overhaul, Nimitz sailed round Cape Horn to her new home port of NAS North Island.

On 21 July 2005 in the Persian Gulf, USS Princeton (pictured) responded to a radio call from the Iranian dhow Hamid which needed engineering assistance.

[63] Carrier Strike Group 11 departed San Diego on 31 July 2009 on a regularly scheduled deployment commanded by Rear Admiral John W.

[73][74] In September 2009, it was announced that the carrier strike group deployment schedule would be changed to accommodate the delay in the return of Enterprise from overhaul.

[75] On 4 December 2009, the group began five months in the northern Arabian Sea, providing air support to coalition forces in Afghanistan.

[76] Carrier-based aircraft provided 30 percent of the combat air support for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) during the time that the group was in the northern Arabian Sea.

[79] Effective 2 July 2009, ISAF air-ground combat support operations were ordered to take steps to minimize Afghan civilian casualties.

[89][90] On 2 July 2012, Nimitz pulled into Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii, for a four-day port call prior to participating in Exercise RIMPAC 2012 that was scheduled from 29 June to 3 August 2012.

[88] On 21 November 2012, it was announced that the strike group's deployment would be delayed because a cooling pump aboard the Nimitz needed to be repaired.

[26][88][96] On 14 January 2013, the destroyers Higgins, Shoup, Stockdale, and William P. Lawrence departed Naval Base San Diego, California, for a deployment to the Middle East.

[104] These ships operated with the U.S. Fifth Fleet as a surface action group until the Nimitz, Carrier Air Wing Eleven, and the guided-missile cruiser Princeton deployed.

[105] In April 2012, on two separate occasions, the Lawrence joined the French frigate Montcalm in rendering assistance to civilian mariners in distress while operating in the Gulf of Oman as part of Combined Task Force 150.

After paying port visits to Thailand, Japan, and Guam, the Higgins arrived at Naval Base San Diego, California, on 7 October 2013, completing a nine-month-long deployment.

[109][110] [111] On 8 November 2013, the Stockdale and William P. Lawrence returned to Naval Base San Diego, California, completing a ten-month-long deployment.

[127] On 13 June 2013, Carrier Air Wing Eleven aircraft launched their first combat sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (pictured).

The Royal Navy warship maintained anti-aircraft defenses, directed aircraft sorties, and provided assistance to returning planes landing on the Nimitz.

[128] On 22 August 2013, USS Momsen returned to Naval Station Everett, Washington, after a four-month underway period of independent operations with the U.S.

[130] At the time of this relief, Carrier Air Wing 11 had completed over 1,200 sorties in support of combat operations in Afghanistan for a total of 6,500 flight hours.

[131] Both U.S. Navy carrier strike groups initially remained in the north Arabian Sea pending potential military action against Syria amid allegations that the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons during the ongoing Syrian civil war, including the gas attacks that occurred on 21 August 2013.

[132] On 2 September 2013, Carrier Strike Group 11 transited the Bab-el-Mandeb and moved northward into the Red Sea for potential combat operations against Syria.

[125][136] Nimitz was initially intended to join Operation Damayan, the U.S. military's humanitarian mission to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan, but plans were changed and the carrier was released to return home.

Following operations with the U.S. Fifth and Seventh fleets, Princeton paid port-calls to the United Arab Emirates, Guam, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

During this 252-day deployment, CVW-11 aircraft made 9,344 launches and flew 1,374 sorties in support of combat operations in Afghanistan for a total of over 29,440 flight hours.

[150] Following the collision that damaged the destroyer USS Fitzgerald, its place within the strike group was taken up by the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha which was on deployment in the western Pacific after a request by US authorities.