USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Returns to Sea

The US Navy’s Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier is underway for the first time since its deployment was interrupted on March 27 when a COVID-19 outbreak was discovered.

The ship left Naval Base Guam and entered the Philippine Sea May 21 to conduct carrier qualification flights for the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, the Navy said in a statement on May 20.

"It feels great to be back at sea," said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9. "Getting Theodore Roosevelt and Carrier Air Wing 11 one step closer to returning to their mission in the Indo-Pacific is a great achievement for the crew."

Theodore Roosevelt is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. It moored in Guam after some members of the crew displayed symptoms and later tested positive for COVID-19.

After moving nearly 4,000 crewmembers off ship and cleaning the entire ship from bow to stern, the appropriate number of crew members to operate the ship underway have returned from quarantine after passing rigorous return-to-work criteria.

Scaled manning allows the ship to bring on board the right makeup of personnel required to safely operate and complete a particular mission requirement.

"We are scaling our manning on board based on our mission requirement," said Capt. Carlos Sardiello, Theodore Roosevelt's commanding officer. "Carrier qualification requires fewer personnel than other missions, and bringing fewer Sailors on board will enable enhanced social distancing while underway."