Strike group’s ships home for holiday — except 1

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Howard limps home
Mechanical problems delay Thanksgiving homecoming


Strike group’s ships home for holiday — except 1
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 21, 2008 17:27:46 EST

SAN DIEGO — The nuclear carrier Ronald Reagan and most of its strike group are heading home to San Diego on the tail end of a six-month deployment, just in time for Thanksgiving. But one ship will miss the holiday.

More than 5,500 sailors with the carrier and four ships of the Reagan Expeditionary Strike Group, led by Carrier Strike Group 7, will return to San Diego on Tuesday, 3rd Fleet officials said Friday. But the crew of the destroyer Howard, which also deployed with the strike group, will have to delay their turkey dinner plans.

Problems with the controllable pitch propeller system forced the ship to slow down in the transit home, officials said in a statement in a response to a question from Navy Times.

The ship is expected to return Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving, officials said. The problem stems from what officials said was “a degradation” in the system. Howard will stop to refuel in Hawaii before continuing on to San Diego.

During its deployment, the strike group provided critical air logistics support and humanitarian assistance to the Philippines, which had been devastated in July by Typhoon Fengshen. The strike group’s helicopters delivered more than 519,000 pounds of fresh water, rice and medical supplies to the region around Panay, officials said.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/11/navy_reaganhome_112108/%2e