Point of interest?

There are two articles in this post, first one from the official Navy site and then from Debka.

From USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Public Affairs

USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, At Sea (NNS) -- The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (IKE) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) deployed Jan. 2 for a six-month deployment in support of 5th and 6th Fleet operations.

IKE CSG is made up of Commander, CSG 8; the aircraft carrier IKE, homeported in Norfolk, Va.; Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW) 7; Commander, Destroyer Squadron 28; the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74), homeported in Norfolk; and the Mayport, Fla.-based ships, guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) and guided-missile destroyers USS Carney (DDG 64) and USS Farragut (DDG 99).

IKE CSG missions focus heavily on maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts that help establish conditions for regional stability.

"I'm extremely proud of the men and women of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group," said Rear Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of IKE CSG. "They've exceeded all expectations in a very short amount of turnaround time. We are ready to go over the horizon and support the troops on the ground in Afghanistan, support the nation's Maritime Strategy, and protect our nation's interests."

The deployment is part of an on-going rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations in international waters around the globe.

IKE CSG consists of approximately 6,000 Sailors who, over the last four months, have successfully completed refresher training and certifications to ensure they operate effectively and safely together.

"IKE returned from a successful combat deployment last summer. We spent most of November (2009) at sea training during a challenging Composite Training Unit Exercise, and we spent December (2009) making sure the ship, our Sailors and our families are ready for this deployment. This is an amazing ship, but what's even more amazing are the young Americans who bring it to life," said Capt. Dee Mewbourne, IKE's commanding officer.

For more news from IKE CSG and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn69/.

Petraeus: Iran's nuclear infrastructure can be bombed
DEBKAfile Special Report
January 11, 2010, 10:14 AM (GMT+02:00)

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower arrives
The deployment in the Middle East of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group in the first week of January adds muscle to the words of Gen. David Petraeus, CENTCOM commander, on Jan 10 that Iranian nuclear infrastructure, albeit strengthened against attack with enhanced underground tunnels, wasn't fully protected.
"Well, they certainly can be bombed," he said to CNN. "The level of effect would vary with who it is that carries it out, what ordnance they have and what capability they can bring to bear."
This judgment contradicts recent US media estimates that Iran's nuclear facilities buried deep in fortified tunnels are now protected against air or missile strikes.
Declining to comment on the likelihood of an Israeli strike, Gen. Petraeus said there was still time for diplomacy, but pointed out: "It would be almost literally irresponsible if Centcom were not to have been thinking about 'what ifs' and making plans for a whole variety of different contingencies."
DEBKAfile's military sources add: CENTCOM was substantially beefed up by the USS Eisenhower carrier which President Barack Obama deployed in the New Year to the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean in support of the US Fifth and Sixth Fleets. He ordered this six-month deployment, the first since he took office a year ago, in view of the rising tensions around Yemen and Iran.
The Eisenhower carries eight air squadrons on its decks.
Air Wing Seven is made up of four fighter-bomber squadrons, a squadron each of early-warning surveillance, electronic warfare and tactical support aircraft and another of anti-submarine helicopters. Its strike force consists of the USS Hue City guided missile cruiser, and two guided missile destroyers, the USS McFaul, USS Farragut and USS Carney.
Obama said in a recent interview that he had not intention of sending US combat troops to the terrorist havens of Somalia and Yemen because "working with international partners is most effective at this point."
This statement ties in with pumping up America's naval and air strength in the two volatile regions to avoid sending in more boots on the ground which the US cannot afford at this time.

As news unfolds today, I will get it posted,

Ron