U.S. dispatches aircraft carrier to the Middle East

By Jacqueline Klimas, Jacqueline Klimas

Published December 20, 2015

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The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman deployed for the Middle East on Monday, in a planned but well-timed departure just days after the terrorist attacks in Paris.

The ship, along with a carrier air wing, one cruiser and four destroyers, left Norfolk, Va., Monday morning.

The seven-month deployment was already planned and is not in response to the attacks in Paris, but those aboard the carrier are ready to bring "violent destruction" if needed, the ship's commanding officer Capt. Ryan Scholl told the Navy Times.