TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER | Apr 15, 2003 |
NORFOLK – The commander of the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet hinted yesterday that at least one Norfolk-based aircraft carrier will soon be called home from the war with Iraq.
“I think we’ll have some good news very soon, in the coming days,” Adm. Robert Natter said in response to questions from Navy wives about the status of the carriers Harry S. Truman and Theodore Roosevelt.
Both carriers have crews of more than 6,000 and represent significant chunks of the population of South Hampton Roads. Both have been launching airstrikes from the eastern Mediterranean Sea and providing close-air support for ground troops in Iraq.
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Natter appeared yesterday at the Fleet Family Support Center with U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Acting Navy Secretary Hansford Johnson. They spoke with a small group of Navy family members representing the more than 27,000 local troops deployed to the war zone.
All three expressed hope that the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime would bring some local warships and their crews home soon.
