On 5 November 2015, France announced "Charles de Gaulle" would return to the area to conduct operations and the ship departed from its base in Toulon, southern France, on 18 November. Although originally planned to redeploy to the Persian Gulf, the carrier and its strike group was re-routed to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coastline, much closer to targets within Syria. Sources claim "Charles de Gaulle" has a larger than normal air wing of 26 fighters consisting of 18 Rafales and 8 Super Étendards; the carrier has approximately 31–34 aircraft total (the official limit is 40 aircraft). The carrier began operations on 23 November 2015, 10 days after the ISIL terrorist attacks in Paris. On 7 December 2015, Rear Admiral René-Jean Crignola of the French Maritime Force, embarked in "Charles de Gaulle", took command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's Task Force 50, leading coalition naval strike operations. He was the first non-American to do so. In June 2016, the United States Navy awarded the crew of the "Charles de Gaulle" a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its accomplishments.