Carrier Strike Group Five Carrier Strike Group 5 , ( CSG - 5 or CARSTRKGRU 5 ) , is a U . S . Navy carrier strike group assigned to the Pacific Fleet . The " Nimitz " - class aircraft carrier is the group ' s flagship . As of 2012 , other group components include Carrier Air Wing Five , the " Ticonderoga " - class cruisers USS " Shiloh " ( CG - 67 ) and USS " Antietam " ( CG - 54 ) , and the " Arleigh Burke " - class destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 15 . The group is based at the United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Yokosuka , Japan , where a U . S . carrier has been based since 1973 . The group also fulfills the functions of Battle Force , Seventh Fleet ( Task Force 70 ) and Surface Combatant Force , Seventh Fleet ( Task Force 75 ) . The strike group carries the lineage of Carrier Division 5 , formed during the Second World War . On 1 August 1955 , Carrier Division 5 comprised " Essex " ( Bremerton ) , and " Kearsage " , and " Shangri - La " ( both homeported in San Diego ) . Until 1964 command of Task Force 77 rotated between the deployed carrier division commanders ; from 1964 Carrier Group Five was permanent deployed to the Western Pacific as CTF 77 , homeported at Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippines . In December 1971 , Commander Carrier Division 5 , Rear Admiral Damon W . Cooper , led Task Force 74 aboard " Enterprise " to the Indian Ocean following the outbreak of the Indo - Pakistani War of 1971 . Carrier Division 5 became Carrier Group 5 on 30 June 1973 , and on 1 January 1974 , still homeported at Cubi Point , was responsible for three carriers : 63 and 64 both homeported at San Diego and homeported at Alameda . In the leadup to the Gulf War , Rear Admiral Daniel P . March , Commander , Carrier Group Five , became commander , Task Force 154 ( Battle Force Zulu ) , part of Naval Forces Central Command . The Task Force directed four carriers ( , CV - 61 , CV - 66 , and CVN - 71 ) in the Arabian Sea / Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm . In August 1991 , " Midway " departed Yokosuka and turned over to , which replaced " Midway " as the forward - deployed carrier in Yokosuka . In August 1998 similarly relieved " Independence " . Admiral Timothy J . Keating served as Commander , Carrier Group Five , from June 1998 to September 2000 . " Kitty Hawk " left its berth at Fleet Activities Yokosuka on 11 April 2000 to begin a routine deployment to the Western Pacific . The carrier had spent the previous five weeks in Yokosuka following a 12 - day sea trial in February and March . " Kitty Hawk " first journeyed to Guam to rendezvous with Carrier Air Wing FIVE ( CVW - 5 ) , which was participating in the Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program at Andersen Air Force Base until 18 April 2000 . Shortly after leaving Yokosuka , the 86 , 000 - ton warship underwent a large - scale Command Assessment of Readiness and Training ( CART ) . Afloat Training Group ( ATG ) Western Pacific and ATG San Diego embarked the ship to evaluate the crew while operating near Guam . Through simulations and drills , the ship ' s damage control , combat systems , aviation , seamanship , engineering and medical areas were evaluated during the assessment . In addition to Guam , the ship made port calls throughout the Western Pacific and participated in Exercise Cobra Gold with the military forces of the Republic of Thailand — a busy two months from start to finish . " Kitty Hawk " , USS O ' Brien ( DD 975 ) and USS Chancellorsville ( CG 62 ) returned to Yokosuka on 5 June 2000 . During this routine spring deployment they travelled a total of 19 , 440 nautical miles during this underway period . The 4 , 800 Sailors of Kitty Hawk and Carrier Air Wing Five maintained an ambitious underway schedule , conducting 3 , 146 aircraft landings on the carrier ' s flight deck , demonstrating their abilities for various inspection teams , and exercising with the militaries of Thailand and Singapore . " Kitty Hawk " departed Yokosuka 26 Sep and was soon joined by Carrier Air Wing Five to ramp up for Exercise Foal Eagle , Annual Exercise ( ANNUALEX ) 12G and Exercise Keen Sword . Several other Navy units participated in the exercises , including the staffs of Battle Force Seventh Fleet and Destroyer Squadron 15 , USS " Chancellorsville " ( CG 62 ) , USS " Cowpens " ( CG 63 ) , USS " Vincennes " ( CG 64 ) , USS " Vandegrift " ( FFG 48 ) , USS " Gary " ( FFG 51 ) , USS " Cushing " ( DD 985 ) , USS " John S . McCain " ( DDG 56 ) , USS " Honolulu " ( SSN 718 ) , USNS " Rappahannock " ( T - AO 204 ) , USNS " Pecos " ( T - AO 197 ) , USNS " Kiska " ( T - AE 35 ) and USNS " Victorious " ( T - AGOS 19 ) . During the first leg of their journey , the 4 , 800 Sailors aboard " Kitty Hawk " conducted landing qualifications near Okinawa and integrated battle group training in the Sea of Japan . In mid October , " Kitty Hawk " pulled into Otaru , Japan , on the northern - most island of Hokkaido . As the second aircraft carrier to visit the port , she attracted some 66 , 000 visitors during a two - day open house . " Kitty Hawk " , CVW - 5 and other U . S . Navy ships joined the 39th annual Exercise Foal Eagle in late October . In early November , " Kitty Hawk " joined various elements of the Seventh Fleet , the U . S . Air Force and the Japan Self Defense Force in ANNUALEX 12G and Keen Sword . ANNUALEX and Keen Sword focused on improving the capability for coordinated and bilateral operations in the defense of Japan . Following a brisk pace of underway operations that included three exercises and two port visits in 55 days , " Kitty Hawk " returned to Yokosuka on 20 November 2000 . In total , she had steamed 4 , 750 miles and completed over 3300 catapult - assisted takeoffs and arrested landings . Her sailors also undertook preservation work often left for shipyard availability periods . Carrier Group 5 became Carrier Strike Group 5 on 1 October 2004 .