The U.S. Positions Warships In Tense Asia-Pacific Waters
After a two-hour flight from Manila, the tailhook of the C-2 Greyhound cargo plane snagged a cable on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson, and went from about 100 miles an hour to zero in a couple of seconds.
The Carl Vinson is the flagship of the first carrier strike group of the U.S. Navy's 3rd Fleet. It operates in tandem with the 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan.
The Navy now has two fleets assigned to operate in the Western Pacific, as the United States shifts its priorities away from the Middle East, to deal with a number of potential flashpoints in the Asia Pacific.
The Navy invited journalists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the United States aboard the carrier last week.
The ship was traveling through the middle of the South China Sea, east
