Follow up: What comes after Neptune Strike 2022?

The "Harry S Truman" was present as part of the NATO exercise in the Mediterranean, despite or because of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

The US admiral who leads the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier battle group did not want to reveal what will happen in the coming days after the end of the exercises in the Adriatic, according to the Reuters news agency. Rear Admiral Curt Renshaw referred to the Pentagon and said: "But we are prepared to operate anywhere, and we planned a longer deployment when we left Norfolk, and we plan to operate where we are needed most." Basically, nothing is announced about future operations, whether within the NATO framework or not. Nevertheless, the subordination of the aircraft carrier was a clear signal of US military power, NATO's capabilities in an increasingly vulnerable region and a wake-up call for the allies to work together as an alliance.

It was the first time since the Cold War that an entire US carrier battle group was under NATO command. The US Department of Defence highlighted the Truman's role in Neptune Strike 2022 as proof that the NATO alliance is "united, capable and strong". Earlier on Wednesday, the US announced it would deploy nearly 3,000 troops to Poland and Romania to reinforce NATO's Eastern European allies in the face of what Washington described as a Russian threat to invade Ukraine.

Sources: USN / Reuters