Relatives and friends, some in tears, hugged crewmen of the USS John C. Stennis on Monday before the aircraft carrier set sail to support the military action in Afghanistan. The Stennis is the centerpiece of a 10-ship battle group that will spend six months in the Persian Gulf. Other ships in the group -with a total of about 8,500 Navy and Marine personnel -were sailing from other locations. They were being joined by a Canadian frigate, the HMCS Vancouver, with a crew of 224.

The battle group had been scheduled to head for the Persian Gulf area in January, but its departure was moved up because of the military action in Afghanistan.
The Stennis will replace the USS Carl Vinson, which is returning to Bremerton, Wash., from the Arabian Sea south of Pakistan, Navy spokeswoman Dawn Cutler said.
The Stennis battle group includes six warships, two submarines and one supply vessel. Bureau Report