Carrier Strike Group Fifteen

Carrier Strike Group 15
Carrier Strike Group 15 patch
Active	2004-05; 29 April 2014 – present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Navy
Role	Pacific Fleet Integrated/Advanced Strike Training
Part of	U.S. Third Fleet
Garrison/HQ	Naval Air Station North Island, California, USA

Carrier Strike Group 15, (CSG-15 or CARSTRKGRU 15, and sometimes spelt out, viz. "Fifteen") is a training formation of the United States Navy. It trains and certifying Pacific Fleet Carrier Strike Groups, Amphibious Ready Groups, and independently deploying surface ships. It replaced Commander, Strike Force Training Pacific in a title change.

The group was one of fourteen U.S. Navy carrier strike groups established on 1 October 2004. Carrier strike groups are employed in a variety of roles, all of which involve gaining and maintaining sea control.

The group was established as Cruiser-Destroyer Group 1 circa 1973. It was redesignated Carrier Strike Group 15 in 2004 but then soon afterwards disbanded. Carrier Strike Group 15 was briefly based at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, in 2004, prior to changing its homeport to Naval Air Station North Island, California, in 2005, with the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) assigned as its flagship. It was then disbanded, but reestablished as a training formation in 2014.

In 1978, Norman Polmar writes that Cruiser-Destroyer Group 1, with its staff and all its subordinate units at San Diego, consisted of Destroyer Squadron 5, Destroyer Squadron 13, and Destroyer Squadron 23. Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 1 led Battle Group Sierra to the Middle East in 1987. The Group consisted of USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Bunker Hill, USS Long Beach (CGN-9), USS Hoel (DDG-13), USS CURTS (FFG 38), and USS KANSAS CITY (AOR 3). While part of the Third Fleet, Battle Group Sierra was designated Task Group 30.7, which changed to TG 70.10 when en route to the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman.