US troops are ‘ready’ for war with Russia should Putin try to attack NATO or its allies

The USA has a huge aircraft carrier ready to go in the event of direct conflict with Russia.

The 16-year-old USS George H.W. Bush is heading up NATO’s deterrence in the Adriatic Sea as part of Operation Neptune Strike 2022.

Vice Admiral Thomas Ishee, commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, said: “The Neptune series is a tangible demonstration of the power and capability of the NATO Alliance in all domain operations.

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“Neptune Strike 2202 is a prime example of NATO’s ability to integrate high-end maritime warfare capabilities of an allied carrier strike group, ensuring our collective ability to deter and defend.”



Aircraft flying in formation over the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush (file)
(Image: Getty Images)

It’s an international effort across multiple NATO member states and involves some 6,000 troops, 14 ships and 80 aircraft.

Also involved with Operation Neptune Strike 2022 are: Albania, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.



Officials say they don’t want war but are prepared (file)
(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Speaking to Newsweek Captain Tamara Lawrence, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa spokesperson, said: “While deployed to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa area of operations, the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group stands ready to respond to a variety of missions when tasked, in defence of the United States and our NATO allies and partners.”

Lawrence said the navy didn’t “respond to hypotheticals” when pushed on whether the military personnel were on heightened alert regarding tensions surrounding nuclear war.



Military drills have been ongoing amid high tensions (file)
(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Speaking to Sky News, Rear Admiral Dennis Velez of the USS George H.W. Bush said: “We want the war [in Ukraine] to be over and to bring stability back to the region and have a peaceful and stable Europe, but for us, we are ready.”

Speaking to the same publication, Lieutenant Cordan Mackenzie said: “I think U.S.-trained Navy pilots are the best in the world… All we do out here is train and get ready for a fight that might come and I think when it comes, pilot to pilot, I hope we are the better man in the box.”

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