 The USS America/CVW-1 team was the only carrier battle group to launch strikes in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.With "America's" decommissioning in August 1996, the air wing joined the USS "George Washington" battle group.CVW-1 and USS "George Washington" returned on 3 April 1998 from their first deployment in their 2-year association.