SAN DIEGO - The guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) is scheduled to depart April 3 for a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific and the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Carrier Strike Group (NIMCSG).

Princeton will join NIMCSG off the coast of Southern California to participate in a sustainment training exercise (SUSTEX), a recertification exercise designed to ensure the readiness of a strike group to deploy.

"I am honored to deploy with this great ship and the men and women of Princeton have worked very hard to be ready for this deployment," said Princeton's Commanding Officer Capt. John Clausen. "While it is hard to leave behind friends and family, deploying forward is immensely rewarding for all of us."

Princeton is the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name honoring General George Washington's victory at Princeton in 1777. USS Princeton helps provide deterrence, promote peace and security, preserve freedom of the seas, and humanitarian/disaster response within 3rd Fleet's 50-million square mile AOR in the Eastern Pacific, as well as supporting the Navy's Maritime Strategy when forward deployed.

U.S. Third Fleet leads naval forces in the Eastern Pacific from the West Coast of North America to the international date line.