The USS John C.Stennis Strike Group consists of the USS John C.Stennis with Carrier Air Wing 9 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21, guided-missile destroyers USS Stockdale, USS Chung-Hoon, and USS William P. Lawrence, and guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay.Approximately 8,500 sailors on board traveled to Subic and Zambales bays on May 19. Previously, the US Navy dispatched a fleet to join the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercise between the two countries last April in the Phillipines.