Mayer commanded Carrier Group Eight, later renamed Carrier Strike Group Eight, whose base of operations is located in Norfolk, Virginia.
 During this tour, he led an international naval exercise known as Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2003 from his flagship, the USS Vella Gulf (CG-72).
Thirteen nations participated in the exercise, which included more than 3,600 personnel, 36 ships, 3 submarines, over 40 aircraft, and 6 different ground forces from Allied and Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations which included Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
 It was the first time in the 31-year history of BALTOPS that the exercise included combined ground troops from Russia, Poland, Denmark and the United States.

For the first time in the history of the exercise, BALTOPS 03 included ground force elements that trained in interoperability exercises, which included a combined Russian, Polish, Danish and American amphibious landings in Poland and an evacuation of role-playing non-combatants by both sea and air from Bornholm, Denmark.
Mayer commanded Carrier Group Eight, later renamed Carrier Strike Group Eight, whose base of operations is located in Norfolk, Virginia.  During this tour, he led an international naval exercise known as Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2003 from his flagship, the USS Vella Gulf (CG-72). Thirteen nations participated in the exercise, which included more than 3,600 personnel, 36 ships, 3 submarines, over 40 aircraft, and 6 different ground forces from Allied and Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations which included Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.  It was the first time in the 31-year history of BALTOPS that the exercise included combined ground troops from Russia, Poland, Denmark and the United States.
For the first time in the history of the exercise, BALTOPS 03 included ground force elements that trained in interoperability exercises, which included a combined Russian, Polish, Danish and American amphibious landings in Poland and an evacuation of role-playing non-combatants by both sea and air from Bornholm, Denmark.
George E. Mayer