On 8 September 2008, VFA-213 and the rest of CVW-8 deployed on board USS "Theodore Roosevelt" on a regularly scheduled deployment. On 4 October the "Roosevelt" Carrier Group arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, the first visit by a US aircraft carrier since 1967 and three days later the carrier left Cape Town. CVW-8 and CVN-71 supported Operation Enduring Freedom and flew more than 3,100 sorties and dropped more than 59,500 pounds of ordnance while providing close air support for ISAF-forces in Afghanistan.