Fox News reports USS George Washington is the last US carrier in the Middle East as the Bush departs for Thailand and the Lincoln heads home to San Diego.
The USS George Washington is the only US aircraft carrier remaining in West Asia, Fox News reported Tuesday. The carrier is currently in the Arabian Sea, where it arrived in August to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
The USS George H.W. Bush and the destroyer USS Delbert D. Black have left the region and arrived in Thailand, Fox reported. The Lincoln is due back in its home port of San Diego this week.
CENTCOM provided an update on the positions of the 17 US warships currently deployed to West Asia. That is slightly fewer than the vessels stationed in the region before the war on Iran began eight months ago. Most are in the Arabian Sea, after US Navy vessels came under Iranian missile attacks in early September, and three guided-missile destroyers are in the Red Sea.
Bush departs for Thailand
The Bush and the Delbert D. Black arrived in Phuket, Thailand, on Sunday, October 4, for what the Navy's 7th Fleet called a scheduled port visit. The carrier is expected to stay in Thailand until October 9. It left Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31, sailed around Africa, and reached the Arabian Sea at the end of April, according to USNI News. It is worth noting that the journey via the Cape of Good Hope is roughly 40% longer than sailing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea; however, US Navy vessels would risk being attacked in the Red Sea by the Yemeni Armed Forces.
Its departure from the Arabian Sea was not announced by CENTCOM or the 5th Fleet, Stars and Stripes reported. The port call was the carrier's first since it deployed. It is the second time in two months that a US carrier has stopped in Thailand on its way out of the region, after the Lincoln's visit in early September.
Lincoln heads home after a record deployment
The Lincoln deployed from San Diego in November 2025 and took part in the war on Iran and the blockade of Iranian ports before the George Washington relieved it in August. It stopped in Thailand on September 2-6, its first port call in 265 days.
Democratic lawmakers and sailors' families had blasted the length of the deployment, which resulted in rough conditions on board.
The Navy has since confirmed that eight members of the Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during the deployment.
The USS Gerald R. Ford and the Lincoln were the two carriers sent for the opening attacks on Iran. This year has produced some of the longest US carrier deployments abroad, with the Lincoln, the Bush, and the George Washington all taking part in the war and the blockade.
Roosevelt on the way
The USS Theodore Roosevelt left San Diego on September 27 and is expected to relieve or join the George Washington, though it will not arrive within the next few days. It is unclear how long the George Washington will stay once it does. The Makin Island amphibious group, carrying the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, also left San Diego last week and is due in the region by the end of November, Fox reported.
The George Washington is normally based in Japan. Analysts have warned that sending it to West Asia leaves the Pacific with fewer carriers to deter China.
Source: Fox News
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