Illustrative image. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Casey H. Kyhl)
The United States will swap aircraft carriers in the Middle East after reports that sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are experiencing burnout following more than eight months at sea.
The Wall Street Journal reported on August 13 that the USS George Washington is preparing to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln. U.S. officials told the Journal that the swap is part of a previously scheduled rotation. However, it comes as lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about conditions aboard the ship.
The USS Abraham Lincoln has been deployed since November and was directed in January to the Middle East, where it has played a key role in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began the following month. The carrier has not made a port call in 200 days.
There have been reports of sailors going overboard due to the strain. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today that reports of poor conditions on the carrier are “completely misrepresented.”
“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas, in those austere conditions, with less port calls – it’s incredible,” he told reporters.
The Secretary of Defense also emphasized that the U.S. military can keep a blockade on Iranian ports for as long as needed.
“Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth said.
The swap will not affect the U.S. military posture in the Middle East, as the USS George Washington is identical to the USS Abraham Lincoln in capabilities. Both are Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
Embarked on the USS George Washington is Carrier Air Wing Five, comprising nine squadrons operating 60–70 aircraft, including F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jets, F-35C Lightning II stealth fighter jets, EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets, E-2D Hawkeye early warning aircraft, CMV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and MH-60S and MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters.
USNI News reported, citing a U.S. Navy official, that the USS George Washington, accompanied by the cruiser USS Robert Smalls and the destroyer USS Shoup, is currently in the Strait of Malacca after making a westbound transit through the Singapore Strait.The carrier could take roughly a week to reach the Arabian Sea, where the USS Abraham Lincoln is currently deployed.
The swap suggests the U.S. does not expect an agreement with Iran anytime soon, although a temporary understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remains highly likely.
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