https://news.usni.org/2024/11/18/carrier-uss-abraham-lincoln-leaves-middle-east-vinson-carrier-strike-group-deploys
Heather Mongilio
November 18, 2024 4:57 PM - Updated: November 18, 2024 10:37 PM

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) has entered the U.S. 7th Fleet, leaving the Middle East without a carrier for just the second time in over a year, USNI News has learned.

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is currently in the Eastern Atlantic en route to the Mediterranean Sea. The carrier strike group will likely travel to U.S. Central Command as part of the continued merchant shipping protection mission Operation Prosperity Guardian.

The last time the U.S. left the Middle East without a carrier strike group was in June when USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) entered the Mediterranean while USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-73) made its way to CENTCOM. The arrival of TR in June allowed the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to leave the Middle East after seven months. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Middle East in August, joining the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group before the TR left in September.

Moving over the two West Coast-based carrier strike groups to operate in the Middle East from the Pacific has been an example of the Navy surging its forces to meet current needs, officials have told USNI News. The Navy has maintained a presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, for the most part with East Coast carriers, since December 2021 ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Houthis began their attacks on Red Sea shipping a month later, the Navy shifted its ships around to provide support to Israel and commercial shipping.

Since the Houthi attacks, there has been an ongoing presence in the Central Command area of response. The Department of Defense announced at the beginning of the month that it would move destroyers and aircraft into the region as Abe departed. Currently, the Navy has two independently deployed destroyers in the Med and two in the Red Sea, according to USNI News’ Fleet and Marine Tracker.

On Monday, the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group quietly deployed from California for a Pacific deployment, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News.

A Navy spokesperson told USNI News the carrier was conducting routine operations in the 3rd Fleet area of operations but did not give additional details.

Vinson deployed from Oct. 12, 2023, to Feb. 23, 2024, in the Western Pacific and sailed as part of the Rim of the Pacific 2024 exercise off the coast of Hawaii. Since returning on Aug. 14, the carrier has had short sustainment cruises off the coast of California. It’s unclear how long the strike group will deploy for.

The deployment comes as the Navy is nearing the completion of transferring carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) from the East Coast to its new homeport in Yokosuka, Japan. Over the last several days, the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 5 flew off the carrier to their home bases in Japan.