The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt sailed from its home port in San Diego on Sunday, bound for a deployment in the Middle East, where it is expected to relieve the USS George Washington, according to reports.
Stars and Stripes reported earlier this month that the Roosevelt was expected to relieve the George Washington in the Arabian Sea on a deployment projected to last more than seven months. The carrier and its crew of about 5,000 sailors will be accompanied by escort ships.
Navy leadership has been open about the length of the mission. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman told reporters in August that the Roosevelt's crew knows it will be deployed for longer than seven months, according to USNI News.
The Navy has said it is applying lessons from recent grueling deployments to the Roosevelt, including expanding storage aboard the carrier for food, hygiene products and other supplies. The USS Abraham Lincoln's extended tour in the region had drawn reports of worsening mental health among sailors and supply shortages.
The United States has maintained a continuous carrier presence in the Arabian Sea since the war with Iran began on February 28. The George Washington, which relieved the Lincoln in late August, is based in Japan, and its move to the Middle East left a gap in the Western Pacific that raised concerns among US allies about Chinese assertiveness.
The George Washington has been enforcing the US naval blockade against Iran and providing cover for commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The deployment comes as tensions in the strait remain high. NBC News reported Sunday that eight US Marines were injured in a previously undisclosed Iranian cruise missile strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait, though he told Axios he expects more talks with Iran this week.
