Carrier USS George Washington Now in the Middle East
USS George Washington (CVN-73) arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility yesterday, the combatant command announced on social media. The aircraft carrier, which was accompanied by cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) and destroyer USS Shoup (DDG-86), transited the Arabian Sea on Thursday, according to the CENTCOM post on social media site X. It is not clear how close GW is to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is expected to relieve the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, but a Navy official could not say when USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its escorts
Sailors, assigned to air department, inspect an F-35C Lightning II attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) while underway in the Indian Ocean, Aug. 18, 2026. US Navy photo USS George Washington (CVN-73) arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility yesterday, the combatant command announced on social media.
The aircraft carrier, which was accompanied by cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) and destroyer USS Shoup (DDG-86), transited the Arabian Sea on Thursday, according to the CENTCOM post on social media site X. It is not clear how close GW is to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.
The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is expected to relieve the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, but a Navy official could not say when USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its escorts would head home. It could take a month or longer for Lincoln to travel back to the U.S. West Coast, based on previous carrier transits.
The GW CSG headed from the Indo-Pacific to CENTCOM, beginning last week, after families and sailors raised concerns about the quality of life aboard Abe, which has gone 252 days without a port call, the current record for most days at sea since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, Abe has been deployed for 272 days, according to USNI News carrier deployment database.
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) and Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Benfold (DDG-65) transit the Luzon Strait, July 22, 2026. US Navy photo In a social media post last week, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced that Abe would be heading home shortly.
The GW CSG could be acting as a bridge between the Abraham Lincoln CSG and the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) is currently in San Diego, Calif., following the Rim of the Pacific 2026 exercise off the coast of Hawaii.
George Washington would join carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), its escorts and the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to Monday’s USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker.
It is also not clear if guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG-65) will join the GW CSG in the Arabian Sea. The destroyer had been sailing with the carrier strike group but did not transit the Malacca Strait with it.
In late July, Benfold lost power for four days, requiring it to be towed to Subic Bay, Philippines, for repairs, USNI News previously reported. After it was repaired, the ship made a port call in Yokosuka, Japan. The destroyer left Japan earlier this week.
