WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East, according to Navy statements and open source information on the ship’s movements.This comes as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose long deployment to the Middle East in support of the Iran war includes a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, according to a Navy statement. The carrier, along with a cruiser and a destroyer, have since been spotted crossing the Singapore Strait.A Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive ship movements, confirmed that the USS George Washington was in the Strait of Malacca, which links the Pacific and Indian oceans. That puts the ship on a course to head into the Indian Ocean. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the Washington would replace the Lincoln.
The Lincoln is one of two aircraft carriers now stationed in the Middle East as the conflict simmers and the Navy imposes a blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the global oil and natural gas trade.The carrier originally deployed Nov. 21 from San Diego, and it arrived in the region in January, ahead of the launch of the Iran war on Feb. 28. The Navy conceded that the conflict created a “highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions.” That, in turn, led to shortages and loss of mail aboard the aircraft carrier, the Navy said in a statement.
