There Are No U.S. Aircraft Carriers In The Middle East (And Probably For The Next Few Months)

USS John C. Stennis in the Arabian Sea.

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jan. 5, 2012) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) operates in the Arabian Sea during sunset. John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Yeoman 3rd Class James Stahl/Released)

Defense News: Middle East Now Without a US Carrier

WASHINGTON — The Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group chopped out of the European theater of operations Dec. 26 and headed home to Norfolk after months of operating in the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean, where the strike jets of Carrier Air Wing 3 flew hundreds of missions against Islamic State group targets in Syria and Iraq. The homecoming is set for Dec. 30 — two days shy of the Navy’s stated goal of bringing the group home in seven months.

US carrier groups regularly relieve each other in theater, often handing off duties within sight of the other in the Arabian Gulf or Arabian Sea. But this time, no carrier is in the Eisenhower’s wake.

The relief ship, the carrier George H. W. Bush, has yet to leave Norfolk, and it's unlikely to do so before the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, according to a Navy source. The gap could last as long as two months, sources said, between the time the Eisenhower left the combat theater and the Bush arrives.

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More News On There Are Being No U.S. Aircraft Carriers In The Middle East

Report: Carrier Gap in Middle East Could Last Months -- DoD Buzz
No US carrier at sea leaves gap in Middle East -- FOX News
No U.S. Aircraft Carrier in Mideast for Next Few Months -- Haaretz
No US Aircraft Carriers Now Deployed; None Expected in Middle East for Months -- Sputnik