By Zing Camile I SCN
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is moving the aircraft carrier USS George Washington toward the Middle East to replace the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln, sustaining American naval power in the region as concerns mount over the toll of an unusually prolonged deployment on the Lincoln and its crew.
The nuclear-powered George Washington, normally based in Japan, has left Southeast Asia and is moving west toward the Indian Ocean, according to Navy statements and publicly available information tracking the carrier’s movements.
A U.S. official said the George Washington is expected to relieve the Abraham Lincoln as part of a previously planned carrier rotation.
The deployment will allow the Navy to maintain a carrier presence supporting U.S. military operations in the Middle East while preparing to bring the Lincoln home after one of the most demanding deployments in recent Navy history.
The Abraham Lincoln departed San Diego in November 2025 and was later ordered from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalated.
Its deployment has since stretched beyond 250 days, including more than 200 days without a port visit — an extraordinary period for thousands of sailors serving aboard the carrier.
Reports of deteriorating conditions aboard the Lincoln have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and military families.
Concerns raised in recent days include shortages of some food and supplies, maintenance and plumbing problems and the psychological strain associated with months at sea.
Separate reports have raised concerns about sailors attempting to go overboard, prompting renewed attention to mental-health support aboard the carrier.
The Navy has disputed suggestions that the ship is experiencing a broader mental-health crisis.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday also pushed back against accounts portraying conditions aboard the Lincoln as unusually severe, saying some of the reporting had been “completely misrepresented.”
Hegseth nevertheless acknowledged the length of the deployment and said the Navy was preparing to rotate the carrier out.
Democratic lawmakers have demanded additional information from the Pentagon.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona are among lawmakers who have raised concerns about conditions aboard the ship and the effect of prolonged operations on sailors and their families.
The movement of the George Washington carries strategic consequences beyond the welfare of the Lincoln’s crew.
The carrier is forward-deployed in Japan and is a major component of the U.S. military posture in the western Pacific, where Washington seeks to deter China and reassure allies including Japan and South Korea.
Sending it toward the Middle East illustrates the competing demands facing the Navy as the United States maintains military commitments across several regions.
The shift also comes as the Trump administration signals that its pressure campaign against Iran could continue for an extended period.
Hegseth said separately Thursday that the U.S. Navy could maintain its blockade of Iranian ports “indefinitely” by rotating ships through the region.
Replacing the Lincoln with another carrier would allow the Pentagon to preserve significant air and naval capability near Iran without requiring the same carrier and crew to remain on station indefinitely.
For the sailors aboard the Abraham Lincoln, the arrival of a replacement would mark the beginning of the end of an exceptional deployment.
For the Pentagon, however, the mission continues.
The George Washington’s movement toward the region shows how the Navy intends to sustain that presence: rotate the carrier, relieve the crew and keep American naval power positioned in the Middle East.