Carrier USS George Washington Now in the Middle East
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.
