A United States aircraft carrier was captured by satellite imagery as it reached a military hub in the Western Pacific Ocean after being ordered to redeploy to the Middle East.
The U.S. Navy confirmed that USS Carl Vinson arrived in Guam on Monday for a regularly scheduled port visit.
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nate Jordan/U.S. Navy
Why It Matters
The Carl Vinson is one of the 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the U.S. Navy. It was ordered by the Pentagon on Thursday to begin sailing to the Middle East amid escalating strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen, The Associated Press reported.
With the Carl Vinson heading toward the Middle East, on a journey that will take two to three weeks, its sister ship—and the oldest U.S. aircraft carrier in service—USS Nimitz, has left its home port on the West Coast for a regularly scheduled Western Pacific Ocean deployment.
What To Know
A satellite image taken on Monday shows the Carl Vinson transiting toward Guam in the Philippine Sea. The island is a critical logistics nexus that provides support for American naval ships, including supplies, maintenance parts, and equipment, the U.S. Navy said.
NASA/USGS
“Our port visit…allows us to recharge and resupply to remain operationally ready for any mission,” said Rear Admiral Michael Wosje, commander of the Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which also consists of a cruiser and two destroyers, according to a press release.
It was not immediately clear when the Carl Vinson and its escorting warships would leave Guam. The American carrier strike group took part in a trilateral war game in the East China Sea with the Japanese and South Korean navies from last Monday to last Thursday.
Following the conclusion of the exercise, the Carl Vinson was sailing in the Philippine Sea southeast of Japan’s island of Kyushu, according to Newsweek‘s weekly update. Its last port call was in South Korea’s city of Busan, when it arrived at a naval base on March 2.
In the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the Nimitz, which was homeported at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, reached San Diego in California on Monday, where it conducted the final preparations for deployment, the U.S. Naval Institute-run USNI News reported.
Another U.S. aircraft carrier, USS George Washington, remained at Yokosuka naval base, its home port in Japan, according to a local government website that tracks port visits by U.S. nuclear-powered warships. It arrived in Japan last November for forward deployment.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Michael Wosje, commander of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, said in a press release on Monday: “Guam is strategically important to the region and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The U.S. Navy said in a press release on Monday: “[The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group] is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Carl Vinson will conduct bilateral operations with the French aircraft carrier, FS Charles de Gaulle, when it reaches the Arabian Sea. The French and Indian navies held an exercise with aircraft carriers in the region last week.