Roosevelt Departs as U.S. Carrier Plan Remains Unclear

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group departed San Diego on September 27 for a deployment expected to last more than seven months, while the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group left the port the following day carrying the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The Pentagon has not confirmed whether Roosevelt will add a third carrier to the U.S. presence in the Middle East or relieve another carrier already operating there. The Roosevelt deployment is directed toward the Middle East, according to defense officials cited in the reports, and Navy officials have described the movement as routine operations or a rotation. The carrier is expected to relieve the USS George Washington, which has been operating in the region since August. Under that scenario, Washington would leave as Roosevelt arrives, preserving a two-carrier presence rather than creating a three-carrier deployment. Separately, unnamed U.S. officials have said the administration plans to send a third carrier strike group and additional Marines to the region. That account would require the George Washington to remain after Roosevelt arrives.