Why aircraft carriers are no longer a constant in the Middle East
After decades of a continuous flattop presence in the region, priorities are changing
By Geoff Ziezulewicz
Nov 4, 10:30 AM
After decades of constant presence, a Navy aircraft carrier has not steamed in the Middle Eastern waters of U.S. 5th Fleet for more than a year, a reflection of changing priorities for the military, experts say. Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Michael Riter is shown here observing flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Sea on May 10. (Navy)
As an officer deployed aboard the battleship Wisconsin during Operation Desert Shield in 1990, James Holmes recalls how no one back then thought the U.S. military would ever need an aircraft carrier in the Middle East.
At the time, the Navy’s presence in the region was mostly limited to small surface combatants, and an enclosed body of water like the Persian Gulf was considered a potential graveyard for a carrier, according to Holmes, now retired and the chairman of maritime strategy at the U.S. Naval War College.
The situation changed drastically in the ensuing decades. As the Iraq and Afghanistan wars raged after 9/11, the military had at least one carrier strike group steaming in U.S. Central Command--or CENTCOM--waters at any given time, a demand that eventually helped degrade the readiness of the carrier fleet.
But these days, hundreds of thousands of U.S. boots who might need air support are no longer on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2022/11/04/why-aircraft-carriers-are-no-longer-a-constant-in-the-middle-east/
