Avoiding the Houthis like this makes me wonder about the fire on the USS Gerald R. Ford which supposedly started in the laundry room taking out a lot of sleeping births.
The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier is sailing around the African continent and is set to join a growing naval force in the Arabian Sea amid a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, USNI News reported on April 13.
According to the news service, the carrier and its strike group – which includes the guided-missile destroyers USS Donald Cook, USS Mason and USS Ross – are currently operating off the coast of Namibia.
The Carrier Air Wing Seven is embarked aboard the Bush with around 80 warplanes, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets, EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets and E-2C Hawkeye tactical airborne early warning aircraft.
The Bush did not sail through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean Sea, a typical transit for East Coast-based carriers headed to the Middle East. The carrier and its strike group are instead sailing around Africa, two defense officials told USNI News.
“The path around Africa allows the carrier and its escorts to avoid transiting the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb, which were both hubs of activity for the Houthis in their drone and missile attacks on U.S. and commercial shipping in 2024 and 2025,” the service said in its report.
The Bush transit around Africa comes amid a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that is set to end in around a week.
Following a failed round of talks in Pakistan, the U.S. initiates a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on orders from President Donald Trump.
In the Arabian Sea, the Bush will be joining the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group, in addition to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked on the aircraft-carrying USS Tripoli and two other amphibious assault ships.
A second MEU, the 11th, is also sailing towards the Arabian Sea, aboard three more amphibious assault ships, including the aircraft-carrying USS Boxer.
This naval build up shows that the U.S. is preparing not just to resume operations against Iran, but also to do so on a much larger scale than before.
Several recent reports indicate that the U.S. and Iran will be holding a second round of talks in Pakistan before the end of the ceasefire. Unless a major breakthrough is achieved, the war will likely resume, very possibly with American boosts on the soil of the Islamic Republic.