The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its company of 5,000 will embark in the coming weeks on what is expected to be at least a seven-month deployment to the Middle East, top Navy officials said on Wednesday.
“They know they’re going to be there longer than seven months. Their [commanding officer] is giving them eight months to plan on,” John Perryman, the master chief petty officer of the Navy, said, CNN reported citing USNI News.
Perryman, the Navy’s top enlisted sailor, spoke to reporters alongside Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Virginia.
According to CNN, the move will come as the Navy deals with the fallout from the recent deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region that saw it spend more than 250 days at sea without a port call.
That lengthy deployment raised concerns about the mental health of sailors, including reports of at least one going overboard, as well as reports of low supplies aboard the 100,000-ton warship.
The Lincoln was relieved by the USS George Washington last week, and it is expected to make a port call in Thailand in the coming days, according to several news reports.
The Roosevelt is expected to relieve the George Washington, USNI reported. The carrier USS George HW Bush is also operating in the Middle East region.
On Tuesday, a Thai official told Reuters that US aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln will dock in Thailand next week, following a prolonged deployment in the Middle East and reports of mental health concerns and deteriorating conditions on board.
The Lincoln, which left the Middle East on Saturday, has not made a port call in more than 200 days, setting a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea, according to Democratic lawmakers.
Two military-focused outlets, Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, this month reported suicide attempts and declining morale on the ship. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the reports “completely misrepresented” the conditions on board.
Thailand is the United States' only treaty partner in mainland Southeast Asia, having been a treaty ally since 1954 and a major non-NATO ally since 2003. Both countries' militaries maintain strong relations.
Caudle acknowledged the stress the Iran war has put on the US fleet and said the service would try to put more certainty into deployment times, but combat demands can make that difficult.
“I would prefer, you know, seven-month deployments. I typically am not a big fan of extensions, and I push back hard on that. But the enemy gets a vote,” USNI quoted Caudle as saying.
