US to deploy nuclear-powered carrier Roosevelt to Middle East

WASHINGTON, United States — WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is preparing to deploy the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its accompanying strike group to the Middle East in the coming weeks, with the mission expected to last more than seven months and potentially extend to eight. The Nimitz-class carrier, along with its air wing and escort ships, is carrying several thousand personnel and is slated to move into the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. According to the U.S. Naval Institute, the Roosevelt will later relieve the USS George Washington, which entered the 5th Fleet area last week and replaced the USS Abraham Lincoln. The rotation indicates that the United States is maintaining, rather than reducing, its carrier presence in the region through successive deployments. At the same time, another U.S. carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, is operating in the Middle East operational theater. No further details on the timing of the Roosevelt's deployment were immediately available.