Jerusalem Post / World News The WSJ initially reported in February that the Bush could have been deployed to join the Lincoln in the Middle East, though the Ford was chosen to be sent instead. The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier sails in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, on October 4, 2025. (photo credit: Alex Brandon – Pool/Getty Images) By JERUSALEM POST STAFF APRIL 2, 2026 19:05 Updated: APRIL 2, 2026 20:58 The USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group departed Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Tuesday en route to the Middle East, where it is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing a US Navy press release.
The report also cited unnamed US officials who said that the US may at some point have three carriers in the Middle East simultaneously, the other two being the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford already in the region.
The Lincoln is currently operating in the Arabian Sea, while the Ford is temporarily docked in Croatia for repairs following a fire.
Sailors stand aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier which is out at sea near Norfolk, Virginia, while the US president visits the US Navy’s 250th anniversary celebration on October 5, 2025. (credit: ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images) The Bush, America’s newest Nimitz-class carrier, is expected to arrive in the Middle East in several weeks.
The officials said the carriers would remain in the region “for the foreseeable future,” the WSJ reported, with the US Navy declining to comment on future operations.
Bush initially expected to deploy in February The WSJ initially reported in February that the Bush could have been deployed to join the Lincoln in the Middle East, citing an anonymous source as saying that the Bush was performing training exercises off the Virginia coast and “could potentially expedite those exercises.”
The Bush has recently completed the Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), which “brings together all elements of a carrier strike group to operate as a cohesive, multi-domain fighting force,” according to the US Navy.
In the end, the Ford was chosen to be sent instead, having completed operations in the Caribbean related to the US mission in Venezuela aimed at capturing President Nicolás Maduro.