The Navy’s oldest active carrier, the USS Nimitz, has stopped in Naval Air Station North Island to get ready for its final deployment – a mission in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is set to patrol this region, but with recent developments from new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, those plans could change as two aircraft carriers have already been sent by U.S. Central Command as part of an ongoing response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Middle East developments
Hegseth signed orders on March 20 to keep the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East for at least an additional month, and sent the USS Carl Vinson, which is home ported at North Island, to the Middle East.
This comes from the Trump administration intensifying its bombing campaign and increasing U.S. military presence against the Iranian-backed political and military organization.
The Houthis have launched attacks on Red Sea shipping as a protest against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Since Nov. 2023, the group has sent dozens of missiles and drone attacks on commercial ships, sinking two vessels.
U.S. Naval forces have prevented many of these attacks, but in response to the U.S. presence, the Houthis have started targeting American ships in the Red Sea.
Final deployment
The USS Nimitz used to call the island home from 2001 to 2012 – a time period when it conducted operations in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom – as well as the Arabian Sea and Western Pacific.
The 1,092 foot-long-ship was launched in 1976, and after50 years of service, is scheduled to be dry-docked at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia by 2026.
