USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG-67) and guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG-97) crossed into US 5th Fleet from 7th Fleet on Friday.
While in the US 5th Fleet area of operations, the Ronald Reagan CSG will operate and train alongside regional and coalition partners and provide airpower to protect US and coalition forces as they conduct drawdown operations from Afghanistan.
Reagan will take the place of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and its escorts that have been operating in the Middle East since April this year to provide air cover for the withdrawal. Ike is expected to soon begin its journey to its Norfolk, Va., homeport following its second deployment within a year.
Reagan had just completed high-end drills on Thursday with the Indian Navy ahead of entering 5th Fleet.
The Reagan move is the first time the US Japan-based carrier has been routed to the Middle East since the former USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Reagan’s move to the Middle East has raised new questions at how present the Navy will need to be in the region versus the stated goal of the Biden administration to focus resources on the Pacific and competition with China.
Aside from brief gaps, a US carrier has been on station on a small patch of ocean in the North Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman continuously since May 2019 at the request of US Central Command Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie.
For the Navy, a major outcome of the ongoing Pentagon-led global force posture review will be how carrier strike groups are apportioned across the global combatant commands.
