National Defense
Iran War Pushes US Navy Into Years Of Extended Deployments
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gray Gibson)
The U.S. Navy expects extended deployments to remain standard for the next several years as American warships continue operations related to the Iran war.
The Navy is warning sailors to expect deployments lasting 10 to 11 months for at least the next couple of years — rather than the traditional seven-month rotations — as operations in the Middle East continue to strain the fleet — according to USNI News. The extended deployments follow record-breaking missions by American aircraft carriers supporting the war against Iran, with Navy leadership acknowledging that the service needs more ships to shorten rotations and maintain operational readiness.
Longer deployments began in 2023, when Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group deployed for nine months, combatting the Houthis in the Red Sea. When America entered war with Iran, reportedly at Israel’s urging, deployments began to extend past 11 months.
The United States Navy did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“The decision to extend our ships longer is a decision above the Navy,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, John Perryman, told USNI News. “The president has a different calculus than we do, and so [the Pentagon makes] the decisions that they have to make, and then we support those decisions.”
Ships currently being deployed to the Middle East are being sent out with enough supplies to sustain extended deployments, USNI News reported.
“You can kind of expect at least a 10-month deployment, and so that’s just the nature of what the capacity of the Navy can do,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle told USNI News. “I need a bigger Navy, and if you want to shorten the length of time of deployments, then obviously the math would say I need more capacity.”
This announcement comes less than a month after the USS Abraham Lincoln returned to the U.S. following a grueling extended deployment.
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