US Pulls Last Aircraft Carrier from Pacific as Iran War Stretches Navy and China Shows Aggression

The USS George Washington is departing the Pacific to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, leaving the western Pacific without a US carrier, the Associated Press reported 1234. The Lincoln's deployment was extended past its original May return date to support operations against Iran and has reached more than 240 days at sea without interruption, prompting Democratic lawmakers to call for investigations into onboard mental health and supply conditions 1234. China conducted naval exercises with Indonesia this week, drills near Scarborough Shoal this month, and a live-fire exercise by a guided-missile destroyer off Japan's Okinotori island last month 1234. Adm. Frank Bradley, head of US Special Operations Command, met Filipino counterparts in Manila on Thursday and is expected to travel to Japan next 1234. The Navy typically keeps two to three of its 11 carriers deployed at once and could reach four if the USS Theodore Roosevelt leaves San Diego, coming after the USS Gerald R. Ford's 11-month deployment, the longest since the Vietnam War, which backed both the Iran operations and the US capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro 1234.