When the USS Carl Vinson was ordered to the Middle East in March it had already been deployed for four months.
Now, its deployment stretching into its eighth month, it's unclear when its 5,000 sailors can expect to again see home.
The Vinson is one of five locally-based ships now operating in the region. Its been conducting strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen but wasn't part of the weekend bombing of Iran — that was U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers.
Iran retaliated by launching missiles against a U.S. base in Qatar. Officials said there were no casualties.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday about the threat Iran’s military still poses to U.S. forces in the Middle East.
"They (Iran) possess considerable tactical capability," he said.
Cooper is the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees Middle East military operations. He's been nominated to be its next commander.
In addition to the Vinson, four other San Diego-based warships are now in the region.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Steritt and guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton are with the Vinson's strike group.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee is attached to the carrier USS Nimitz' strike group.
The San Diego-based littoral combat ship USS Canberra is also now in the region — notable because it's the first LCS to deploy with the long-delayed mine countermeasure mission package.
Cooper, said that capability is needed.
"Iran has thousands of sea mines," Cooper said. "We have a sufficient and the largest mine force in the world presently in the Middle East."
Relief could be on the way for the crew of the Vinson. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford left Norfolk today for a scheduled deployment.
The other two San Diego-based carriers — the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Theodore Roosevelt — have already spent time in the Middle East during their 2024 deployments.
A Naval Air Forces spokesperson in San Diego declined to say whether either ship could expect to deploy again soon.
