USS Washington to Relieve Lincoln in Middle East

The US Navy plans to rotate the forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington into the Middle East to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln, maintaining a continuous regional presence. Lincoln has been at sea for about 250 days with sparse port calls and troubling crew reports, while George Washington operates from Japan and recently transited through the Strait of Malacca as part of ongoing 2026 patrols ahead of the rotation.