(Bloomberg) -- As the USS Abraham Lincoln pulled out from Guam, the aircraft carrier’s captain announced to the crew over the intercom that fresh US strikes to destroy Houthi missiles and drones in the Middle East were a “reminder of the environment we are going to.”
The Lincoln is set to relieve the USS Theodore Roosevelt later this month after a planned transit through the South China Sea. It will be the fourth US carrier to be deployed to the region since Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, a sign of America’s intention to defend its ally and deter major escalation.
As Israel braces for a possible attack from Iran and regional militias in retaliation for assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas officials, the US has sent defensive reinforcements while pressing for a Gaza cease-fire deal. This makes the environment far more challenging for the latest US carrier sent to the Middle East.
On board the Lincoln, sailors and airmen said they were prepared for what may be a long engagement. On the flight deck and in the cavernous hangar space, mechanics worked on F-18 and F-35 fighter jets that could play a central role to counter attacks against Israel and other targets such as commercial ships.
“It’s important to get the crew mentally prepared,” Captain Peter Riebe, the commanding officer of the Lincoln, said in an interview after his broadcast to the crew Thursday.
Critics have contended these deployments offer little in the way of deterrence and are fraught with risks. The US military has been targeted before in the region and the dispatch of American military assets could draw the US into a wider regional conflict.
“We’re exposing US troops to physical harm for no good reason, and the carrier deployment in particular is uniquely problematic,” said Van Jackson, a faculty member for international relations at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
He said carriers wouldn’t deter adversaries who have already been attacked. “Our habitual use of force in the Middle East has gotten us nothing good,” said Jackson, who served in the office of the US Secretary of Defense.
The Houthis have used missiles and drones to assault ships passing through the Red Sea. The Iran-back group has said they’re targeting vessels connected to Israel, the US and UK, but ships with no such ties have been hit.
Sailing with the Lincoln are destroyers that can launch Tomahawk missiles and operate air defense systems to shoot down missiles and drones.
Senior officers on the Lincoln have been providing regular updates about developments in the Middle East to its sailors and airmen since the ship was given orders at the beginning of August to deploy to the region.
Stealthy US Air Force F-22 Raptor jets have also recently arrived in the Middle East in a show of force meant to deter Iran and its proxies. US Central Command announced the move in a post on X on Thursday but didn’t disclose how many jets have been deployed or exactly where they landed in the region.
Training for the Lincoln’s crew is framed around real-world developments such as those in the Middle East, Riebe said, with a focus on weekly “battle scenarios” for exercises involving the roughly 65 aircraft and helicopters based on the Lincoln.
The crew spent a few days of shore leave on the Pacific island of Guam this week, time that several said had helped them recharge for the weeks and possibly months ahead. The carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower twice had its deployment in the Middle East extended this year, giving it more than half a year in the region.
“This could potentially be a long deployment,” said Captain Gerry Tritz, the commander of the aviation wing on the Lincoln, adding: “This is a time to have a good pace of operations so that we’re ready to go as long as the nation needs us.”
Senior officers on the Lincoln said they weren’t concerned about stretched resources and were also showing a commitment to the Pacific during the deployment. The Lincoln held joint exercises Friday with an Italian aircraft carrier to the southwest of Guam.
While the Lincoln will bring fresh firepower, including the only Marine Corps F-35 squadron on an aircraft carrier, preparations include planning for duties across the ship. Gunners that operate M2A1 machine guns around the edges of the vessel will switch to round-the-clock operations to guard against attacks by small boats.
The crew of the Lincoln learned of the Middle East deployment after the ship left its home port of San Diego last month. Several said they weren’t surprised and had little idea when the mission would end.
“I have a husband and two kids so I hope I’m back by Christmas,” said Kimber Dominguez, a 34-year-old weapons officer for the Lincoln’s airwing.
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