If Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao’s forecasts are accurate, the USS George H.W. Bush is on track for the longest aircraft carrier deployment in US history.

The USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) may not return home to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, until well into the New Year. The flattop began its current deployment on March 31, and was immediately dispatched to the Middle East to support combat operations against Iran.

As of Thursday, the Bush has been at sea for 226 days, and the Navy reportedly told families earlier this month that the mission could stretch to March 2027. On Monday, during a “town hall” meeting at Naval Station Norfolk, US Navy officials told around 500 family members of the USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (CSG-10) that their loved ones would not be returning home for the holidays, according to an audio recording made public by MS NOW.

The US Navy has already extended CSG-10’s deployment twice. US Navy leaders were candid that families should prepare for “a worst-case scenario of a yearlong deployment”—a forecast which, if accurate, would give the Bush the longest continuous deployment of any aircraft carrier in US Navy service.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao reportedly told families, “I’m sorry, I’ve been there. I know what it feels like, I know how hard it is when your kids are asking ‘When’s daddy coming home? When’s mommy coming home?’”

Family members expressed frustration and even anger at Navy officials, with one attendee warning that families were “burning out” under the strain. 

There are approximately 7,000 service members deployed with CSG-10, which is now in the Arabian Sea.

The Bush Has Had a Long Deployment—with Little Respite

The supercarrier and escorts traveled to the Middle East by taking the longer route around Africa, which added 12 days to the transit time. That was likely done to avoid drone and missile threats from the Iranian-backed Houthi forces in the Red Sea, Suez Canal, and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

It is unclear if CSG-10 will take the same when it returns home, but it will largely depend on whether the conflict with Iran—and by extension any threat from the Houthis in Yemen—is resolved. If the conflict continues, the US Navy may opt to avoid the narrow chokepoints, sailing around Africa.

The only other option would be for the carrier to sail eastward through the Indo-Pacific to the West Coast, but US Navy aircraft carriers do not routinely switch homeports at the end of a standard deployment without a formal, pre-planned homeport shift. CVN-77’s maintenance, family support infrastructure, and assigned carrier air wing and strike group elements are all tied to the East Coast.

Still, the USS George H.W. Bush and other elements of the strike group did travel east last month—specifically to Phuket, Thailand. The stop was the ship’s first port visit since it left Norfolk in March. It was also the first visit by the last Nimitz-class supercarrier to the Southeast Asian nation, and the second visit by a US Navy aircraft carrier in as many months.

The California-based USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) made a port call to Laem Chabang, Thailand, in early September, as that carrier began its return trip home following a trouble-plagued deployment lasting 321 days, running from November 21, 2025, to October 9, 2026. The Lincoln’s voyage was the second longest patrol of a US Navy aircraft carrier since the end of the Cold War, and was surpassed only by the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which lasted 326 days, or nearly 11 months.

In addition to the USS George H.W. Bush, the US Navy’s only forward-deployed supercarrier, the USS George Washington (CVN-73) is also operating in the Arabian Sea, after being redirected to the region in August to relieve CVN-72. The USS George Washington began its 2026 patrol in May, which was expected to last five to six months.

CSG-9, led by the flagship aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), is also now en route to the Middle East, likely to relieve CVN-73.

Did Angry Navy Families Help Push the “Blue Wave” in the Midterms?

Beyond the extended missions, the deployments have gotten harder as the US Navy has limited options for port calls due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The USS George H.W. Bush went 187 days without a port call, and the USS Abraham Lincoln was at sea for approximately 250 days. Under normal circumstances, US Navy aircraft carriers conduct port visits on a far more frequent basis, typically every four to six weeks. These visits are conducted for maintenance and for diplomatic reasons; they also allow the warships to be resupplied and, more importantly, for the crew to take a much-needed break.

The strain of being deployed for months at a time has taken a toll, as evidenced by sailors’ attempts to literally jump off the USS Abraham Lincoln in August. There have also been reports regarding the quality of the food and other conditions on the ships, which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has repeatedly dismissed as “fake news.”

The Trump administration’s response to the crisis may have contributed to its misfortunes in the recent midterm elections. When questioned about the length of the deployment of CVN-77 in August, President Donald Trump responded, “Not long enough”—earning a sharp rebuke from Democratic lawmakers, and possibly leading disgruntled Navy families to vote against the Republican Party last Tuesday.

The extended deployments were necessitated by the ongoing war with Iran, which also contributed to the Democratic Party’s victory. Vice President JD Vance has since acknowledged the war was to blame for the “blue wave.”

Still, Cao defended the war during the town hall.

“It’s one of those hard decisions the president has to do. He’s a businessman, he knows that war is bad for business, but the thing is that with all our intel, if we didn’t stop the Iranians now, in a year from now, they would have so many cruise missiles and so many drones that we would never be able to penetrate their defenses, and they would be a nuclear-armed Iran,” Cao said.

Many analysts have questioned whether that is an accurate assessment of the situation, and it certainly wasn’t used as the original justification for Operation Epic Fury, which was launched on February 28, 2026. More importantly, it isn’t likely to satisfy the families of those serving with CSG-10, as their loved ones won’t be home for the holidays or perhaps until spring!

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. He has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites over a 30-year career in journalism, including Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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