Sailors man the rails on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in Puget Sound, Washington, March 21, 2025. (Japeth Carter/U.S. Navy)
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its strike group arrived on Guam this week for a scheduled port call as its sister ship, the USS Nimitz, prepared to depart San Diego for the Indo-Pacific.
The Carl Vinson and its escorts reached Naval Base Guam on Tuesday, the 7th Fleet announced in a news release that day. The group will likely resupply there before heading to the Middle East, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the carrier amid ongoing U.S. strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Hegseth also ordered the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman to remain in the Middle East for at least another month, the Associated Press reported March 21.
The Carl Vinson has been operating in the Indo-Pacific since November. This month, the carrier trained off the Korean Peninsula during the annual Freedom Shield exercise.
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson approaches Naval Base Guam, March 24, 2025. (Nathan Jordan/U.S. Navy)
Meanwhile, the Nimitz and its strike group were in San Diego on Tuesday as part of their summer deployment, U.S. 3rd Fleet spokesman Lt. Mohammad Issa told Stars and Stripes by email that night. The carrier departed its homeport, Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Wash., on Friday, according to a Monday news release from the fleet.
“Exercises and port visits will play an important role during this deployment in strengthening ties with allies and partners through collaboration, trust, and shared commitment to advance a shared vision for a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” Issa wrote.
The deployment may be the last for the Nimitz, the oldest active U.S. aircraft carrier, before its planned decommissioning next year. Issa declined to confirm if this would be its final deployment, citing security concerns.
Separately, the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land arrived in Australia’s Northern Territory on Tuesday for a scheduled port call, according to a 7th Fleet news release. The tender pulled into Darwin, about 2,000 miles southwest of Guam, on its 17th stop since its deployment began May 17.
The Emory S. Land last visited the Australian naval base HMAS Stirling near Perth in August, where its crew performed maintenance on a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine alongside Australian sailors.
That visit was part of the 2021 AUKUS agreement, which aims to establish one British and four U.S. submarines in Australia as Submarine Rotational Force-West at HMAS Stirling.
The ship’s Darwin visit is not related to AUKUS, said Submarine Group 7 spokesman Lt. David Palencia.
“U.S. Navy port visits to Australia and participation in military and humanitarian exercises emphasizes the expanding wealth of knowledge and coordination between our two nations,” he told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday.
