Navy Tells Bush Carrier Families to Plan for a 12-Month Deployment

The warning, from exclusive audio of a meeting with about 500 relatives at Naval Station Norfolk, is the second extension since the strike group left Virginia on March 31. Capt. Justin Issler, the carrier’s commanding officer, later told sailors to plan for a year at sea.

About 7,000 service members in the USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group reached the Middle East in April to relieve the USS Gerald R. Ford, after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran began on Feb. 28.

The ship has been operating in the North Arabian Sea, Rear Adm. Todd Cimicata, the strike group commander, told WHRO on Nov. 5. Its first port call came only on Oct. 4, a four-day stop in Phuket, Thailand, after 187 days at sea.

Aircraft from the Bush have flown more than 8,000 sorties in strike missions, group and merchant defense, and blockade support for Operation Epic Fury, the air wing commander said at the meeting.

Families Confront Navy Leaders

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao told the auditorium he understood how hard it was when children asked when a parent was coming home.

Family members accused officials of giving them the “runaround” and said trust in the force was “heavily strained.” One person called escorting ships through the strait an “unsustainable and unaffordable” mission.

Cao said the Bush had “protected 3,000 ships so far from getting bombed.” Asked what would bring the group home, he said, “The criteria is for them to agree to a non-nuclear Iran.”

Iranian Drones Pepper Blockade Ships

Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said Iranian forces were using “large numbers of unmanned, one-way attack vehicles” and had “learned how to pepper those ships” that enforce the naval blockade of Iran.

Adm. James Kilby, vice chief of naval operations, said supplies now come from Diego Garcia, 2,200 miles away, and that fresh produce often spoils within a week. Families also raised broken equipment and mental health care on board.

No Fixed Date for Return

Kilby said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decides when the ships come home and that he did not want to give families “false hope,” after watching deployments grow longer in recent years. Officials said they are preparing USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, based in Norfolk, to relieve the Bush.

Thomas said the holiday decision was so recent it was not yet in the official orders book, and sailors at sea had likely not been told. “We took a little risk tonight,” he said, asking relatives not to spread the news.

On Wednesday, Issler wrote to families acknowledging their frustration and promising more candid communication. “We will get them home as soon as possible,” Cao said.