U.S. Navy Is Looking for an Alternative to Bahrain for Mideast Port Calls

Deprived of access to its Mideast base in Bahrain, and realizing the consequences of leaving its carriers at sea for too long, the U.S. Navy is searching for alternative destinations to send strike groups for port calls around the Indian Ocean. 

In a call with reporters this week, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said that the service is looking at new options around the region where it can send carriers for resupply and R&R. Kenya, Diego Garcia, India and even Singapore – which would be 3,000 nautical miles away from the usual Arabian Sea operating area – are all possibilities on the menu, he said. 

Recent complaints surrounding the USS Abraham Lincoln's ultralong at-sea deployment suggest that continuous operations can lead to morale and PR challenges after the 250-day mark. During the carriers' time on station in the Arabian Sea, Lincoln crewmembers' families publicized allegations of food shortages, unsanitary conditions and a string of attempted suicides on board, forcing Navy leaders to publicly deny any serious issues while arranging an immediate relief. 

San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt is working up for a deployment to relieve George Washington, and Caudle says that he wants to have arrangements in place for carriers to get periodic port calls during lulls in the fighting. 

"I’ve got to work very carefully with the Fifth Fleet commander to go do that and make sure that there’s an understanding of the forecast and combat operations to allow something like that to be done,” Caudle told Navy Times. "I’m confident that what we’ve learned from Abe, that I can apply, to do that more effectively as other carrier strike groups move into the theater."